0:00:03 > 0:00:07Let's have a look where we are. There's the abbey.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11We are heading straight for the abbey.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14- That sounded a bit funny, didn't it?- No.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17'I'm Timothy Spall.'
0:00:19 > 0:00:21Don't like that.
0:00:21 > 0:00:22'My wife and I, Shane,
0:00:22 > 0:00:27'left London six years ago on a journey around Britain.
0:00:27 > 0:00:32'So far, we've navigated almost 1,800 miles.'
0:00:34 > 0:00:36That's not a nice noise.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41'But now, I'm worried we won't get much further.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46'We've got trouble. Engine trouble.'
0:00:46 > 0:00:48- I don't like that noise.- It's fine.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50I've heard that before... It's not fine.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52'Whitby is in sight.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56'With a nervous disposition, and a dodgy engine,
0:00:56 > 0:01:00'we might as well be on the other side of the world.'
0:01:00 > 0:01:04- Are we about four miles away? - Just don't worry about it.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07I'm not worrying, I'm just asking you.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09'Please don't fail us now, Matilda.'
0:01:15 > 0:01:17# Somewhere at sea. #
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Well, we've limped into Whitby.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34Could this be where our journey ends this year?
0:01:34 > 0:01:37Well done.
0:01:37 > 0:01:38Thank you.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41That was a bit of an event, that.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44We are over three quarters of the way
0:01:44 > 0:01:46around our great adventure.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48Our plan is to be home in London
0:01:48 > 0:01:50before the end of autumn,
0:01:50 > 0:01:54but we won't be going anywhere until I get Matilda sorted out.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59That's three times that's happened now.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04I don't like it.
0:02:04 > 0:02:05HE MIMICS ENGINE
0:02:06 > 0:02:09An engineer will probably tell you what that is.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12I've talked to a couple of people
0:02:12 > 0:02:14and they reckon it might be, er,
0:02:14 > 0:02:17something to do with the gearbox.
0:02:19 > 0:02:24If it is gearbox, it's about lifting out of the boat, taking it out,
0:02:24 > 0:02:26I don't know.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28Oh, don't let it be that.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Still, there are worse places to be stranded.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39Whitby is on the east coast of Yorkshire,
0:02:39 > 0:02:41at the mouth of the River Esk.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44In the Seventh Century,
0:02:44 > 0:02:45Whitby Abbey was home to Cadman,
0:02:45 > 0:02:47the earliest known English poet.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51My fellow explorer and navigator,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54Captain Cook, learned to sail here.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57And as a big fan of Gothic novels, I couldn't be better off.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02Much of Bram Stoker's Dracula takes place in Whitby.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08But before we do any sightseeing, Matilda needs a doctor.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14The source of Mr Spall's trouble.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17- Very, very dirty fuel.- Is it?
0:03:17 > 0:03:19This is Nick Thwaite,
0:03:19 > 0:03:23a marine engineer, who has travelled down from Newcastle
0:03:23 > 0:03:26to find out what's going wrong.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29What's the prognosis?
0:03:29 > 0:03:31Change fuel filters regularly
0:03:31 > 0:03:33is about the most convenient way of doing it,
0:03:33 > 0:03:36- even though it means going down into the engine room.- Yes.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39- Because having the tanks cleaned is an expensive business.- OK.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42So you've got to teach sir how to change a filter, I think.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44I do, yes.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50I wish I was good at this stuff.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56This thing has to be positioned in exactly the right spot.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58Push that upwards,
0:03:58 > 0:04:00that filter, just give it a little twist
0:04:00 > 0:04:02and then a push up at the same time.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06We've had Matilda for seven years
0:04:06 > 0:04:09and this is the first filter I've ever changed.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14I think that's it.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18Now, I'll just check the pressure.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20Out it comes, straight out.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23Oops, straight down my armpit!
0:04:25 > 0:04:26I think we'll now...
0:04:26 > 0:04:29- Try and start her?- Yeah.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31We'll pray.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35HE STARTS ENGINE < Hurray!
0:04:35 > 0:04:38It's actually started better than it has ever before.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41Because it usually does a bit of "gulp, gulp" and then starts.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45That would've been that, wouldn't it?
0:04:45 > 0:04:49I always like it when the engine starts.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52Matilda is all set for our next voyage.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54We can relax now and enjoy Whitby.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59I've got a bit of a penchant for Gothic novels
0:04:59 > 0:05:02and I'm also the proud owner
0:05:02 > 0:05:05of one of Bram Stoker's walking canes.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08"To Bram Stoker Esquire
0:05:08 > 0:05:12"from the crew of the USS Chicago,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15"1894."
0:05:17 > 0:05:22Bram Stoker's cane was given to me by an old friend of mine,
0:05:22 > 0:05:26Daniel Farson, his great-nephew.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29It's the perfect accessory for a jaunt to the hotel
0:05:29 > 0:05:32where he stayed in the 1890s.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36Well, here we are in the Royal. The Royal.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Here is a picture of Bram Stoker.
0:05:39 > 0:05:40Let me put my glasses on.
0:05:40 > 0:05:45"This portrait was presented to the management of the Royal Hotel on the
0:05:45 > 0:05:48"occasion of the Dracula Society's visit to Whitby, as it was in Whitby
0:05:48 > 0:05:51"that the vampire Count Dracula came ashore,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53"in the shape of an immense dog.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57"Whitby can truly be named Dracula country."
0:05:57 > 0:05:59And there is his cane,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02I'll put it in the position like he's holding it.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Well, that's probably about how tall he was, actually.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07How tall does that make me?
0:06:07 > 0:06:10- Five foot four?- Yeah.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13There's another huge figure commemorated in Whitby.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18A great explorer and historic navigator,
0:06:18 > 0:06:21whose endeavours I am in awe of.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25And there's the man himself, Captain Cook.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28This gives you a little bit of gen on him.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30He was born not far from here,
0:06:30 > 0:06:35just outside, er, a little village just outside Middlesbrough called Marton,
0:06:35 > 0:06:38then they moved to Staithes.
0:06:38 > 0:06:39He was the son of a local woman
0:06:39 > 0:06:43and a Scottish farm labourer who became a farm manager.
0:06:43 > 0:06:48The farm owner paid for him to go to school for five years.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51Then he ended up apprenticed to a grocer in Staithes,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54which is a small town up there.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Then he came here and took to the sea.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02It would be ridiculous to compare myself to Captain Cook,
0:07:02 > 0:07:04but his boat was flat bottomed, like mine.
0:07:04 > 0:07:09And, like me, he taught himself how to navigate.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12He also taught himself geometry and cartography.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14How about that, then?
0:07:14 > 0:07:17He went to sea in a flat-bottomed boat.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20He mapped a lot of unmapped territory up
0:07:20 > 0:07:25all the way on the east coast of America right up to Australia.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28There he is, with his dividers in his hand, look.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30I've got a pair of them.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35When Captain Cook left Whitby, he took on the world.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38When we leave Whitby tomorrow,
0:07:38 > 0:07:40we'll be heading for Scarborough.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44Yorkshire is a big place.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47I wonder if Bram Stoker stood here with this stick?
0:07:47 > 0:07:52Looking out to sea thinking, that boat coming in from the Baltics down here,
0:07:52 > 0:07:57he must've looked at it imagining it, maybe even pointing with this stick going,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00"Yes, I think the ship came in through there."
0:08:00 > 0:08:03Through there, under its own power,
0:08:03 > 0:08:04no-one on board.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Mysterious ship in the middle of the night,
0:08:07 > 0:08:09somehow mooring itself up there, bang.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12And then, straight up that hill, up there, along there,
0:08:12 > 0:08:16up there, along there, and then the dog disappeared up there.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23It's looking good for us to leave this lovely old town tomorrow.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25But before we pack up,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28I'm going to make the most of the late evening sun.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35I've spent all my life doodling, really,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38but I'm trying to learn how to draw properly.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43I never, I never really drew things I saw,
0:08:43 > 0:08:45I always drew things in my head.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53It ain't much cop, but I'm learning.
0:08:54 > 0:08:59I've only just started to mess about with coloured pencils, so...
0:08:59 > 0:09:02I make a few mistakes.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06I mean, that's, it's just an idea.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11People sort of wax lyrical, don't they?
0:09:11 > 0:09:13They sit in pubs in Tottenham and Lewisham
0:09:13 > 0:09:17thinking, "One of these days, I'd love to go on a boat,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20"sit on a boat and drink a glass of wine,
0:09:20 > 0:09:22"and maybe draw a picture,
0:09:22 > 0:09:26"with the sun going down and the seagulls.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29"One of these days..." I suppose we're actually doing it!
0:09:29 > 0:09:30We are actually doing it.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32What we are doing
0:09:32 > 0:09:34is what a lot of people would like to do,
0:09:34 > 0:09:38and we are lucky enough to be doing it.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42This is a beautiful place.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Good fish and chips an' all.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04Our next destination is only 20 nautical miles away,
0:10:04 > 0:10:07down the Yorkshire coast.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10Just far enough to ease Matilda's engines back into action,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13after her recent minor medical procedure.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Sandwiches of Shane Spall.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24This one's particularly good.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26It's got crisps in it.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49A lovely smooth journey,
0:10:49 > 0:10:51we don't get too many of them.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55Oh, Scarborough.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58It's an original Victorian,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01or late Georgian almost,
0:11:01 > 0:11:03seaside town,
0:11:03 > 0:11:05but it's split by a ravine there,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08there's a bridge across it, like a crevasse.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13There's some really beautiful old hotels,
0:11:13 > 0:11:16where the well-to-do used to come.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23Scarborough was Britain's first seaside resort.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26It's nice.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29'It came to prominence in the 17th century,
0:11:29 > 0:11:33'with the discovery of a natural spring rich in minerals.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37'In Victorian times, the middle class believed the fresh sea air
0:11:37 > 0:11:40'could cure all manner of illnesses.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42'The influx of new visitors
0:11:42 > 0:11:45'led to the construction of the Grand Hotel
0:11:45 > 0:11:47'in 1867.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51'At the time, it was one of the largest hotels in the world.
0:11:52 > 0:11:53'But we're not checking in there.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55'We visit new places,
0:11:55 > 0:11:58'and we bring our home with us.'
0:11:58 > 0:12:02You know, it's a classic example of what this trip brings out, isn't it?
0:12:02 > 0:12:0623 miles from another seaside town,
0:12:06 > 0:12:09and it's got a completely different feel to it.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12And the accent has changed slightly.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15We've gone from Hartlepool,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17Hartlypoo-ool,
0:12:17 > 0:12:19to North Yorkshire.
0:12:19 > 0:12:20Hey up!
0:12:20 > 0:12:22And the accent has started thinning out a bit here.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Then when we get past Lincolnshire,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27we'll be going from Lincolnshire
0:12:27 > 0:12:28to No-rfolk.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Notice I didn't do the Lincolnshire accent,
0:12:31 > 0:12:33because I can't do it!
0:12:33 > 0:12:36Then it will be Suffolk.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38Where my family comes from,
0:12:38 > 0:12:39and Cambridge,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42where some of my family come from.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46Essex. Then we're up Father Thames.
0:12:46 > 0:12:47Yeah.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57London is getting closer.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59We're halfway down the English east coast,
0:12:59 > 0:13:02just 250 miles from home.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09We're mooring about there?
0:13:12 > 0:13:16I can't understand that, that's a road map, love.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19We're on our way to Spurn Head,
0:13:19 > 0:13:23at the mouth of the Humber Estuary.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Once we get there, we'll be faced with one of the few things
0:13:26 > 0:13:28that threatens to destroy an otherwise happy marriage.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33Trying to attach the boat to a swing buoy.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38We can be frivolous now, but when it's...
0:13:38 > 0:13:40Yeah, when we get the swing buoy,
0:13:40 > 0:13:43you've got to allow me to do it and then I shall call you.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47You will see it on there. You know I can snag it.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Listen to me, listen to me.
0:13:50 > 0:13:51I'm listening.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54My feeling is that the buoy,
0:13:54 > 0:13:59if it's an RNLI one,
0:13:59 > 0:14:01will have a massive chain or a hawser on it.
0:14:01 > 0:14:06So all you've got to do is get the float.
0:14:06 > 0:14:07Yeah, that's what I will do.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Give me a kiss.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14Spurn Head doesn't have a harbour, or a marina,
0:14:14 > 0:14:17but the lifeboat crew there have given us permission
0:14:17 > 0:14:20to moor on their swing buoy overnight.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23That should be Bull Sand Fort there.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28- OK.- Quite grim looking.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32Slightly...
0:14:33 > 0:14:37Something a touch science fiction about it. It's a bit weird.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42The Humber has two forts,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Haile Sand Fort and Bull Sand Fort.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Their construction began in 1915,
0:14:48 > 0:14:51to defend against a German invasion.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54However, they took four years to build.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57By that time, the war was already over.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01Still, they were 20 years early for World War II.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07We've got to get the right buoy, because some of them are pilot buoys
0:15:07 > 0:15:13- and some of them are... - Is it marked?- It's a yellow buoy.
0:15:13 > 0:15:21- There's a yellow buoy there. - Just have a look round...
0:15:21 > 0:15:25- Tides are high, it's slack. - All right.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27I'm going to go.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29Just hold on. Hold on.
0:15:36 > 0:15:42I think, depending which way the tide is going, we're going to get that buoy over there,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45with the boat hook.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48Hopefully, it's got a float, but it doesn't look like it's got a float,
0:15:48 > 0:15:50so it's going to be quite difficult.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53So, yes, Tim and I will row.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57Because the way I do it is better than his.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13If I've got a rope. Give me the end of the rope quickly.
0:16:23 > 0:16:24The sea appears calm,
0:16:24 > 0:16:28but there's still a significant tidal rip down there.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39I might take up knitting.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41I wonder if my trusty first mate
0:16:41 > 0:16:44quite understands what a trial this is?
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Why don't you let me steer towards the buoy?
0:16:56 > 0:17:02- Because you can't do it...- OK. - I'll just ease it towards you. - All right.- All right?
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Just be quiet and wait, please.
0:17:08 > 0:17:14'A captain's life is never easy.'
0:17:14 > 0:17:16- Just hold that still.- OK.
0:17:41 > 0:17:42Got it.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44Well done, love.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47'And that, as they say, is how you do it.'
0:17:49 > 0:17:52Let's just relish the moment for a second. Christ!
0:17:58 > 0:18:02- I've got cramp though. Cramp. - Do you want to put another one on?
0:18:07 > 0:18:09Another lovely day at sea!
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Ah, the relaxation, the joy, the fun.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14The arguments.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17The joy.
0:18:18 > 0:18:19The beautiful Spurn Head
0:18:19 > 0:18:21is a narrow strip of land
0:18:21 > 0:18:23three-and-a-half miles long
0:18:23 > 0:18:27which forms the north bank of the Humber Estuary.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31We'll moor here tonight, ready for a big journey tomorrow.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39I love these swing moorings.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42It's like being...
0:18:42 > 0:18:47completely cut adrift, but safe.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51I'll just go and check that rope.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05Today, we're going to go across The Wash
0:19:05 > 0:19:07and into Wells-next-the-Sea, in Norfolk.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09To get there safely,
0:19:09 > 0:19:11I need to leave on a fair tide,
0:19:11 > 0:19:13catch the flood down the coast
0:19:13 > 0:19:15and arrive at high tide.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19I've got to get my calculations absolutely spot-on.
0:19:19 > 0:19:25But not until we've dropped some locals into a pan of boiling water.
0:19:25 > 0:19:30- How big is it, Timmy?- Smaller. You need hands!
0:19:30 > 0:19:33Come on, Timmy, don't mess with it, just put it in the bloody pan.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36- Don't do that!- Fine.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44- Oh...- Put your leg down, mate.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46HE LAUGHS
0:19:46 > 0:19:50- It was waving goodbye! - Timmy, it was not. Next.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54- It was waving good night... That's it.- There's another bag in there.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57We don't need to cook three of them.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01No, cook them now. I don't want to look in the freezer and find things.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06We've met quite a few lifeboat crews on our travels,
0:20:06 > 0:20:09but the Spurn Head crew is unique.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13It's the only one in Britain where the crew
0:20:13 > 0:20:17and their families live full time at the station.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20And it's been this way since it was formed in 1810.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25This crew look after the area we are about to navigate.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32The Humber is the third busiest estuary in Europe.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35More than 80 ships a day pass Spurn Head.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42This journey has got me, once again, a bit nervous.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46It's reckoned there are at least 150 wrecks
0:20:46 > 0:20:49within 15 miles of Wells-next-the-Sea.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55Thankfully, the boss of the lifeboat crew
0:20:55 > 0:20:58has come over to check my route.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01Please come aboard. Have a look, have a cup of tea.
0:21:01 > 0:21:06I didn't know you could get a small craft folio for our bit of the coast.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09- Yeah, yeah. - It's the perfect size for us.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13- That's the route I've put in, along there, across the bank there.- Yeah.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17- Down there. To there, down there, along there.- Yeah.
0:21:17 > 0:21:22- This bit here, I would definitely come out here.- Yeah.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26And basically, if you can parallel until you get past this,
0:21:26 > 0:21:28- because this gets very, very shallow.- Does it?
0:21:28 > 0:21:30With the tide, you'll only have a metre and a half,
0:21:30 > 0:21:31- two metres on that bit. - So keep right...
0:21:31 > 0:21:35'It's really reassuring to have an experienced lifeboatman
0:21:35 > 0:21:37'check your route.'
0:21:37 > 0:21:40This place here, we've had some really horrendous collisions on the Humber...
0:21:40 > 0:21:43'That's not particularly reassuring.'
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Before, they never used to bother, they just used to bomb up and down...
0:21:46 > 0:21:53- Don't they look at their radar? - Yeah, but there's a bit up the top end, there's a cardinal buoy,
0:21:53 > 0:21:57and then it's a fairly tightish turn, and you go past...
0:21:57 > 0:22:00Two ships just literally smack-bang into each other in dense fog.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02Ooh, dear.
0:22:02 > 0:22:08I'm not sure if the lifeboat meeting has made me feel better or worse.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13It's nine turbulent hours until we reach
0:22:13 > 0:22:15Wells-next-the-Sea, in Norfolk.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21- Careful.- Here we go.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24Baptism of fire.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28If I didn't know the lifeboatmen were only 600 yards away,
0:22:28 > 0:22:33I would have fallen over and gibbered on the floor.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41Maybe some lobster will help.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49Oh, oh...
0:22:56 > 0:22:59Oh. I know it's a terrible thing to say,
0:22:59 > 0:23:03but they were alive only about eight hours ago,
0:23:03 > 0:23:07the freshness of it...
0:23:07 > 0:23:09is unbelievable.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15This journey marks the crossing of another border.
0:23:15 > 0:23:20We're leaving the North of England to enter the South of England.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26It's yet another big moment on our round-Britain adventure.
0:23:40 > 0:23:45It seems I got the calculations correctly and Wells is in sight,
0:23:45 > 0:23:47but the journey is far from over.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51These waters are full of hidden sandbanks.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55- RADIO:- 'Yeah, keep following me.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58'We're going to go out of the channel, take a short cut.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00'Just follow me across.'
0:24:00 > 0:24:02All right, Wells, understood.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05'And thankfully, I've got a pilot boat to guide me in.'
0:24:05 > 0:24:09'I don't want to sound rude, but can you go any quicker, or is that it?'
0:24:09 > 0:24:13No, I can do another three or four knots, no problem, over.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16'If you could. I'd just like to get there before it gets dark, that's all.'
0:24:16 > 0:24:18I thought they were going slow.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22I thought you were going slow because of the tide.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25You go and I'll follow you. I can do about six, seven knots, over.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35This channel we're following is full of twists and turns.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37I wouldn't fancy doing this on my own.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54- Welcome to Wells.- Thank you.
0:25:03 > 0:25:09Tomorrow morning, when we leave at 8:30, this will be full.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12The tide will be above all that,
0:25:12 > 0:25:16and that's the channel out there, you see.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19These sands shift all the time around here,
0:25:19 > 0:25:22so they have to keep dredging and changing the channel.
0:25:22 > 0:25:27So that's the channel, you know... In the morning, you think, "Ah,
0:25:27 > 0:25:30"I'll just go straight across there," but no,
0:25:30 > 0:25:35because that's the channel, there, round there,
0:25:35 > 0:25:40you'll snake, and we'll snake, and snake our way out.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43Wells is one of Britain's hidden gems.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49It's blessed with natural beauty.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Yet we've never heard of it before.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56Look at it. There, look.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00That could be us, there, that could be our barge. Stranded.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04There he is waiting, staring down, waiting.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06No, he's got a couple of hours yet.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11Oi, oi! I'll be doing that in the morning.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17Can't wait, can't wait to get up and have a run.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21Although it's called Wells-next-the-Sea,
0:26:21 > 0:26:23the main town is a mile inland.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27500 years ago, this would have been underwater.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31The strong tides of the North Sea pushed silt
0:26:31 > 0:26:36and sand onto the Norfolk Coast, placing towns like Wells inland.
0:26:36 > 0:26:43What a wonderful, wonderful, oasis.
0:26:43 > 0:26:44Look at it,
0:26:44 > 0:26:48and look at that, that amazing beach.
0:26:48 > 0:26:53All these huts that have been there for years and years, evidently.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57To buy one of them, they're about 90 grand, or £60,000.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00But look at it, it's like an Indian...
0:27:00 > 0:27:05If you squint your eyes, it could be like some strange settlers'
0:27:05 > 0:27:09encampment, couldn't it?
0:27:09 > 0:27:13Or some tepee. It's wonderful.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26What more do you need to know about how beautiful a country we live in?
0:27:33 > 0:27:36Please, please give me just a gentle day.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39I don't know what I'm doing here! Why isn't this working?
0:27:39 > 0:27:44- I don't know. We're going round in circles.- I am lost, actually.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47Well, let's call the coastguard.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49We're going to Chatham.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51I always said we'd never call the coastguard.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56I think it's both a celebration
0:27:56 > 0:27:59and a spit in the eye of the audacity of fate trying to kill me.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02So we went out and tried to kill ourselves.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09- Oh!- Hurray!
0:28:20 > 0:28:23Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd