0:00:18 > 0:00:22Today, I'm on a journey down Cornwall's dramatic south coast,
0:00:22 > 0:00:24from here, the fishing town of Looe,
0:00:24 > 0:00:28down to Britain's most south-westerly point, at Land's End.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32My travels will take me by sea from Looe Harbour to Fowey.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36I'll walk a section of the spectacular South West Coast Path
0:00:36 > 0:00:38to Lizard Point, then cross the headland
0:00:38 > 0:00:41to St Ives, on the other side of Cornwall,
0:00:41 > 0:00:46eventually arriving at England's final outpost, Land's End.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48We'll also be looking back at some of the best
0:00:48 > 0:00:50of the BBC's rural programmes
0:00:50 > 0:00:52from this spectacular part of the country.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Welcome to Country Tracks.
0:00:57 > 0:01:02My journey begins at the port of Looe on Cornwall's south coast.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06Once a thriving fishing port, the town's now losing out
0:01:06 > 0:01:09to bigger ports nearby, but tourism is taking over,
0:01:09 > 0:01:11bringing new business to the area.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Today, I'm heading out sea angling with local skipper Dave Bond,
0:01:18 > 0:01:22a commercial fisherman who's having to diversify to survive.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26Does this look like a good place to start the fishing?
0:01:26 > 0:01:28- A reasonable place to try.- OK.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30I'll take that one.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35OK. So there's three hooks... No, four hooks on here
0:01:35 > 0:01:36and a big heavy weight.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38A SMALL heavy weight.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40That looks quite big to me, but...
0:01:40 > 0:01:44You only need a small heavy weight when you're drifting with them,
0:01:44 > 0:01:46because the line's got to be taken away...
0:01:46 > 0:01:49So, what do we do? How do I start this?
0:01:49 > 0:01:50Hold the rod that way up.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53- Yep.- Sea fishing, you hold them that way up -
0:01:53 > 0:01:55different from the coarse fishing -
0:01:55 > 0:01:59- and then put your left hand thumb on the reel.- Yep.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02That's your clutch. Flick your clutch off and let the hook...
0:02:02 > 0:02:04How far down shall I go?
0:02:04 > 0:02:06- Down to the bottom. - It's quite deep here.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10- There we go.- When it hits the bottom, put it back into gear,
0:02:10 > 0:02:12wind up a bit so you don't snag the bottom,
0:02:12 > 0:02:15and then just jig your line up and down.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18Since 1983, the EU Common Fisheries Policy
0:02:18 > 0:02:22has monitored how much commercial fishermen like Dave can catch.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25These quotas help conserve fish stocks for future generations,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28but have had a devastating effect on Dave's livelihood.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32This year, my quota for January, February and March
0:02:32 > 0:02:35is 100kg of cod per month.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38- And how much does an average cod weigh?- About 4kg.
0:02:38 > 0:02:43- 4kg?- Yeah.- So you're allowed to catch...25 fish per month?
0:02:43 > 0:02:45I can catch that in an hour.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Of course. And the boat - I assume this costs quite a lot of money
0:02:49 > 0:02:54- to keep a boat like this in the water?- Over £250,000 investment.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58- For how many fish? - Well, 20...
0:02:58 > 0:03:02- 25 cod a month! - 25 cod a month for £250,000?
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Dover sole is now 25kg for the month...
0:03:05 > 0:03:06which is...
0:03:06 > 0:03:11It's only an hour's work for us, really.
0:03:11 > 0:03:16The only fish that they've given us in any amount to catch is pollack.
0:03:16 > 0:03:21But now, because you know that the only fish
0:03:21 > 0:03:23that you can catch in any quantity is pollack,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26because you've got all your expenses to meet, etc...
0:03:26 > 0:03:28- You have to go out, whatever the weather.- Exactly.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30- That's dangerous for you. - Absolutely.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34Even though he does fish in treacherous conditions,
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Dave has had to find other ways to supplement his income
0:03:37 > 0:03:39to keep his boat on the water.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42In the summer season, now, I try and get more and more angling trips.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44And do you enjoy that?
0:03:44 > 0:03:46Yeah, I love it.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48It's easy, shall we say?
0:03:48 > 0:03:52I say it's easy - it's easy when you're doing two-hour mackerel trips,
0:03:52 > 0:03:53and short trips,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56because if kids catch a mackerel, they're over the moon.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59You haven't got to do so much to satisfy them, like,
0:03:59 > 0:04:04whereas with serious anglers, they're obviously looking for big fish,
0:04:04 > 0:04:07and that's a little bit more difficult to find.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11- What do you think our chances are of catching something?- Not very good.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14It isn't proving to be a very good spot, is it?!
0:04:14 > 0:04:17Fishermen like Dave are not alone
0:04:17 > 0:04:21in having to adapt to survive in the modern world. All along this coast,
0:04:21 > 0:04:25new industries are starting up to provide jobs for Cornish people.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29Later on, I'll be investigating just a few of them,
0:04:29 > 0:04:33but while I try to catch my supper, my eye's drawn to Looe Island,
0:04:33 > 0:04:37a place I visited in the summer of 2003...in much better weather!
0:04:37 > 0:04:42Cornwall has mile upon mile of breathtaking coastline.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45I first fell in love with it when I came as a young boy,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48and what better way of re-acquainting myself
0:04:48 > 0:04:50than on my very own boat.
0:04:50 > 0:04:51Come on, Ben, look lively!
0:04:51 > 0:04:53- Pulling this one?- Yeah.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55Well, sadly, it's not really my own boat.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01Now the hard one... If you take that one off for me...
0:05:09 > 0:05:11- OK. I'll just get the anchor in, OK? - Yep.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14It's coming...
0:05:18 > 0:05:20What's the history of the Deu Kerens?
0:05:20 > 0:05:25Well, she was built in 1920, for fishing, in St Ives,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28and, um, I think she fished up to 1982,
0:05:28 > 0:05:33when someone started converting her into a gaff ketch, which she is now.
0:05:33 > 0:05:38- So, how did she get her name?- Well, two Spaniards used to own her,
0:05:38 > 0:05:41and she was called Dos Amigos, which means two friends,
0:05:41 > 0:05:43so the owner who had her last
0:05:43 > 0:05:48just changed it to the Cornish version - Deu Kerens -
0:05:48 > 0:05:51which also means two friends, or as close as you can get.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55- Cos it's unlucky to change a boat's name?- Yes.- That one's flapping.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58- Do I need to go round a little bit? - Just ease off a little bit
0:05:58 > 0:06:00and they'll fill.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08'With a brisk breeze astern, we made good headway
0:06:08 > 0:06:11'and set sail for our first destination.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16'Looe Island is just a mile off the mainland
0:06:16 > 0:06:20'and for years was the home of sisters Babs and Evelyn Atkins.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24'They lived here with one another and their dogs for company,
0:06:24 > 0:06:28'until Evelyn died five years ago. As soon as I stepped ashore,
0:06:28 > 0:06:33'I saw why the sisters fell in love with this island
0:06:33 > 0:06:36'while holidaying in Cornwall back in 1964.'
0:06:36 > 0:06:40We came down for the school holiday and one of the boatmen came up to us
0:06:40 > 0:06:43and said, "Do you know the island's for sale?"
0:06:43 > 0:06:47We thought it was a good idea and got an order to view.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52So we rushed over to the agent and asked for a viewing.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56We didn't say, "We haven't got any money!" We just wanted to see it.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01Over we came and met Mr Whitehouse, who owned it.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04He said, "I'm asking £22,000 for it.
0:07:04 > 0:07:10"I can reduce it to £20,000." We looked blank and he said,
0:07:10 > 0:07:15"I'll lend you half of it on a private mortgage of 6.5%."
0:07:15 > 0:07:18So we looked at each other and said, "We'll have it."
0:07:18 > 0:07:22Then we rushed back to Surrey, to our bank managers.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25How did you communicate with the mainland?
0:07:25 > 0:07:28We had an illegal walkie-talkie at the time,
0:07:28 > 0:07:35then we also acquired a loud-hailer when we went into Plymouth...
0:07:35 > 0:07:41- Is that what this is down here? - Yes.- This is what you bought?- Yes.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43It's made of whale hide.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46- You'd aim this at the mainland and speak through it?- Yes.
0:07:46 > 0:07:52- You'll be surprised how far it can go.- What sort of things did you say?
0:07:52 > 0:07:55Hello! Can you hear me?!
0:07:55 > 0:07:58- BEN LAUGHS - That is brilliant.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Yes, I can... can...can...can!
0:08:02 > 0:08:07- Babs, what do we have over here? - This is an interesting thing.
0:08:07 > 0:08:12It's the vertebra of a whale that was washed up on the island beach.
0:08:12 > 0:08:18The whole whale was washed up and they didn't know what to do with it.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22- Men came over from Looe and blew it up.- With dynamite?- Yes.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25- That's not part of a whale?- No.
0:08:25 > 0:08:30As far as I know, we found it on the island, but didn't know what it was.
0:08:30 > 0:08:36Then I got a copy of a magazine and it had an article on smuggling.
0:08:36 > 0:08:42The island was mentioned and it had a diagram of a smuggler's boat,
0:08:42 > 0:08:48with a rope from bow to stern. On it was one of those and a keg of brandy.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52These weights held bottles under the water.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54- Where were the bottles from?- France.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57Wow! What about these?
0:08:57 > 0:09:01They're cannonballs which we found on the island.
0:09:01 > 0:09:06We didn't know whether Looe was throwing them at us or vice versa.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10I always told the children that they came from the Armada,
0:09:10 > 0:09:13because the first battle was over here.
0:09:13 > 0:09:18I know you've been made some offers on the island.
0:09:18 > 0:09:24I've been offered ridiculous prices. Someone offered me a million pounds.
0:09:24 > 0:09:30But as he was going to have a theme park and a helicopter pad,
0:09:30 > 0:09:35and make wax figures of my sister and I to dot around the island,
0:09:35 > 0:09:41- I didn't think that I would accept! - Have you ever been tempted?- Never.
0:09:41 > 0:09:46I'm giving it away now. It's going to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust.
0:09:46 > 0:09:51That will be a safe haven for it. They'll look after it.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54Since making that film, Babs has sadly passed away.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57But she did get her wish, and Looe Island is now in the safe hands
0:09:57 > 0:10:00of the Cornish Wildlife Trust
0:10:00 > 0:10:04and is open to visitors during the summer months.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10Back to the fishing, and Dave is taking to deeper water
0:10:10 > 0:10:12and a sunken wreck - a haven for fish -
0:10:12 > 0:10:15and almost as soon as my line hits the water,
0:10:15 > 0:10:17my luck is in.
0:10:17 > 0:10:18Look! What's happening?
0:10:18 > 0:10:21- You've got the bait...- What do I do? Pull it up?- Yeah.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23Give it a quick pull and start winding.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26- Do you think I've got one on there? - I'm not sure. What do you think?
0:10:26 > 0:10:28I think you might have.
0:10:28 > 0:10:29I'm quite excited.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35- Should it...? Yeah, I think that... - It's looking very good.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37- It's a nice whiting, that.- Is it?
0:10:37 > 0:10:39That is a cracker.
0:10:39 > 0:10:40Is that a good size?
0:10:40 > 0:10:41That's a nice whiting.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44- That's a good eating size.- Right.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47- You've tied him up to make sure he didn't get away.- Yep.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50- Beautiful fish. Look.- Fantastic. So that is a keeper?
0:10:50 > 0:10:53Yeah, absolutely. Good eating. Two nice fillets.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55How exciting is that?!
0:10:59 > 0:11:03Time to say goodbye to Dave, and he's dropped me at Fowey Harbour,
0:11:03 > 0:11:05about 12 miles down the coast.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08I'm heading inland to St Austell,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11famous these days for its proximity to the mighty Eden Project.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18It's been eight years since the Eden Project opened its doors
0:11:18 > 0:11:20and it's since put Cornwall firmly on the world map.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24But no-one could have predicted quite how big it was to become
0:11:24 > 0:11:28when Michaela Strachan visited back in 2001.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42Imagine a place where chewing gum trees from South America
0:11:42 > 0:11:44grow alongside rubber trees from West Africa.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49Where vanilla and cocoa plants are just footsteps away...
0:11:52 > 0:11:55..from the olive groves of the Mediterranean.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00A place that understands and celebrates
0:12:00 > 0:12:03the beauty and fragility of the plant world -
0:12:03 > 0:12:05a global garden.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09Well, someone did more than just imagine it.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12They spent over £80 million
0:12:12 > 0:12:14and built it!
0:12:14 > 0:12:15The Eden Project is huge,
0:12:15 > 0:12:18the size of 35 football pitches,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21built in a disused clay quarry in Cornwall.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Over 300 people have been involved,
0:12:24 > 0:12:271.8 million tons of soil had to be moved,
0:12:27 > 0:12:32and enough scaffolding was used to stretch from Cornwall to Bristol.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34It's a major technical achievement.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38But for the man who had the idea, it's something much more.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43It's the most important thing I've ever been involved in.
0:12:43 > 0:12:49It's potentially a hugely important project, but what we've done so far
0:12:49 > 0:12:52gives us nothing. It's what we're about to do.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56It'd be easy to say, "What a fantastic garden!"
0:12:56 > 0:12:58But that misses the point.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02Eden tells the story of human dependence on plants,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05but it's really about the biggest issue of all -
0:13:05 > 0:13:08the balance between land use, or exploitation,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11and conservation, the need to keep a balance.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14I think one of the tragedies of our generation
0:13:14 > 0:13:17is that we have grown up thinking about being environmentalists,
0:13:17 > 0:13:22as if somehow we were above nature, living in concrete cliffs,
0:13:22 > 0:13:25in these edifices called cities, and the environment was outside.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28I think we can only really get people to buy into change
0:13:28 > 0:13:33and realising what's going on if they realise they're part of nature.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37The site is dominated by these huge futuristic-looking bubbles,
0:13:37 > 0:13:41called biomes. They act like giant greenhouses.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44On this side, there's the Humid Tropics,
0:13:44 > 0:13:47and on the other side, the biomes represent
0:13:47 > 0:13:50the warm, temperate climates of places like the Mediterranean,
0:13:50 > 0:13:54and the whole of the outside area will eventually be cultivated
0:13:54 > 0:13:57with plants from our very own temperate climate.
0:13:57 > 0:14:02Each biome brings together plants from different areas of the world
0:14:02 > 0:14:07with similar climatic conditions, so in the Tropical Humid Biome,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10there are rainforests from South America, Malaysia, West Africa
0:14:10 > 0:14:14and a tropical island, and in the Warm Temperate Biome,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18California, South Africa and the Mediterranean are represented.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23Eventually, there'll be an estimated 4,000 species of plants at Eden.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27When we open on March 17th,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30everything will, inevitably, look as though it's planted.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32There's bound to be soil.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36But I reckon that by July, all that will have grown enough
0:14:36 > 0:14:40so the whole groundcover will control the whole of the surface.
0:14:40 > 0:14:41Then you get to a stage
0:14:41 > 0:14:45when you're going to come up to the level we're standing on now,
0:14:45 > 0:14:49I reckon that'll happen in about seven years,
0:14:49 > 0:14:53and then, ultimately, it's designed so that you can get maturity,
0:14:53 > 0:14:56and I suspect maturity will take about...
0:14:56 > 0:15:00whatever you call maturity, when you get to the highest point of trees,
0:15:00 > 0:15:04will be about 40 years, so I'll just about live to see that.
0:15:05 > 0:15:10But for Tim Smit, the dream of Eden doesn't end with big trees.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13It's a seed for something even bigger.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16I want it to be absolutely fabulous,
0:15:16 > 0:15:20and I want us to be able to walk the talk. And I know it's...
0:15:20 > 0:15:25I know I would love to have an environmental centre
0:15:25 > 0:15:29built in that cleft up there, a hotel for conferences up there,
0:15:29 > 0:15:33the Arid Biome to tell the story of deserts, an education centre.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37I want to have thousands of students going to university up there.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41So this is just a phase. This is my adolescence.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44- I want to grow up now. - So your vision goes a long way.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48But I believe in the Tinkerbell theory -
0:15:48 > 0:15:52if you get enough people to believe in something, it will happen.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55And out of an empty clay pit, Eden did happen
0:15:55 > 0:15:57and, with a bit of luck and magic,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00will be ready to face its public this Saturday.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03It's such an enormous undertaking
0:16:03 > 0:16:06that there's still landscaping and planting to do,
0:16:06 > 0:16:09but then, unlike Peter Pan, gardens are continually growing up.
0:16:09 > 0:16:14So if you fancy being transported from the lushness of the Tropics
0:16:14 > 0:16:17to the beauty of the Mediterranean all in one afternoon,
0:16:17 > 0:16:20then I'd recommend a visit to the Eden Project.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24At least you can rely on good weather!
0:16:26 > 0:16:31The sun has definitely shone on the Eden Project since its opening
0:16:31 > 0:16:34and now, eight years on, its success is well documented.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38Today, I've caught up once again with its Chief Executive, Tim Smit,
0:16:38 > 0:16:41to see if his aspirations have been realised.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45Was there one single moment when you thought you'd done it?
0:16:45 > 0:16:48There have been lots of moments. We were in New York and someone said,
0:16:48 > 0:16:52"You come from Cornwall? That's where the Eden Project is."
0:16:52 > 0:16:54And that feels really, really good.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58I went to a dinner with Al Gore and I was introduced to him.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01"The Eden Project - it's wonderful. I always wanted to go there."
0:17:01 > 0:17:05- He knew an amazing amount about it. - How much a shot in the dark was it?
0:17:05 > 0:17:09It was a shot in the dark, but where we were coming from, as a team,
0:17:09 > 0:17:11was the idea that if you could do something
0:17:11 > 0:17:15that really rose exponentially bigger than anything I'd done before,
0:17:15 > 0:17:19the sheer bravado of it will create its own luck,
0:17:19 > 0:17:21and that's how it happened,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24because by all normal states of accounting, the state of the nation,
0:17:24 > 0:17:26it should not have been built,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29so the dialogue we had with the people who joined us was,
0:17:29 > 0:17:34"You don't want on your tombstone that you DIDN'T join in." Most people want an adventure,
0:17:34 > 0:17:37and to actually see so many people say, "OK, we're in,"
0:17:37 > 0:17:41was magic, and what has been lovely has been, over the years,
0:17:41 > 0:17:45you bump into people in petrol stations, in pubs, or whatever,
0:17:45 > 0:17:49and you'll see someone shuddering, like a dog waiting to pee,
0:17:49 > 0:17:53and they'll come over, grab your hand and say, "I didn't think it'd work
0:17:53 > 0:17:56"but hats off to you, mate!" and they'll walk off.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59I love that sort of thing because people hate change
0:17:59 > 0:18:02and people don't believe that wonderful new things can happen,
0:18:02 > 0:18:04and that's what Eden is about.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08How important do you think the Eden Project's been for Cornwall?
0:18:08 > 0:18:12For this part of the world, it's been important in a literal sense,
0:18:12 > 0:18:18that we've created nearly £1 billion of new wealth for Cornwall,
0:18:18 > 0:18:22double all the budgets that have come to Cornwall over the same period.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26Lots of companies have set up down here not directly because of us
0:18:26 > 0:18:29but because grand Cornwall was repositioned by having
0:18:29 > 0:18:31a modern, sparkling building,
0:18:31 > 0:18:34which reinvented the way that people looked at it,
0:18:34 > 0:18:38so those people who thought only bad things could happen down here
0:18:38 > 0:18:41started to say, "Hang on. You can have luck down here and do stuff."
0:18:41 > 0:18:45Then, "You've got ocean views. The quality of life is fabulous!"
0:18:45 > 0:18:47Things like that must put a smile on your face.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51I know we say we're the world's first rock'n'roll scientific foundation,
0:18:51 > 0:18:53but I'd be happy with that epitaph.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56While the Eden Project reflects the diversity of plant life
0:18:56 > 0:18:59from all over the planet, just 30 miles down the road,
0:18:59 > 0:19:01I'm joining the South West Coast Path,
0:19:01 > 0:19:03which offers a wealth of wildlife all of its own.
0:19:03 > 0:19:09At 613 miles, the South West Coast Path is England's longest.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11It was originally put in by the coastguard,
0:19:11 > 0:19:14as a way of keeping an eye on the smugglers
0:19:14 > 0:19:18who frequented the many inlets and coves along this rugged coastline.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20Today, it's enjoyed by thousands of people
0:19:20 > 0:19:23who come here to take in the rich flora and fauna.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28Walkers here encounter many different habitats
0:19:28 > 0:19:30as the path passes sand dunes, shingle ridges,
0:19:30 > 0:19:34estuaries, salt marsh and rocky shores.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37As well as wildflowers, like this thrift and sea campion,
0:19:37 > 0:19:39there's an abundance of seabirds.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43Now, I'm no Bill Oddie - I haven't got the beard or the knowledge -
0:19:43 > 0:19:45which is why I've got my bird-spotter's book,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48but if you're lucky, you could see Cornwall's national bird -
0:19:48 > 0:19:50the chough.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53It was thought to be extinct until 2001
0:19:53 > 0:19:57when they returned here. Farmers, landowners and conservationists
0:19:57 > 0:20:00are working together to create suitable areas
0:20:00 > 0:20:02for choughs to survive,
0:20:02 > 0:20:04and apparently, coastal path walkers like myself
0:20:04 > 0:20:08are helping, by keeping the grass short with their boots.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12Anyone keen on wildlife will find something to delight on this coast.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14But out at sea is a whole other world
0:20:14 > 0:20:18where Adam Henson went in search of Britain's biggest fish.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24I'm about half a mile off the coast of Falmouth in Cornwall,
0:20:24 > 0:20:26and I'm here with scientists
0:20:26 > 0:20:28and volunteers from the Wildlife Trust
0:20:28 > 0:20:31who are surveying the basking shark population here.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34Weather conditions are favourable for spotting them
0:20:34 > 0:20:38as the seas are calm and warm, and they should be close to the surface.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41I've never seen one before... so wish us luck.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44Basking sharks are regular visitors to our shores.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47They can grow to be more than 10 metres long, but are harmless,
0:20:47 > 0:20:49as they only feed on plankton.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52The sharks tend to congregate here
0:20:52 > 0:20:55because it's an area of high productivity.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57There's a lot of plankton in this area
0:20:57 > 0:21:00and it's up at the surface on many occasions,
0:21:00 > 0:21:02therefore it's a very reliable area for seeing sharks.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05Basking sharks are called basking
0:21:05 > 0:21:08because people think they're lying around in the sunshine,
0:21:08 > 0:21:11- but they're not. They're filter feeding.- Absolutely.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15That doesn't mean that they don't feed when they're under the surface.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19It means that the plankton tends to be up at the surface at that time.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22They have a huge gape, and the water passes through their mouth,
0:21:22 > 0:21:26and they have gill arches that go almost around the body,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29and inside those arches, they have feathery gill rakers,
0:21:29 > 0:21:32and as the water passes through there,
0:21:32 > 0:21:34those act as a sieve and strain out the plankton.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37And how many have you seen around the waters this year?
0:21:37 > 0:21:41I think we've had something like 14 so far.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45This shark was filmed by Colin's crew only yesterday.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48The white markings around its mouth
0:21:48 > 0:21:50suggest it may have been born this year,
0:21:50 > 0:21:52but it's still more than 3 metres long.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01Despite the hard work of conservation groups
0:22:01 > 0:22:04who are studying the movements of the basking sharks,
0:22:04 > 0:22:07little is known about their travels away from our shores.
0:22:07 > 0:22:08Before we set sail, I met David Simms
0:22:08 > 0:22:12who is working on a project where they are tagging the sharks
0:22:12 > 0:22:15and using satellite tracking to discover where they do go.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17They go off on tremendous journeys.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20We've had a shark that we tagged off Plymouth...
0:22:20 > 0:22:21it went out to the shelf edge,
0:22:21 > 0:22:25where the continental shelf slopes away into very deep water,
0:22:25 > 0:22:26about 4,000 metres,
0:22:26 > 0:22:29and it tracked the shelf edge around the west of Ireland,
0:22:29 > 0:22:32and two months later, was feeding quite happily
0:22:32 > 0:22:34off the Outer Hebrides.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38We record the depth to which the shark goes, and water temperature.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42We were able to show that, during winter, they're very active
0:22:42 > 0:22:44and they're not hiding on the sea bottom,
0:22:44 > 0:22:46but they're actually quite close to the coast.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49- Can you tell me how the tagging works?- The tags are small.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53They're quite light, so they're reasonably easy to attach.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56But what we have here in this tag is a mini-computer
0:22:56 > 0:23:01attached to some buoyancy with, essentially, a radio transmitter.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06The computer logs information - the depth of the fish,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09the swimming depth, the temperature of the water
0:23:09 > 0:23:11and the light intensity at that depth.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16The sharks don't seem bothered by the tags,
0:23:16 > 0:23:19and after several months of storing then sending back information,
0:23:19 > 0:23:22the shark and the tag automatically separate.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24When the basking sharks are spotted,
0:23:24 > 0:23:27they write down some information about them
0:23:27 > 0:23:29and try and get some photographic evidence.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31Colin, what's going on down here?
0:23:31 > 0:23:34Basically, I'm looking at our database of images.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38This is the European Basking Shark Photo-identification Project database
0:23:38 > 0:23:40and it has over 300 sharks on it,
0:23:40 > 0:23:44sighted anywhere between the coast of France and the Outer Hebrides.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46Why is it important to gather this information?
0:23:46 > 0:23:49It can help, cos it can tell us, when we see an animal,
0:23:49 > 0:23:53how far it may have travelled, if it's returning to the same site,
0:23:53 > 0:23:56and it tends to tell us in a simplified way
0:23:56 > 0:24:01whether these animals are our animals, around the UK, for example, and so far, so good.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14We've gone as far as Black Head,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17and now we're sweeping back down closer to the shore,
0:24:17 > 0:24:19still looking for basking sharks.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23They're a fish so they don't need to come to the surface to breathe,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26like a whale or a dolphin, so if they want to be under the sea,
0:24:26 > 0:24:29they'll stay down there and are difficult to find.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33So, despite ideal conditions for us to observe
0:24:33 > 0:24:36their amazing dorsal fins and sweeping tails near the surface,
0:24:36 > 0:24:42they have stayed below and I've still yet to spot my first basking shark.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46Adam may have failed to spot one,
0:24:46 > 0:24:47but if you're keen to try your luck,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50basking sharks can appear around the British coast
0:24:50 > 0:24:53any time from May right through to November,
0:24:53 > 0:24:56and the South West Coast Path is one of the best places to look.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01You might not be lucky enough to see a basking shark,
0:25:01 > 0:25:05but if geology's your thing, the coastal path won't disappoint.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07That's because the rocks around here on the Lizard
0:25:07 > 0:25:10are totally different to anywhere else in Cornwall.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14Last year, John Craven came to meet one of the last local artists
0:25:14 > 0:25:16still working with serpentine.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20The towering cliffs and rock formations
0:25:20 > 0:25:24are the visual highlights of the Lizard Peninsula here in Cornwall.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26And these were moulded
0:25:26 > 0:25:29from a rare and beautiful stone called serpentine.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33It's found in very few parts of the country,
0:25:33 > 0:25:36and only in any great quantity right here.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39It was once in such demand, so fashionable,
0:25:39 > 0:25:43that an entire trade grew up around the stone.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Just what kind of rock is serpentine?
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Well, serpentine, or serpentenite it should be called,
0:25:49 > 0:25:53but it has adopted serpentine, is a lot of what we are standing on here.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55This is a piece of serpentine.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59It's called serpentine because it's like the skin of a reptile, reptilian skin.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02But it originated about 10 kilometres down.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04It's part of the Earth's mantle.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07So how did it get up here onto the Earth's surface?
0:26:07 > 0:26:11Well, about 375 million years ago, give or take a few million years,
0:26:11 > 0:26:13if I can demonstrate with one of
0:26:13 > 0:26:18my children's toys and its rather gross squidgy head...
0:26:18 > 0:26:21If you imagine that as the Earth, and all the plate tectonics
0:26:21 > 0:26:28going on and the whole world being formed, and there was this rather large eruption
0:26:28 > 0:26:33of the Earth's mantle emerging out of the crust of the Earth.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36Over the next few hundred million years, this lump of rock
0:26:36 > 0:26:40migrated northwards, all the other continents moving around,
0:26:40 > 0:26:44and eventually it moved onto the bottom of Britain, and formed the Lizard.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46So when did it become fashionable?
0:26:46 > 0:26:50The story goes, Queen Victoria ordered serpentine from Penzance,
0:26:50 > 0:26:55and stopped to order a serpentine table for her place in Osborne House.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58If royalty had something, everybody wanted a bit of it.
0:26:58 > 0:27:03Here on Poltesco beach, a serpentine industry was born.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07A factory built of serpentine thrived for several decades
0:27:07 > 0:27:12and decorated the drawing rooms of Victorian Britain.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15So this was the serpentine factory?
0:27:15 > 0:27:18Yeah. This is really all that's left remaining of it,
0:27:18 > 0:27:20which is the old warehouse for the factory.
0:27:20 > 0:27:25The stone was quarried on different quarries around the Lizard
0:27:25 > 0:27:28and brought here, presumably by cart horse, and then there was
0:27:28 > 0:27:32a big gantry that used to bring the blocks over to the factory here
0:27:32 > 0:27:35where they would cut it, turn it into table legs, pillars,
0:27:35 > 0:27:38candlesticks, right down to little cufflinks.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41- So why did it all end? - Well, I think the story goes,
0:27:41 > 0:27:45it was the discovery of Italian and Spanish cheap marble.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48And people really didn't want serpentine any more.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50It went out of fashion. Out of vogue.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54There may still be an awful lot of serpentine around,
0:27:54 > 0:27:57but the craftsmen who work it are a dying breed.
0:27:57 > 0:28:02There's a handful of them left on the Lizard, turning the stone in the traditional way.
0:28:04 > 0:28:10Ian Casley is one of them, crafting and selling it from his shop on Lizard Point.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14- Hello, Ian.- Hello, John. - What are you making here, then?
0:28:14 > 0:28:16This is going to be a door stop.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19Is it an easy stone to work?
0:28:19 > 0:28:23Relatively so. It's fairly silky in texture.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Although it's not too hard, it's not too soft, so a happy medium.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29- So it does lend itself quite well. - And in years gone by,
0:28:29 > 0:28:33- would there have been lots of people here turning serpentine?- Yes.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37Back in the '50s was about the peak of the industry. Probably about 50 people then.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40- And how many now? - Only five of us now.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42- Really?- That's right. - And why's that?
0:28:42 > 0:28:46It's dropped so much because the stone has become so scarce now.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48It's very, very rare indeed.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51We just cannot find enough to keep going, unfortunately.
0:28:51 > 0:28:56- Just wandering along the beach, there is serpentine everywhere, isn't there?- That's right, yes.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58The cliffs are predominantly serpentine,
0:28:58 > 0:29:01for three or four miles either side of us here,
0:29:01 > 0:29:05but the quality you've got to have to be able to work it, it has to be so high.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09All the cliffs are probably very heavily flawed, it's very unattractive, really.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12It doesn't look anything like the stones you see here.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15- So it's not the right kind of serpentine?- No!
0:29:15 > 0:29:18- Not for you, anyway.- No, that's right. It has to be the right stuff.
0:29:18 > 0:29:23Ian has got an array of serpentine souvenirs on display, all his own work,
0:29:23 > 0:29:27and all highly polished in gleaming greens, reds and greys.
0:29:27 > 0:29:31Lighthouses seem to be a very popular line in serpentine.
0:29:31 > 0:29:35Yes, they are. They've been made ever since the beginning of the industry.
0:29:35 > 0:29:40So what's going to happen when the supplies start to run out?
0:29:40 > 0:29:42That will be the end of it, basically.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46We will start diversifying into smaller things, such as jewellery
0:29:46 > 0:29:50and things like that, but that is really all we'll be left with.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54The bigger items will be disappearing from the shops.
0:29:54 > 0:29:59And what was once a thriving Cornish industry could soon be part of Cornish history.
0:30:15 > 0:30:20So far, my journey's taken me by sea from Looe Harbour to Fowey,
0:30:20 > 0:30:23and I've walked a section of the spectacular South West Coast Path,
0:30:23 > 0:30:26but now I've come to a nearby disused mineral quarry
0:30:26 > 0:30:28that has found a new lease of life
0:30:28 > 0:30:31as a sea salt extraction plant.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35There was a time when salt was extracted
0:30:35 > 0:30:39from Cornwall's crystal-clear waters as a basic necessity,
0:30:39 > 0:30:43a means of preserving meat and fish through the long winter months.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45Today, it's become a premium product,
0:30:45 > 0:30:48sold in the top shops and used by the finest chefs.
0:30:48 > 0:30:52And this is one of only three places in the whole country
0:30:52 > 0:30:53that still produces it.
0:30:53 > 0:30:58The business is breathing new life into this disused quarry,
0:30:58 > 0:31:00and it's the brainchild of Tony Fraser.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10So, Tony, how on earth did you end up here producing sea salt?
0:31:10 > 0:31:13A long story but I'll try and keep it short.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16I was a tropical forester in the Solomon Islands
0:31:16 > 0:31:18and I had a young family out there,
0:31:18 > 0:31:22decided to come back to Britain,
0:31:22 > 0:31:24and I have great love of natural local history
0:31:24 > 0:31:28and found out there was an Iron Age salt works about two miles from here,
0:31:28 > 0:31:34so 2,000 years ago, they were boiling seawater to make sea salt, and I thought, "Why not?"
0:31:34 > 0:31:40Can you just distinguish for me the difference between salt that you get on a table, for example,
0:31:40 > 0:31:43and the sort of salt you produce here?
0:31:43 > 0:31:45This is a real artisan business.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49What we're doing here is using age-old techniques
0:31:49 > 0:31:52mixed with energy-efficient technology
0:31:52 > 0:31:54to produce a really tasty salt.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57Table salt is an industrial process
0:31:57 > 0:31:58so it's very large scale,
0:31:58 > 0:32:02and what they end up with is something that's 99.8% sodium chloride.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05It doesn't have any of the natural trace elements.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08Tony believes that the purity of the salt
0:32:08 > 0:32:10is down to the clean grade-A water
0:32:10 > 0:32:14that he pumps from the sea right outside the factory.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17So, what goes on here? Is this the first stage?
0:32:17 > 0:32:20This is the first stage of crystallisation, Ben.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24What we've got here is concentrated brine coming in at 25%.
0:32:24 > 0:32:29- OK.- It's coming in at about 112 degrees.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31What we see is the magic starting to happen.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35The crystals are forming on the surface, they get heavier and heavier
0:32:35 > 0:32:37and then gradually drift, like snow, to the bottom.
0:32:37 > 0:32:41- If you stare, you can almost see them forming on the top.- Exactly.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44Spreading and growing, as mats of crystals.
0:32:44 > 0:32:49- Once you've got the beginnings of the crystals, what happens next? - We go to the next tank
0:32:49 > 0:32:52- and you can see that stage of the process.- OK.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55So this is the salt now in its finished form.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57We now draw this tank
0:32:57 > 0:33:01in a way that the Iron Age people would have recognised -
0:33:01 > 0:33:05basically hand-harvesting from here - and we take it over for drying.
0:33:05 > 0:33:07So how much salt is in here?
0:33:07 > 0:33:09- Have a lift there.- Wow.
0:33:09 > 0:33:15This is our patented chip-fryer pan. These are the finished crystals.
0:33:15 > 0:33:19- That's amazing. There's quite a weight.- There's 200kg in this tank.
0:33:19 > 0:33:23The next stage is to dry the salt crystals under heat lamps.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27In warmer, dryer climates, this process would be done by the heat of the sun.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31And then the salt is sent through for grading and packing.
0:33:31 > 0:33:35- So this is, essentially, almost the finished product?- Exactly.
0:33:35 > 0:33:39Yes. I don't know whether you would like to try a little bit...
0:33:39 > 0:33:41I will. I wouldn't say no. Is that too much?
0:33:41 > 0:33:43No, I think that's all right.
0:33:44 > 0:33:49- Mmm.- Quite a salty hit on the tongue.- That's what I was going to say - salty!
0:33:49 > 0:33:51But very nice. I'm a huge fan of sea salt.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55It's great to see new industry developing in this area
0:33:55 > 0:34:00using simple, local resources, and inspired by ancient techniques.
0:34:02 > 0:34:06From here, the salt is distributed to shops all over the country,
0:34:06 > 0:34:10and Tony's kindly offered me a lift on the next leg of my journey.
0:34:11 > 0:34:16I'm travelling 25 miles further west from Porthkerris to Penzance.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21En route to Penzance, we pass St Michael's Mount,
0:34:21 > 0:34:24reminding me of my visit to this fascinating rocky island
0:34:24 > 0:34:28while on my sailing trip on board the Deu Kerens.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34- So the next place I was hoping to visit is St Michael's Mount.- Ah.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37Well, unfortunately, by the time we get there, Ben,
0:34:37 > 0:34:39there won't be any tide for the boat
0:34:39 > 0:34:45- so you'll have to find another way of getting there.- It doesn't mean I have to swim over there, does it?
0:34:45 > 0:34:46Or paddle, perhaps?
0:34:48 > 0:34:53Thankfully, as it happened, there was no need to resort to such desperate measures.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57Because at low tide, St Michael's Mount is linked to the mainland by a causeway.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01Everything about this place is steeped in myth and legend,
0:35:01 > 0:35:04including the way it got its name.
0:35:04 > 0:35:10In 495, fisherman were drowning off the island,
0:35:10 > 0:35:15and St Michael appeared on the rock, and they were saved.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17But the extraordinary thing is
0:35:17 > 0:35:21that St Michael appeared sitting down, not standing up.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23So it's known as St Michael's Chair.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25In the Middle Ages all the pilgrims who came here
0:35:25 > 0:35:28had to sit on the rock where St Michael appeared.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31But later on the monks thought that was too easy for the pilgrims
0:35:31 > 0:35:34and they made them climb to the very top of the tower
0:35:34 > 0:35:37and sit on a chair overlooking a precipice down to the sea,
0:35:37 > 0:35:40- so that was far more difficult for them.- Is that still done?
0:35:40 > 0:35:43No, but if a young couple get married,
0:35:43 > 0:35:48there's a very old legend that if the bride and bridegroom rush up to the top of the tower,
0:35:48 > 0:35:51the one who sits on the chair first rules the household.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55I'd been here about 20 years before I married my wife, so that's all right.
0:35:55 > 0:36:00This fairytale castle sits 200 feet above the sea
0:36:00 > 0:36:03and dominates this granite mound on which it's built.
0:36:03 > 0:36:07It boasts some simply spectacular views,
0:36:07 > 0:36:11but thankfully, you don't have to be a lord or lady to be part of it.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14I'm the harbour master here, and together with
0:36:14 > 0:36:17ten other families we run and maintain the island.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20- Which house is yours? - My house is over on the left.- Right.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22Just as you come on to the island there.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25We've got four houses along the front where people live
0:36:25 > 0:36:27and there's a row of cottages at the back.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31What's it like in the height of winter with big storms and stuff?
0:36:31 > 0:36:33Er, restricted, to say the least!
0:36:33 > 0:36:36Er, we can prepare for those sort of things -
0:36:36 > 0:36:41any boats in the harbour at the time we have to pull up and get into the boat yard,
0:36:41 > 0:36:44we put storm boards down in front of the houses,
0:36:44 > 0:36:47boards in front of the windows to stop them being stoved in by the sea,
0:36:47 > 0:36:51and sandbags, and then cross fingers and hope for the best.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53And you really do live by the tides and the climate
0:36:53 > 0:36:56- and the weather... - Absolutely, yes, all the time.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58I often call the tide my mother.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00She tells me when I come home, and when I can go out.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03So this is the way in, at low tide, now.
0:37:03 > 0:37:05Yeah, this is the causeway.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08This is where we can walk in at low tide.
0:37:08 > 0:37:10That gets covered once the tide comes in.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14Around about 12, 13, 14 feet of water above the causeway.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17And we've got various landings on the other side for boats,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20so we can drop people off and have access to the mainland, really.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23- What's the best thing about living here?- Oh...
0:37:23 > 0:37:26Peace, solitude, it's unique.
0:37:26 > 0:37:30There's no hustle and bustle, no traffic, no motorways - no pressure.
0:37:41 > 0:37:45For the next leg I'm travelling across the Cornish peninsula
0:37:45 > 0:37:47from Penzance to St Ives.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53This part of the country is rich in history and tradition.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56It even has an ancient Gaelic language all of its own.
0:37:56 > 0:38:00And I've got a treat in store - a ride on an open-topped bus
0:38:00 > 0:38:02with Cornish speaker Mick Paynter.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06- Hi there, I'm Ben.- Hiya.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08Myttin da, Mick ov vey.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12You've lost me already. Presumably that's Cornish - what does it mean?
0:38:12 > 0:38:14It's just good morning to you, and I'm Mick.
0:38:14 > 0:38:18So you're one of the few Cornish speakers here, is that right?
0:38:18 > 0:38:20I'd say there are more than a few now.
0:38:20 > 0:38:24I think there's something in the order of 3,000 or 4,000 people
0:38:24 > 0:38:27that can use Cornish in simple conversations,
0:38:27 > 0:38:32and 1,000 now that are reckoned to be fluent in the language.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36- So how old is the language? - It goes back a long way.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40A really long way. For example, St Michael's Mount over there,
0:38:40 > 0:38:44the traditional Cornish name for it a couple of hundred years ago
0:38:44 > 0:38:47- would have been Carrack Looz en Cooz. - What does that mean?
0:38:47 > 0:38:51"The grey rock in the wood". If you look at the bay,
0:38:51 > 0:38:53you'll see the sort of...
0:38:53 > 0:38:56There hasn't been a wood there, there wasn't even a wood there
0:38:56 > 0:39:01when that name was first used in that form.
0:39:01 > 0:39:08So really, I suppose the language started to take its current shape
0:39:08 > 0:39:13around the fifth century, the same time as Welsh, and indeed English.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16Is it fair to say it's a dying language here?
0:39:16 > 0:39:21No, it's the opposite. It's a growing language.
0:39:21 > 0:39:25It's a second language at the moment,
0:39:25 > 0:39:29although there have been some families for a couple of generations now
0:39:29 > 0:39:32who bring their children up using Cornish.
0:39:32 > 0:39:36- It's on the up-and-up. - So it's alive and kicking.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40It's alive and kicking, and it's going to be kicking for a lot longer.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43Can you teach me a simple phrase? I'm on my way to St Ives
0:39:43 > 0:39:46and I'm going to have to order lunch, for example.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50How about, could you teach me how I could say
0:39:50 > 0:39:53"Please could I have a Cornish pasty?"
0:39:53 > 0:39:56- Aluf vay...- Aluf vay...
0:39:56 > 0:39:58- Cafos...- Cafos...
0:39:58 > 0:40:01- Pasti boen.- Pasti boen.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04- Mar pleg.- Mar bage. - Mar pleg.- Mar pleg.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06OK, so one more time.
0:40:06 > 0:40:08- Mar pleg...- Mar pleg...
0:40:08 > 0:40:10- Aluf y...- Aluf y...
0:40:10 > 0:40:11- Cafos...- Cafos...
0:40:11 > 0:40:14- Pasti...- Pasti...- Boen.- Boen.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18OK, I will practise that on the journey. Mick, thank you very much.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22Nearing the end of my journey, I've arrived in St Ives,
0:40:22 > 0:40:25and a welcome stop for a bite to eat.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29Well, I think it's about time I tried out my newly learned Cornish.
0:40:29 > 0:40:31- Hello!- Hi there!
0:40:31 > 0:40:37Mal pleg aluf y...cafos pasti boen.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39You want a small pasty?
0:40:39 > 0:40:43- You understand?!- Not really, no! I just heard the word pasty.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45You heard...
0:40:47 > 0:40:51- There you go. That's £2, then. - Thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54- Thank you.- Thank you. Bye!
0:40:55 > 0:40:59The livelihood of St Ives has always been connected to the sea.
0:40:59 > 0:41:04Originally a fishing village, it's now a popular holiday destination.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07And the sea may also hold future benefits too.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10A pioneering yet controversial wave energy project
0:41:10 > 0:41:14could provide clean energy for up to 7,500 homes.
0:41:14 > 0:41:18Miriam O'Reilly investigated back in 2006.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26The power of the sea -
0:41:26 > 0:41:32the north Cornwall coast is the UK's capital when it comes to surfing.
0:41:32 > 0:41:33In Newquay, this event alone
0:41:33 > 0:41:39will bring in 140,000 people to the area in just one week.
0:41:41 > 0:41:47If I'm to join the surfing crowd, there are a few things I need to get started. First, a surfboard.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54The second thing I need - a wet suit.
0:41:58 > 0:42:00A quick surfing lesson.
0:42:02 > 0:42:03And a good wave.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06And that's the potential problem.
0:42:06 > 0:42:10Surfers here fear a revolutionary new wave-power experiment
0:42:10 > 0:42:12is going to sap their tide.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20Costing around £20 million, the Wave Hub
0:42:20 > 0:42:25is essentially an electric socket secured ten miles from the shore on the seabed.
0:42:25 > 0:42:30Three devices for harnessing wave power will be plugged in to it.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33The motion of the free-floating Power Buoy creates the energy.
0:42:33 > 0:42:38Pelamis, or Sea Snake - power is created from its moving joints.
0:42:38 > 0:42:44And SEEWEC is a platform that extracts energy from the waves to drive a turbine.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47The wave farm will be two kilometres wide.
0:42:47 > 0:42:52Some fear, with these devices taking energy from the sea, what will be left for surfers?
0:42:52 > 0:42:58As a physicist and also as a surfer, I know that the engineering task
0:42:58 > 0:43:03will be to abstract as much energy as possible from the ocean.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05It has to do this to be successful.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09If you absorb 20 megawatts or 40 megawatts or whatever,
0:43:09 > 0:43:13the surf will be badly affected. The calculations done by Halcrow,
0:43:13 > 0:43:16who did the feasibility study, show that,
0:43:16 > 0:43:20at the coast, the surf could be reduced by between 5% and 13%.
0:43:20 > 0:43:25The north-west of Scotland is by far the better place to exploit the energy of the sea.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29It has a low population density and the energy is twice what it is here.
0:43:29 > 0:43:33The worst case scenario of a 13% reduction in wave height
0:43:33 > 0:43:37occurred during tests of a device that's no longer part of the Wave Hub experiment.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40Engineers believe the figure will be lower.
0:43:40 > 0:43:42The very worst case scenarios
0:43:42 > 0:43:47are not anywhere near 5% or 13% - we'd only be talking, maybe,
0:43:47 > 0:43:50perhaps 1% or 2% at the very worst,
0:43:50 > 0:43:52and that's in small wave conditions.
0:43:52 > 0:43:58Well, let's go out to sea and test the height and the power of those waves.
0:43:58 > 0:44:02We plan to go ten miles out, to the site of the proposed Wave Hub,
0:44:02 > 0:44:04but the weather has other ideas.
0:44:05 > 0:44:08This really is the power of the sea!
0:44:08 > 0:44:13We're only two miles out of Hayle and it's very rough - we're about to hit a big wave now.
0:44:13 > 0:44:14Whoops!
0:44:14 > 0:44:19- Dougie here would say the water's "a bit bumpy".- A little bit bumpy.
0:44:19 > 0:44:21I'd say it's a bit more than that!
0:44:21 > 0:44:28'Conditions at sea are just too dangerous. We decided it was too rough to go any further.'
0:44:29 > 0:44:31The wave energy collected by the Hub
0:44:31 > 0:44:35will be fed back to Hayle via an underground cable.
0:44:35 > 0:44:39The town needs regeneration. It's felt the Hub will create much-needed jobs.
0:44:39 > 0:44:43The wave farm will bring confidence. It will bring recognition.
0:44:43 > 0:44:49- Hayle is on the map. - Isn't there a danger, though, you could lose the surfers?
0:44:49 > 0:44:51One, we don't wanna put all our eggs in one basket.
0:44:51 > 0:44:55We don't want to discourage the surfers by any means
0:44:55 > 0:44:57but what we want to do is realise
0:44:57 > 0:45:01that across the board, there is more to be said for Hayle
0:45:01 > 0:45:02than just the surfers.
0:45:02 > 0:45:06Apart from the jobs, an important source of income for us,
0:45:06 > 0:45:08are the senior visitors,
0:45:08 > 0:45:10if you like, the silver surfers
0:45:10 > 0:45:12as well as the blond-haired ones.
0:45:12 > 0:45:14They are the ones with spending power,
0:45:14 > 0:45:19and those are the ones who are helping us to develop the economy here.
0:45:19 > 0:45:21That economy in the South West
0:45:21 > 0:45:25is boosted every year to the tune of £1 million
0:45:25 > 0:45:27by surfers and the sales of surfing equipment.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30So, will the Wave Hub put surfers off?
0:45:30 > 0:45:32Lots of people come here to learn surfing
0:45:32 > 0:45:35so they don't want to be out in the huge waves.
0:45:35 > 0:45:37They'd rather practise on little ones,
0:45:37 > 0:45:39and because it's green energy, it's fantastic.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42What is it? Between 5% and 13%, it's not a lot,
0:45:42 > 0:45:43and it's far enough out...
0:45:43 > 0:45:46I mean, it's gonna be good whether it's there or not.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49People are still gonna come here. They love the bay. It's great.
0:45:49 > 0:45:54Latest figures suggest we're currently getting 4.2%
0:45:54 > 0:45:56of our electricity from renewable sources
0:45:56 > 0:45:58which falls well short
0:45:58 > 0:46:00of the 10% Government target
0:46:00 > 0:46:01to be reached by 2010.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04Some say green energy must come first.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07We've got a chance to get energy, electricity,
0:46:07 > 0:46:11from a source that we get so much positive energy out of as surfers.
0:46:11 > 0:46:13It's a great idea.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16And I feel that...the studies have shown
0:46:16 > 0:46:19that any impact it will have on in-shore surf height
0:46:19 > 0:46:21is negligible and something we can live at
0:46:21 > 0:46:26- when looking at the climate change. - Surfers and the wave farm can live alongside each other happily?
0:46:26 > 0:46:29The wave farm will help reduce our carbon emissions as a country
0:46:29 > 0:46:32and that will help climate change,
0:46:32 > 0:46:35and what we'll see if we don't tackle climate change,
0:46:35 > 0:46:39then we'll have more pollution, because we'll get short, intense periods of heavy rain,
0:46:39 > 0:46:42and the sewers won't be able to cope with the rainfall.
0:46:42 > 0:46:45We'll get raw sewage coming out into the sea.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48Surfers, though, are split on the issue of the wave farm.
0:46:48 > 0:46:51Whilst some, like Surfers Against Sewage, welcome the plans,
0:46:51 > 0:46:54others, like the British Surfing Association,
0:46:54 > 0:46:57have concerns that go beyond the possible loss of height
0:46:57 > 0:47:00and power of the waves.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03It's going to have an impact on the movement on sediment
0:47:03 > 0:47:05and how beaches are formed.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08It will basically form a block,
0:47:08 > 0:47:12and therefore, further up the coast, there's going to be less movement of sediment,
0:47:12 > 0:47:15and therefore, beaches are going to be smaller than at the moment.
0:47:15 > 0:47:20Coastal processes, by and large, are driven mainly by storm conditions,
0:47:20 > 0:47:22and big wave conditions.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25In conditions like that, wave energy machines
0:47:25 > 0:47:29are extracting a very small amount of energy from the sea.
0:47:29 > 0:47:33It won't affect the amount of energy that's reaching the shore
0:47:33 > 0:47:35that's driving coastal processes.
0:47:35 > 0:47:38The proposed wave farm off the Cornish coast would generate
0:47:38 > 0:47:43enough electricity for around 7,500 homes.
0:47:43 > 0:47:48It doesn't sound a lot, but supporters of the wave farm say, "You have to start somewhere."
0:47:48 > 0:47:51I think it would be very sad if a great project
0:47:51 > 0:47:55like the Wave Hub was put on the back burner because of "what if"s.
0:47:56 > 0:48:02The surf is the only thing, let's say, that discriminates Cornwall from Clacton-on-Sea.
0:48:02 > 0:48:09There is no conflict of interest here between projects like Wave Hub and surfers themselves.
0:48:09 > 0:48:14If planning permission is granted, construction would start towards the end of next year.
0:48:14 > 0:48:19And the world's first Wave Hub could be operational as early as summer 2008.
0:48:21 > 0:48:26Since that report was made, the Wave Hub has been given the go-ahead,
0:48:26 > 0:48:28and it's expected to be deployed in 2011.
0:48:30 > 0:48:34'I'm cycling the very last leg of my journey to Land's End.
0:48:34 > 0:48:40'The start or end point of one of Britain's greatest adventures of all, the end-to-end walk.'
0:48:40 > 0:48:43The majority of end-to-enders begin in Land's End just down the road
0:48:43 > 0:48:47to take advantage of the prevailing winds on their way to John O'Groats.
0:48:47 > 0:48:51But I'm about to meet someone who's done it both ways.
0:48:54 > 0:48:58My journey today has taken me by sea from Looe Harbour to Fowey.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01I've walked a spectacular section of the South West Coast Path,
0:49:01 > 0:49:04learned some local lingo on board an open-top bus
0:49:04 > 0:49:09and cycled the last leg into Land's End.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11For long-distance walkers in Britain,
0:49:11 > 0:49:14perhaps the ultimate challenge is to walk the entire length
0:49:14 > 0:49:17of the country between Land's End and John O'Groats.
0:49:17 > 0:49:21There's no set route and no continuous long-distance path,
0:49:21 > 0:49:24so the journey can be done in either direction.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27The first recorded end-to-end walk was in 1871,
0:49:27 > 0:49:31but the walk's popularity was dramatically increased in the 1960s
0:49:31 > 0:49:34after a well-publicised road walk
0:49:34 > 0:49:36by vegetarian Doctor Barbara Moore.
0:49:37 > 0:49:40Today, I've met up with recent end-to-ender, Carol Pollack,
0:49:40 > 0:49:43who completed the walk not once but twice.
0:49:44 > 0:49:50- So, Carol, you've done the John O'Groats, Land's End, Land's End, John O'Groats twice, right?- Yes.
0:49:50 > 0:49:51- Why?- Why?
0:49:51 > 0:49:55Well, I started at Land's End in 2007 to John O'Groats,
0:49:55 > 0:49:59and when people think you're going to be elated when you get there, actually you feel quite flat,
0:49:59 > 0:50:02and deflated, and you want to turn round and walk back.
0:50:02 > 0:50:06So, I thought, "I'm going to do it." I just needed to find a way and a reason why.
0:50:06 > 0:50:08The next year, I did.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11So, why do you finish feeling like that?
0:50:11 > 0:50:15I've no idea, but it's common. Other people have said the same thing.
0:50:15 > 0:50:17I think it's because you don't want the journey to end.
0:50:17 > 0:50:21It's been such an epic journey that you want to keep going.
0:50:21 > 0:50:23I think the walking in itself is addictive.
0:50:23 > 0:50:27So, the first time, you walked from here, from Land's End...
0:50:27 > 0:50:30- How long did that take you? - Just over three months.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33And you probably know yourself, the more you do,
0:50:33 > 0:50:34the fitter you get,
0:50:34 > 0:50:37so I was leaping up the Pennine Way like a mountain goat,
0:50:37 > 0:50:40by the time I got up there, which was pretty good.
0:50:40 > 0:50:44- And a fantastic way to see our great country.- Oh, yes.
0:50:44 > 0:50:46It just makes you want to see it all.
0:50:46 > 0:50:50That's another reason why I did it again, just to see different places.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53And you do get a perspective of how great the country is,
0:50:53 > 0:50:56and how scenery changes. For such a small island,
0:50:56 > 0:50:59how you can... One particular moment in the first year,
0:50:59 > 0:51:03when you come through Staffordshire, you come through flat fields
0:51:03 > 0:51:05and farmland and hedges,
0:51:05 > 0:51:07and then all of a sudden, you come over a hill,
0:51:07 > 0:51:12- and there's the Peak District. - Do you encourage other people to do the end-to-end?
0:51:12 > 0:51:16I'd encourage anybody to do it. If I can do it, a non-walker, anybody can.
0:51:18 > 0:51:20Throughout the series, Country Tracks will be visiting
0:51:20 > 0:51:23many of the places Carol passed through on her walk.
0:51:23 > 0:51:25From the magnificent wilderness of the Highlands
0:51:25 > 0:51:28to the beauty of the Yorkshire Dales,
0:51:28 > 0:51:30the green pastures of central England,
0:51:30 > 0:51:32to the chalky hills of the South.
0:51:32 > 0:51:34And we won't be stopping there.
0:51:34 > 0:51:36We'll also be setting our sights further afield,
0:51:36 > 0:51:40exploring landscape and stories across rural Britain.
0:51:40 > 0:51:44But for end-to-end walkers taking the north to south route,
0:51:44 > 0:51:47there's no finer sight than Land's End.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50During my journey across Cornwall,
0:51:50 > 0:51:54I've met people whose lives have been shaped by the weather
0:51:54 > 0:51:56and the environment of this beautiful landscape.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58My trip began in Looe Harbour
0:51:58 > 0:52:00and this is where it ends.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02At Land's End,
0:52:02 > 0:52:05the most south-westerly point in England.
0:52:05 > 0:52:07Here, the cliffs fall away
0:52:07 > 0:52:12and there's 3,000 miles of blue water all the way to America.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:52:27 > 0:52:30E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk