The Luck of the Irish Sea

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0:00:02 > 0:00:05OK, what I'm gonna do is what I usually do, right?

0:00:05 > 0:00:07There's this, right? On.

0:00:09 > 0:00:13'I'm Timothy Spall, and this is my wife, Shane.'

0:00:13 > 0:00:15Pardon?

0:00:15 > 0:00:18'We're on the trip of a lifetime.

0:00:18 > 0:00:23'We're circumnavigating the British Isles in a barge.

0:00:24 > 0:00:27'It's not the fastest boat on the water.

0:00:27 > 0:00:32'We left London five years ago and we're not quite halfway around.'

0:00:33 > 0:00:36Shall we give that lady a wave?

0:00:36 > 0:00:39Hiya, darling, all right!

0:00:41 > 0:00:43CLATTER

0:00:53 > 0:00:55Have I damaged it?

0:00:55 > 0:00:59'Last year we took on the Atlantic Ocean

0:00:59 > 0:01:03'as we travelled from Cornwall to Wales.

0:01:03 > 0:01:08We're Mr and Mrs Vasco de Gama-Magellan-Francis Drake-O'Columbus.

0:01:08 > 0:01:10That's who we are.

0:01:10 > 0:01:13The electric anchor's not working, so Tim's got to do it manually.

0:01:19 > 0:01:21The anchor's broken.

0:01:21 > 0:01:23You stay there and I'll do this.

0:01:23 > 0:01:26I know what I'm doing, love.

0:01:26 > 0:01:28I think we've run aground.

0:01:28 > 0:01:29Yeah.

0:01:29 > 0:01:33'This next phase will take us into the Irish Sea...'

0:01:33 > 0:01:36Hold on, Shane, hold on! Sit down!

0:01:39 > 0:01:41'..visiting every country in the United Kingdom...'

0:01:41 > 0:01:44One kipper? That's not going to get you far, is it?

0:01:44 > 0:01:49- Irish jig... - Don't spoil it!- Doing an Irish jig!

0:01:49 > 0:01:53'..as we make our way up to Scotland...'

0:01:53 > 0:01:55Come on, you old wallowing pig!

0:01:55 > 0:01:57'..one port at a time.'

0:01:57 > 0:01:59Come on, baby!

0:01:59 > 0:02:01There you go. Hello, darling!

0:02:03 > 0:02:07Whatever they've set him in, it's pretty bloody good.

0:02:07 > 0:02:08Wahey!

0:02:08 > 0:02:11Here I am! Another land conquered.

0:02:11 > 0:02:12We've come here on our boat!

0:02:26 > 0:02:29From the safety of Cardiff Marina,

0:02:29 > 0:02:32it looks like a glorious morning

0:02:32 > 0:02:35to continue our round-Britain adventure.

0:02:35 > 0:02:38I'm glad to see somebody's captain.

0:02:38 > 0:02:40He's in there. Give him a knock, Roy.

0:02:40 > 0:02:42He's still in the arms of Morpheus, probably.

0:02:42 > 0:02:46No, he's been out of Morpheus for a couple of hours now, believe me.

0:02:46 > 0:02:49Roy Jones is a local marine electrician

0:02:49 > 0:02:52and an experienced mariner.

0:02:52 > 0:02:55As an extra safety measure, I've asked him to check my course.

0:02:55 > 0:02:58I'm looking at these, erm... Do you want a cup of tea, Roy?

0:02:58 > 0:03:00Oh, go on, but don't make one special.

0:03:00 > 0:03:02I'm looking at these, erm...

0:03:02 > 0:03:06As you get up round the corner here, it says it's got overfalls.

0:03:06 > 0:03:08Do I have to take notice?

0:03:08 > 0:03:12I mean, I have marked them and I'm trying to go south of them.

0:03:12 > 0:03:14Yeah, so you're coming out.

0:03:14 > 0:03:16I'm coming out here.

0:03:16 > 0:03:19Yeah. And out that way, so up there?

0:03:19 > 0:03:22Off Nash you've got the rocks.

0:03:22 > 0:03:28You can see it breaking there, so you want to come out.

0:03:28 > 0:03:30'Nice! Rocks.

0:03:30 > 0:03:33'As if I haven't got enough to worry about.'

0:03:33 > 0:03:36Is it quite fresh out there?

0:03:36 > 0:03:39Looks like it's doing about a three or a four?

0:03:39 > 0:03:40It is. Yeah.

0:03:40 > 0:03:44Oh, I'll come back. If it's horrible out there, I'll come back.

0:03:44 > 0:03:47- Yeah, I say it's enjoyment, it's not a test.- Absolutely right.

0:03:47 > 0:03:51Because I woke up worrying at half five, thinking,

0:03:51 > 0:03:53"Right, I ain't been to sea for six months

0:03:53 > 0:03:57- "and I'm going to go today, so er..."- It's always a bit apprehensive, isn't it?

0:03:57 > 0:03:59- You've got to be nervous. - Yeah, yeah.

0:03:59 > 0:04:03If you're not, you're not human. It's always an unknown, but it's an adventure.

0:04:03 > 0:04:05- Yeah, exactly. - It's an adrenaline rush.

0:04:05 > 0:04:08You've got it. You got it.

0:04:08 > 0:04:09Bye, Roy!

0:04:15 > 0:04:18My aim is to get us to Milford Haven,

0:04:18 > 0:04:22100 nautical miles away, in just two days.

0:04:22 > 0:04:24This marks the end of the Bristol Channel

0:04:24 > 0:04:27and the start of the Irish Sea...

0:04:28 > 0:04:31one of the world's most unpredictable seas.

0:04:51 > 0:04:54'I don't suffer from stage fright,

0:04:54 > 0:04:58'but I do suffer from sea fright.'

0:04:58 > 0:04:59Right, this is it, then.

0:05:01 > 0:05:06We're either going to go or we'll be back in here in about five minutes.

0:05:06 > 0:05:10It'll take me at least an hour to get used to the waves again.

0:05:10 > 0:05:14That's if there is any, but we'll see - let's have a look.

0:05:16 > 0:05:20It's doing a fair old pace out there, that's for sure.

0:05:20 > 0:05:22It doesn't look very nice to me.

0:05:22 > 0:05:24It's fine.

0:05:24 > 0:05:28Look at the way the buoy's moving about, love. That's not fine, is it?

0:05:28 > 0:05:29Yes, it is, it's fine.

0:05:37 > 0:05:39Yeah, it's lumpy.

0:05:42 > 0:05:44OBJECTS CLATTER

0:05:45 > 0:05:47It's all right, it's the change jar.

0:05:49 > 0:05:54My guts are churning and my heart is beating. I feel like I'm going to die.

0:05:54 > 0:05:56I'll be all right in a minute.

0:05:56 > 0:05:57It's good. It's nice.

0:05:57 > 0:06:01Especially when that great big ship goes past us.

0:06:13 > 0:06:16Although I've navigated over 600 nautical miles,

0:06:16 > 0:06:20at times I've been winging it a bit, learning as I go.

0:06:22 > 0:06:25But with the unpredictable Irish Sea on the horizon,

0:06:25 > 0:06:27I don't want to take any chances.

0:06:27 > 0:06:30So I've had some new equipment fitted.

0:06:30 > 0:06:33And it ain't cheap, this stuff.

0:06:33 > 0:06:38All this shit, all this shit, all this technology...

0:06:38 > 0:06:42is all fantastic.

0:06:42 > 0:06:46But at the end of the day, it's an approximation.

0:06:46 > 0:06:51It's 15 grand's worth of approximation,

0:06:51 > 0:06:54because I knew we'd be knocked about a bit.

0:06:54 > 0:06:57That don't tell you, that don't tell you.

0:06:57 > 0:07:00The only people that tell you is the coastguard and they'll say,

0:07:00 > 0:07:05"Slight or moderate sea, rough or moderate sea, rough or slight or smooth sea."

0:07:05 > 0:07:09You never know, because you're at sea.

0:07:09 > 0:07:14We're in the Bristol Channel, which some people consider as a river,

0:07:14 > 0:07:16but it's ferocious, you know?

0:07:29 > 0:07:31After an overnight stay in Swansea,

0:07:31 > 0:07:34we're back on track for Milford Haven.

0:07:36 > 0:07:43And, thankfully, the Bristol Channel is behaving itself. Today, anyway.

0:07:43 > 0:07:46It's always different, every single journey is different.

0:07:48 > 0:07:54And you can never predict what might happen. Anything might happen.

0:07:56 > 0:08:00This adventure we're on, this odyssey,

0:08:00 > 0:08:04it's not something I could have dreamed up until I got ill.

0:08:04 > 0:08:10It was 14 years ago, while I was recovering from leukaemia...

0:08:10 > 0:08:13..that I first began to dream about living on the water.

0:08:15 > 0:08:20Just watching the boat cut itself through this lovely wash,

0:08:20 > 0:08:24it's poetry in motion, isn't it?

0:08:27 > 0:08:29But you know, it's a mixture with me.

0:08:29 > 0:08:33I'm both... I'm not scared of this. This is lovely.

0:08:34 > 0:08:38But you just never know what's going to happen.

0:08:38 > 0:08:42Those two white apparitions there,

0:08:42 > 0:08:47they look like yachts that have just come out of Milford Haven Harbour.

0:08:47 > 0:08:52So that looks like our passage into Milford Haven.

0:08:53 > 0:08:56Sir William Hamilton, a wealthy Scotsman,

0:08:56 > 0:09:00founded Milford Haven in 1793.

0:09:00 > 0:09:04He invited seven Quaker families from America to settle here

0:09:04 > 0:09:06and develop a whaling fleet.

0:09:06 > 0:09:10A few years later, he persuaded the Navy

0:09:10 > 0:09:14to build a dockyard here, making warships.

0:09:14 > 0:09:19Today, it's a thriving port for oil companies.

0:09:19 > 0:09:23Look at it. I mean, it's an extraordinary place.

0:09:24 > 0:09:28I love it, it's beautiful.

0:09:28 > 0:09:30- I love it. - This is just my cup of tea,

0:09:30 > 0:09:34this mixture of industry and physical beauty.

0:09:36 > 0:09:39I love it, love it!

0:09:39 > 0:09:42The sea's like silk, no wind.

0:09:42 > 0:09:45Sun was out, it was wonderful.

0:09:45 > 0:09:47Yeah, we don't get many of those.

0:09:47 > 0:09:50The first time I'd heard of Milford Haven,

0:09:50 > 0:09:54I was 21 and playing a part in Shakespeare's Cymbeline.

0:09:55 > 0:09:58It always makes me think of Judi Dench.

0:09:58 > 0:10:03Because she played the character Imogen in Cymbeline,

0:10:03 > 0:10:09where she ran off with somebody from Milford Haven.

0:10:09 > 0:10:10God bless you, Jude.

0:10:12 > 0:10:16The Princess Matilda might not look like a seafaring boat,

0:10:16 > 0:10:19but that's exactly what she is.

0:10:19 > 0:10:23She's a 35-ton flat-bottomed seagoing barge

0:10:23 > 0:10:28with a hull specially designed for heavy weather.

0:10:28 > 0:10:30Which we're going to need

0:10:30 > 0:10:32as the rest of the summer will be on the Irish Sea.

0:10:34 > 0:10:37The Irish Sea, it's one of those places that's got...

0:10:37 > 0:10:39You can see Snowdonia, you know?

0:10:39 > 0:10:43So you've got seas and you've got mountains, you know?

0:10:43 > 0:10:47It's going to be like a Lord Of The Rings sort of environment.

0:10:47 > 0:10:51It's going to be magical and terrifying once again.

0:10:51 > 0:10:54Why am I doing this? I've no idea!

0:10:55 > 0:10:59Tomorrow we'll set off for Fishguard

0:10:59 > 0:11:02and our most dangerous journey so far.

0:11:03 > 0:11:09'Between Milford Haven and Fishguard are 60 nautical miles...'

0:11:09 > 0:11:12Afternoon. Lovely day.

0:11:12 > 0:11:15'..and all manner of dangerous obstacles.

0:11:15 > 0:11:19'The infamous islands of Skokholm and Skomer,

0:11:19 > 0:11:22'St David's Head, and The Bishops.

0:11:24 > 0:11:27'I'm going to need all my wits about me

0:11:27 > 0:11:32'if I'm going to take on the Irish Sea and get us there safely.'

0:11:52 > 0:11:56I'm about to skipper a barge into the Irish Sea for the first time,

0:11:56 > 0:12:00but it hasn't started terribly well.

0:12:00 > 0:12:04What I've worked out is, because there was conflicting opinions

0:12:04 > 0:12:07in the guide books,

0:12:07 > 0:12:13that I've left probably two hours too late

0:12:13 > 0:12:17to use the full benefit of the tide

0:12:17 > 0:12:19to take us all the way round.

0:12:19 > 0:12:23So I reckon we'll get there about 8pm.

0:12:23 > 0:12:28I'm banking on the fact that we'll get there before dark.

0:12:38 > 0:12:41The forecast for the sea is slight.

0:12:41 > 0:12:44But I've got a feeling no-one's told the sea.

0:12:46 > 0:12:49Oh, blimey! Whoa, that's a good one!

0:12:51 > 0:12:55Yep. Hold on. Oh, Jesus!

0:12:55 > 0:12:57That's a good one, whoop!

0:12:57 > 0:12:59And another.

0:12:59 > 0:13:03I think this might be the Irish Sea, love.

0:13:04 > 0:13:08Unless it's like, we don't go out unless it's flat calm,

0:13:08 > 0:13:10this is going to be it.

0:13:15 > 0:13:20'I thought the trip to Swansea was bad, but this is something else.

0:13:20 > 0:13:24'These must be eight or nine-foot swells.'

0:13:25 > 0:13:31Look at my house. My house is a mess. My house is a mess.

0:13:33 > 0:13:36'Not only are we taking a battering, but two of our fenders

0:13:36 > 0:13:40'have been washed overboard and there's a rope loose in the sea.

0:13:40 > 0:13:42'If that rope chews up around my propeller,

0:13:42 > 0:13:44'the bloody engine will stop.'

0:13:44 > 0:13:47You might be able to stick your hand out of one of the windows and...

0:13:47 > 0:13:49I ain't doing nothing.

0:13:49 > 0:13:53It's just hanging by one of the windows here! You'll see it. Look!

0:13:53 > 0:13:55Over here. Look.

0:14:07 > 0:14:10It's going all over my carpet.

0:14:19 > 0:14:22Should have done it in the first place, stupid!

0:14:24 > 0:14:29Fortunately, I keep rope in my handbag as well as lipstick.

0:14:32 > 0:14:35Right...

0:14:35 > 0:14:37That should do it.

0:14:37 > 0:14:40There you go, that's what I was saying about the elements, you know.

0:14:40 > 0:14:43This is when they remind you that they're the boss...

0:14:43 > 0:14:45Whoo!

0:14:45 > 0:14:51..and they're not there for your, not for your delectation.

0:14:51 > 0:14:55Although they can be enjoyed

0:14:55 > 0:14:58and worshipped and feared in equal proportions.

0:15:00 > 0:15:02Somewhere along the line,

0:15:02 > 0:15:04that's what I think I'm sort of doing at the moment.

0:15:07 > 0:15:10'Right now, the tide is going directly against us

0:15:10 > 0:15:13'at about five knots.

0:15:13 > 0:15:17'I'm doing five knots in the other direction,

0:15:17 > 0:15:19'which means...

0:15:19 > 0:15:22'we're actually going nowhere.'

0:15:24 > 0:15:26Well, at least the sun's out.

0:15:39 > 0:15:44After the worst voyage of our lives, it's an absolute delight

0:15:44 > 0:15:50to see Strumblehead Lighthouse, the guardian angel of Fishguard.

0:15:50 > 0:15:54We've been pounded all day, but we're not finished yet.

0:15:54 > 0:15:58I've got to find our bloody mooring.

0:15:58 > 0:16:01It's near the lifeboat station somewhere.

0:16:01 > 0:16:05There's the crane, there's the lifeboat station.

0:16:05 > 0:16:07Where's the lifeboat station?

0:16:07 > 0:16:08Well, I reckon where that...

0:16:08 > 0:16:11It doesn't even say it on the map, does it?

0:16:11 > 0:16:14Yeah. It says "station".

0:16:14 > 0:16:18No, we're heading towards a sort of...

0:16:18 > 0:16:21a sort of place where it dries out.

0:16:21 > 0:16:23Well, don't go over there, go over this way.

0:16:23 > 0:16:27No! No, that's where we're heading, to a place where it dries out.

0:16:32 > 0:16:34This is really relaxing.

0:16:34 > 0:16:40It's what we do to relax. We come into strange ports in the dark

0:16:40 > 0:16:44after being hours and hours at sea.

0:16:44 > 0:16:46And there's another rope in the water there.

0:16:52 > 0:16:56That's the hardest day at sea I've ever had, easily,

0:16:56 > 0:16:58because it was so long

0:16:58 > 0:17:04and so unpredictable, and so many hazards, er...

0:17:08 > 0:17:12And here we are in a place that isn't very relaxing!

0:17:12 > 0:17:15Timmy, you go to the back.

0:17:15 > 0:17:18Look, it's just... We're here now, we're here now.

0:17:18 > 0:17:22- I know, but you go and see to the back, darling.- We're here now, right.

0:17:22 > 0:17:23You can't do it all.

0:17:30 > 0:17:33In just a few days since we've left Cardiff,

0:17:33 > 0:17:36we've covered 160 nautical miles.

0:17:36 > 0:17:40This time last year, it took us over three months to do that.

0:17:47 > 0:17:52It's a compulsion that drives us on just to keep moving on and on.

0:17:52 > 0:17:55And fair weather, and you just make the most of it.

0:17:55 > 0:17:58You just bang on and go as far as you can

0:17:58 > 0:18:00when you've got nice weather.

0:18:03 > 0:18:06The next port is Aberystwyth.

0:18:07 > 0:18:09Tucked into the middle of Cardigan Bay,

0:18:09 > 0:18:12it's a safe shelter from the extremes of the Irish Sea.

0:18:24 > 0:18:28Aberystwyth sits at the confluence of two rivers,

0:18:28 > 0:18:30the Rheidol and the Ystwyth.

0:18:30 > 0:18:34In Victorian times, it boomed as a tourist town

0:18:34 > 0:18:37and was billed as the Biarritz of Wales.

0:18:41 > 0:18:45For Shane, this is more than just a quick stop for supplies.

0:18:47 > 0:18:49Ages before we met, she lived here,

0:18:49 > 0:18:53but she hasn't been back for 36 years.

0:18:55 > 0:19:00She's off for a walk down memory lane, and to get the shopping in.

0:19:00 > 0:19:06I arrived in Wales when I was, I don't know, about 18, a little hippy.

0:19:06 > 0:19:10I recognise this here, so I think if we go right here,

0:19:10 > 0:19:14then we should come to...Northgate,

0:19:14 > 0:19:16where I used to live.

0:19:19 > 0:19:21While Shane's out and about,

0:19:21 > 0:19:26it gives me a chance to have a look around our lovely old tub.

0:19:26 > 0:19:29Oh, she ain't half picking up some rust.

0:19:29 > 0:19:33That's the anchor, so where you're pulling it as well,

0:19:33 > 0:19:37it's worn the paint off and the rust has got in there.

0:19:43 > 0:19:46I wish I could get the bugger up straight, though.

0:19:46 > 0:19:49It keeps getting caught on that bar there.

0:19:49 > 0:19:51Have another go.

0:19:55 > 0:19:59Shane wouldn't be letting me do this if she was here!

0:20:00 > 0:20:03If I can...

0:20:04 > 0:20:07If I can get that up there...

0:20:07 > 0:20:08No, it's not working.

0:20:13 > 0:20:16God, it's all so much smaller than I remember.

0:20:16 > 0:20:20I just remember this being really, really long streets.

0:20:20 > 0:20:26I lived in one of these rooms up here, with a big bay window,

0:20:26 > 0:20:30and there was quite a lot of us living in there.

0:20:30 > 0:20:34Maybe if I can get that...up and round...

0:20:36 > 0:20:38I'm trying to get it so it doesn't stick out.

0:20:53 > 0:20:54Yahey!

0:20:56 > 0:20:59Done it! Talk about adding rust.

0:21:00 > 0:21:03And just in the nick of time.

0:21:15 > 0:21:19The final leg of our first phase

0:21:19 > 0:21:22would take us around the Lleyn Peninsula and up into north Wales.

0:21:26 > 0:21:30Holyhead coastguard, Holyhead coastguard, this is Princess Matilda.

0:21:30 > 0:21:32We're heading towards, er...

0:21:32 > 0:21:37I'm afraid I can't pronounce it the way you can.

0:21:37 > 0:21:40Porthdinllaen via Bardsey Sound, over.

0:21:40 > 0:21:43'This is Holyhead.

0:21:43 > 0:21:46'What's your ETA, over?'

0:21:46 > 0:21:50ETA approximately 12 noon, over.

0:21:50 > 0:21:55'Passage for your safe arrival, over.'

0:21:55 > 0:21:58Thank you very much, Holyhead coastguard,

0:21:58 > 0:22:00this is the Princess Matilda, out.

0:22:00 > 0:22:04'We're heading to a port I've never heard of.

0:22:04 > 0:22:07'Not only that, I can't even say it.'

0:22:07 > 0:22:11Porthdillian, Dillian. Dillin.

0:22:11 > 0:22:15So Llan...Dillan, Dillan!

0:22:15 > 0:22:18Perhaps that's it, Dilthan.

0:22:18 > 0:22:23I think that must be it, that isthmus that comes out there.

0:22:23 > 0:22:29I think that's the edge of, erm...Dinllaen, that's what it is.

0:22:29 > 0:22:34'Every so often I ask myself, "Why am I doing this?"

0:22:34 > 0:22:37'And sometimes I get little clues.'

0:22:37 > 0:22:40He's escorting us into harbour.

0:22:40 > 0:22:43Look, he is, he's flying above us.

0:22:43 > 0:22:46He's an angel. That's amazing.

0:22:47 > 0:22:52He's flying right there, right on the bow, showing us which way to go.

0:22:52 > 0:22:54'It's leading us into

0:22:54 > 0:22:58'one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

0:22:58 > 0:23:01'It's like the land that time forgot.

0:23:01 > 0:23:06'This beautiful cove was once a major sea port.

0:23:06 > 0:23:11'In the 19th century, it was used for bringing trade into north Wales,

0:23:11 > 0:23:13'and it had a big fishing industry.

0:23:13 > 0:23:18'But now their biggest catch is a Dutch barge

0:23:18 > 0:23:19'and two English mariners.'

0:23:19 > 0:23:21Have you got it?

0:23:21 > 0:23:23No.

0:23:23 > 0:23:24- Right.- Yeah! I got it.

0:23:24 > 0:23:28Right, you ain't gonna be able to pick that up, because that's heavy.

0:23:28 > 0:23:30Right, get it on the boat.

0:23:36 > 0:23:37That'll be it.

0:23:39 > 0:23:41Well done, you got it.

0:23:41 > 0:23:45- Right, so we're on.- Yeah.

0:23:45 > 0:23:47Welcome to Porthdinllaen!

0:23:47 > 0:23:52- How do you say it? - Porth-incline.- Porthdinllaen. - Porth-en-cline.- Porthdinllaen.

0:23:52 > 0:23:54- Porthdinllaen.- Yes.- Porthdinllaen.

0:23:54 > 0:24:01The pub's on the beach that featured in the film, Half Light Half Moon.

0:24:01 > 0:24:03- Oh, right. - With Demi Moore.- Oh, right.

0:24:03 > 0:24:06- OK.- If you go in, you'll get your picture on the wall with her.

0:24:06 > 0:24:08Oh, right!

0:24:08 > 0:24:11'That was helpful. Did he just mention Demi Moore?'

0:24:11 > 0:24:16Right, Porth...din...kline.

0:24:16 > 0:24:17As in Kevin!

0:24:26 > 0:24:31'As soon as I saw it on the map, I thought, "That's got to be done,"

0:24:31 > 0:24:37'because you have to remember that what we're doing isn't a race.

0:24:37 > 0:24:40'It's about discovering.'

0:24:40 > 0:24:42I just love it, I love it.

0:24:42 > 0:24:45This could be the Greek islands, it could be the Caribbean,

0:24:45 > 0:24:49it could be South America, or it could even be Wales!

0:25:02 > 0:25:05So that gentleman was right.

0:25:05 > 0:25:07There she is, Demi Moore.

0:25:07 > 0:25:12The pub is also a sort of museum to the local lifeboat station.

0:25:12 > 0:25:16It was the tragic shipwrecks on the Irish Sea

0:25:16 > 0:25:20which led to the Royal National Lifeboat Institute being formed.

0:25:22 > 0:25:26They wouldn't take money for the food?

0:25:26 > 0:25:28No, so I put ten quid in the RNLI.

0:25:28 > 0:25:34'We're both huge admirers of the people who crew the lifeboats,

0:25:34 > 0:25:37'and we want to go and visit the guys here.'

0:25:37 > 0:25:39Hiya, Tim. Hello, mate, hiya.

0:25:39 > 0:25:44'They're encouraging me to take their precious lifeboat for a spin.'

0:25:49 > 0:25:53'Oh, good lord, it looks a long way down there.'

0:25:53 > 0:25:57Right, when we touch the water, when I tell you, full on.

0:25:57 > 0:25:59- Oh, right, really?- Yeah. OK?

0:25:59 > 0:26:01HORN BELLOWS

0:26:01 > 0:26:05Here we go, here we go.

0:26:24 > 0:26:27This would have taken us about 25 minutes!

0:26:29 > 0:26:33Look at the wash, look at that!

0:26:33 > 0:26:37I mean, that's like... It's absolutely fantastic!

0:26:41 > 0:26:45It's wonderful! It's wonderful!

0:26:47 > 0:26:51How long has there been a lifeboat station here?

0:26:51 > 0:26:54The first one was built in 1864.

0:26:54 > 0:26:551864, bloody hell!

0:27:00 > 0:27:04Look at these birds, are they guillemots, no? I thought they were, yeah.

0:27:04 > 0:27:08'This beautiful bay has one more surprise.

0:27:08 > 0:27:13'A cliff full of nesting guillemots. Thousands of 'em!

0:27:13 > 0:27:17'They live on the North Atlantic, but come here every May

0:27:17 > 0:27:23'to lay a single egg, then return to the ocean after it hatches.'

0:27:23 > 0:27:28It's like hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of guillemots and all their chicks,

0:27:28 > 0:27:29they must be a few days old,

0:27:29 > 0:27:33and they're nesting on the ledges, and now they're all taking off

0:27:33 > 0:27:35because the engines have scared them.

0:27:35 > 0:27:38It's amazing, I've never seen a sight like it in my life.

0:27:38 > 0:27:42Finding places like Porthdinllaen

0:27:42 > 0:27:45just reminds me why we're doing this.

0:27:45 > 0:27:48These are the hidden gems of the British coastline,

0:27:48 > 0:27:51and I'm really looking forward to discovering many more

0:27:51 > 0:27:56when we get back aboard the Princess Matilda and continue on our journey.

0:28:03 > 0:28:05Never been to Liverpool,

0:28:05 > 0:28:06I've always wanted to go.

0:28:09 > 0:28:12Jimi Hendrix! I say! Ding-dong!

0:28:12 > 0:28:16Look at him, ah, look, look. Look at the beauty of that.

0:28:16 > 0:28:20Whoa, bloody hell! Where did that come from? Nearly hit the bugger!

0:28:20 > 0:28:23Tim, it's not funny...

0:28:23 > 0:28:25Timmy, it's not funny!

0:28:25 > 0:28:27# Somewhere at sea

0:28:27 > 0:28:31# A liner is somewhere at sea

0:28:31 > 0:28:34# Bringing to me

0:28:34 > 0:28:36# A traveller who

0:28:36 > 0:28:42# Will fill my life anew

0:28:42 > 0:28:46# He's out on the sea

0:28:46 > 0:28:48# Somewhere at sea. #