1 00:00:14,887 --> 00:00:18,163 (Big Ben chimes) 2 00:00:19,167 --> 00:00:20,282 All aboard! 3 00:00:21,687 --> 00:00:24,281 NlCK CRANE: Coast is embarking on a new quest... 4 00:00:25,487 --> 00:00:28,957 ...connecting the capital to Cornwall, 5 00:00:29,007 --> 00:00:32,602 linking Scottish isles to Welsh valleys... 6 00:00:33,447 --> 00:00:36,598 ...and taking us far beyond home waters 7 00:00:36,647 --> 00:00:39,957 to the Baltic Sea and to the shores of Sweden. 8 00:00:42,167 --> 00:00:45,603 A newjourney with familiar faces. 9 00:00:45,647 --> 00:00:47,524 For this, our first adventure, 10 00:00:47,567 --> 00:00:49,523 we're bound for Belgium 11 00:00:49,567 --> 00:00:52,684 but setting out from London's commercial heart. 12 00:00:54,007 --> 00:00:57,795 Alice is in search of the British seaside landlady. 13 00:00:58,927 --> 00:01:01,566 So did you all have loads of rules? 14 00:01:01,607 --> 00:01:03,199 Only if people were late. 15 00:01:03,247 --> 00:01:04,760 - Late for what? - Meals. 16 00:01:06,687 --> 00:01:10,839 NlCK: ln beautiful Bruges, a seaport stranded by time and tide, 17 00:01:10,887 --> 00:01:14,800 Mark is hunting down the bricks that built Britain. 18 00:01:14,847 --> 00:01:16,041 MARK: Perfect! 19 00:01:16,087 --> 00:01:19,602 NlCK: Miranda is riding her luck to go fishing. 20 00:01:19,647 --> 00:01:21,205 (Laughs) 21 00:01:21,247 --> 00:01:26,002 NlCK: A surprise attack by Hitler is keeping Neil occupied in the Channel. 22 00:01:26,047 --> 00:01:29,198 We might as well have been out there in a rowing boat with peashooters 23 00:01:29,247 --> 00:01:30,521 for all the use we were. 24 00:01:30,567 --> 00:01:33,320 NlCK: And at Albert Einstein's coastal hideaway, 25 00:01:33,367 --> 00:01:36,165 l'm getting fired up by atom power. 26 00:01:38,607 --> 00:01:41,485 This is Coast and beyond. 27 00:02:08,207 --> 00:02:11,961 We're heading for one of Europe's most prosperous ports, 28 00:02:12,007 --> 00:02:14,521 crossing the Channel to Antwerp, 29 00:02:14,567 --> 00:02:18,958 but ourjourney starts in our own trading capital, London. 30 00:02:24,847 --> 00:02:31,241 Tidal rivers bring the coast into the heart of many of our big cities, 31 00:02:31,287 --> 00:02:34,006 and with the water comes wealth. 32 00:02:35,047 --> 00:02:37,800 For as long as we've been a trading nation, 33 00:02:37,847 --> 00:02:40,315 the sea's been our commercial highway, 34 00:02:40,367 --> 00:02:46,078 and the winding Thames links London directly with that global thoroughfare. 35 00:02:46,127 --> 00:02:47,719 THE KlNKS: Waterloo Road 36 00:02:56,327 --> 00:02:59,842 lt was sea trade that made the capital rich. 37 00:02:59,887 --> 00:03:05,280 The Thames shaped the city, and its influence still runs deep. 38 00:03:05,327 --> 00:03:08,319 Now in the docklands of London, 39 00:03:08,367 --> 00:03:11,882 ships have been replaced by skyscrapers. 40 00:03:11,927 --> 00:03:16,284 lt's a story of spectacular rise and fall 41 00:03:16,327 --> 00:03:18,966 that may yet have a twist in its tale. 42 00:03:21,727 --> 00:03:25,197 The world once unloaded its goods in London. 43 00:03:25,247 --> 00:03:29,638 Now could that trade be reinvented by a new generation? 44 00:03:30,927 --> 00:03:35,523 The 1 9th-century businessmen who carved out these huge enclosures 45 00:03:35,567 --> 00:03:38,400 were bold entrepreneurs. 46 00:03:38,447 --> 00:03:41,678 Sometimes they built before they had customers. 47 00:03:42,527 --> 00:03:46,315 London's docks helped make Britain a superpower. 48 00:03:47,727 --> 00:03:51,003 They were the engine room of an empire. 49 00:03:53,087 --> 00:03:55,681 Sugar and hardwood from the Caribbean, 50 00:03:55,727 --> 00:03:57,479 tea from China, 51 00:03:57,527 --> 00:04:02,726 even in the days before refrigeration, ice from Norway, 52 00:04:02,767 --> 00:04:05,201 it all landed here. 53 00:04:05,247 --> 00:04:08,205 Being in the docks, said one worker in the 1 960s, 54 00:04:08,247 --> 00:04:11,557 was like geography come to life. 55 00:04:17,647 --> 00:04:20,844 And London's geography also changed. 56 00:04:20,887 --> 00:04:23,685 Around the docks grew the East End. 57 00:04:27,607 --> 00:04:30,075 But as fast as the docks grew... 58 00:04:32,367 --> 00:04:34,927 ...the ships would outgrow them. 59 00:04:36,207 --> 00:04:40,041 Once there were ocean liners berthed at the end of the road. 60 00:04:40,087 --> 00:04:42,601 Now there's London City Airport. 61 00:04:46,647 --> 00:04:50,765 lt was container ships, those great seagoing warehouses, 62 00:04:50,807 --> 00:04:53,241 that changed everything. 63 00:04:53,287 --> 00:04:57,599 ln the '60s, when containers first appeared on the commercial seaways, 64 00:04:57,647 --> 00:05:00,525 many of London's docks simply couldn't cope. 65 00:05:01,807 --> 00:05:05,038 Eventually the cargo ships stopped coming. 66 00:05:08,447 --> 00:05:12,918 But there's a new bid to bring the big ships back to the capital 67 00:05:12,967 --> 00:05:15,356 20 miles downstream. 68 00:05:15,407 --> 00:05:17,398 THE CLASH: London Calling 69 00:05:28,967 --> 00:05:32,846 This is Marieke, a dredger, 70 00:05:32,887 --> 00:05:36,323 laying the foundations for a brand-new port, 71 00:05:36,367 --> 00:05:39,803 the first of its kind for 20 years. 72 00:05:39,847 --> 00:05:45,285 This ship is sucking up 1 2,000 cubic metres of sand and gravel 73 00:05:45,327 --> 00:05:47,318 from the estuary every day. 74 00:05:52,047 --> 00:05:54,686 The Marieke is a giant vacuum cleaner, 75 00:05:54,727 --> 00:05:58,003 clearing a channel in the bed of the Thames, 76 00:05:58,047 --> 00:06:02,802 a passage deep enough to accommodate supersized container ships. 77 00:06:07,327 --> 00:06:13,562 This dredged material is being pumped onto an ever growing artificial island. 78 00:06:13,607 --> 00:06:17,202 Eventually it's going to be a wharf some two miles long 79 00:06:17,247 --> 00:06:19,681 for loading and unloading ships. 80 00:06:22,447 --> 00:06:26,156 A colossal project, at least a decade in the making. 81 00:06:26,207 --> 00:06:28,198 London Gateway. 82 00:06:31,927 --> 00:06:36,762 lts builders are taking their cue from those early 1 9th-century entrepreneurs, 83 00:06:36,807 --> 00:06:41,085 confident that if they build the dock, the ships will eventually come. 84 00:06:43,767 --> 00:06:48,204 London's aiming to catch up with huge European ports like Antwerp, 85 00:06:48,247 --> 00:06:49,805 where l'm heading on my journey. 86 00:06:53,007 --> 00:06:56,079 lt'll reconnect the capital with the mighty estuary 87 00:06:56,127 --> 00:07:00,086 that brought wealth and power into the heart of Britain. 88 00:07:14,247 --> 00:07:18,081 Curious things grow up along this coast. 89 00:07:18,647 --> 00:07:22,083 At the mouth of the Thames estuary is Canvey lsland. 90 00:07:30,287 --> 00:07:36,123 Once a popular holiday destination, traces of its heyday are treasured now, 91 00:07:36,167 --> 00:07:39,125 like the recently restored Labworth Cafe. 92 00:07:41,647 --> 00:07:44,241 lt's a real gem, 93 00:07:44,287 --> 00:07:47,723 designed by the architect behind Sydney Opera House. 94 00:07:48,767 --> 00:07:53,204 But Canvey lsland couldn't match the glamour of foreign shores, 95 00:07:53,247 --> 00:07:57,877 and when the holidaymakers stopped coming to Canvey in the 1 970s, 96 00:07:57,927 --> 00:08:00,077 the oil companies moved in. 97 00:08:03,967 --> 00:08:07,721 Against this backdrop emerged four local lads 98 00:08:07,767 --> 00:08:11,555 who shook up the world...of rock. 99 00:08:11,607 --> 00:08:13,438 Liverpool has the Beatles. 100 00:08:13,487 --> 00:08:15,762 Canvey has Dr Feelgood. 101 00:08:15,807 --> 00:08:18,480 l saw you out the other night... 102 00:08:18,527 --> 00:08:24,124 35 years ago, Dr Feelgood helped kick-start a musical revolution 103 00:08:24,167 --> 00:08:26,556 that became known as punk. 104 00:08:28,487 --> 00:08:30,682 My name's Wilko Johnson 105 00:08:30,727 --> 00:08:34,925 and l'm a musician, a guitar player. 106 00:08:34,967 --> 00:08:39,995 l was born on Canvey lsland. l grew up on Canvey lsland. 107 00:08:40,047 --> 00:08:43,835 l'm one of the baby-boom generation, you know, after the war. 108 00:08:43,887 --> 00:08:47,721 Canvey lsland then was kind of a swamp with some shacks on it, l think. 109 00:08:48,727 --> 00:08:52,083 And Dr Feelgood, we came from Canvey lsland. 110 00:08:56,007 --> 00:08:59,966 The island is surrounded by oil refineries, 111 00:09:00,007 --> 00:09:02,760 gives a kind of ferocity to the landscape, 112 00:09:02,807 --> 00:09:05,605 flames glowing in the night-time and so forth, 113 00:09:05,647 --> 00:09:09,765 and in many ways that kind of music seemed suited to it. 114 00:09:09,807 --> 00:09:14,642 l think the music in the early '70s was, l don't know, a lot of hippies, really. 115 00:09:16,167 --> 00:09:17,395 People were in frocks. 116 00:09:20,647 --> 00:09:23,002 Singing about pixies and goblins. 117 00:09:25,047 --> 00:09:26,560 Yeah, nonsense. 118 00:09:30,047 --> 00:09:32,959 You know who l'm talking about. 119 00:09:33,007 --> 00:09:36,886 Dr Feelgood were playing a kind of rhythm and blues music. 120 00:09:36,927 --> 00:09:39,805 We just wanted to, you know, do a bit of rock 'n roll. 121 00:09:39,847 --> 00:09:41,758 London's burning 122 00:09:43,047 --> 00:09:45,242 London's burning 123 00:09:46,367 --> 00:09:49,996 l became friends with many of these punk musicians, you know, 124 00:09:50,047 --> 00:09:51,605 the Pistols and the Clash and that. 125 00:09:52,807 --> 00:09:55,162 And most of them had, in fact, seen Dr Feelgood 126 00:09:55,207 --> 00:09:59,041 and been inspired, if you like, by Dr Feelgood. 127 00:10:00,727 --> 00:10:03,116 When we were kids, we used to go fishing for crabs 128 00:10:03,167 --> 00:10:05,965 along this wooden jetty down here. 129 00:10:06,007 --> 00:10:09,044 You can do it with a piece of string and a lump of bread, right, 130 00:10:09,087 --> 00:10:12,477 and you hang it over the side and the crabs catch it and you pull them up. 131 00:10:12,527 --> 00:10:15,644 They're fairly stupid creatures, crabs. 132 00:10:20,887 --> 00:10:24,038 l've been all around the world and l've seen a lot of things, 133 00:10:24,087 --> 00:10:27,159 but there's just something, some spirit, 134 00:10:27,207 --> 00:10:31,519 something beautiful about this estuary, and l think it's wonderful. 135 00:10:45,647 --> 00:10:50,596 Crossing the Thames estuary, we find the Kent coast. 136 00:10:52,407 --> 00:10:56,798 This is home to some of Britain's first seaside resorts 137 00:10:56,847 --> 00:10:59,077 and the jewel in its crown, 138 00:10:59,127 --> 00:11:02,278 the golden sands of Margate. 139 00:11:07,727 --> 00:11:10,639 Most see the beach as a place to relax, 140 00:11:10,687 --> 00:11:13,360 but others see a business opportunity. 141 00:11:13,407 --> 00:11:17,286 Alice is seeking out the story of some seaside entrepreneurs 142 00:11:17,327 --> 00:11:21,479 who sparked a sexual revolution around British shores. 143 00:11:22,727 --> 00:11:27,164 ALlCE: 1 80 years ago, artist Joseph Turner was down here from London 144 00:11:27,207 --> 00:11:29,198 painting up a storm. 145 00:11:30,407 --> 00:11:33,080 lt was steam ships that linked the capital to Margate, 146 00:11:33,127 --> 00:11:34,526 and l've got a postcard here. 147 00:11:34,567 --> 00:11:38,560 lt's a water colour sketch by Turner of a steamship here at Margate, 148 00:11:38,607 --> 00:11:42,725 and, by the look of it, a cloudy and blustery day a bit like this one. 149 00:11:47,247 --> 00:11:50,239 We still have his impressions of the town, 150 00:11:50,287 --> 00:11:53,359 but much less is known about the other big attraction 151 00:11:53,407 --> 00:11:57,923 that drew romantic Turner to Margate, a woman. 152 00:11:57,967 --> 00:12:02,085 Her name was Sophia Booth and she wasn't just Turner's lover. 153 00:12:02,127 --> 00:12:03,879 She was his landlady. 154 00:12:03,927 --> 00:12:06,566 But while Turner gets the limelight, 155 00:12:06,607 --> 00:12:09,599 Sophia Booth and the army of landladies like her 156 00:12:09,647 --> 00:12:13,959 who helped to create resorts like Margate have been largely forgotten. 157 00:12:15,287 --> 00:12:19,280 This modern piece of art dedicated to Mrs Booth 158 00:12:19,327 --> 00:12:24,003 doesn't really give us an image of who these hard-working women were. 159 00:12:24,047 --> 00:12:30,441 So l'm in search of the mysterious, almost mythical, seaside landlady. 160 00:12:32,087 --> 00:12:35,124 Helping me to uncover this hidden history 161 00:12:35,167 --> 00:12:38,079 is social historian Susan Barton. 162 00:12:38,127 --> 00:12:41,563 - So shall we look for some landladies? - Yeah, it'll be really fun. 163 00:12:44,047 --> 00:12:46,959 ALlCE: There are still plenty of small hotels in Margate, 164 00:12:47,007 --> 00:12:51,285 but we're looking for evidence of the women who ran its boarding houses. 165 00:12:51,327 --> 00:12:53,887 These were often family homes, 166 00:12:53,927 --> 00:12:57,806 where all the available rooms were rented to holidaymakers. 167 00:12:57,847 --> 00:13:00,600 Now, this is what l expected to find, the typical... 168 00:13:00,647 --> 00:13:02,956 With the arms crossed like an old battleaxe. 169 00:13:03,007 --> 00:13:05,919 A typical image of the seaside landladies. 170 00:13:06,607 --> 00:13:10,316 ALlCE: Boarding houses were the backbone of any seaside resort. 171 00:13:10,367 --> 00:13:12,961 Cheap, no-frills accommodation, 172 00:13:13,007 --> 00:13:16,795 guests were expected to provide the basics like food and linen. 173 00:13:16,847 --> 00:13:19,805 Look at these rules. Breakfast at nine o'clock, luncheon at one. 174 00:13:19,847 --> 00:13:22,281 No card playing on Sundays. 175 00:13:25,607 --> 00:13:30,158 Our search for the origins of the seaside landlady has brought us here, 176 00:13:30,207 --> 00:13:33,995 to a row of typical seafront lodging houses in Margate 177 00:13:34,047 --> 00:13:36,880 dating from the 1 800s. 178 00:13:36,927 --> 00:13:40,317 What do the records reveal about these formidable women? 179 00:13:40,367 --> 00:13:45,521 SUSAN: lf we look at these documents, these are the census from 1 881 , 180 00:13:45,567 --> 00:13:48,957 and it can actually tell us who was living in the houses. 181 00:13:49,007 --> 00:13:51,202 Do we know if there were landladies renting rooms out? 182 00:13:51,247 --> 00:13:55,206 We do, because Catherine Howard, who's the head, 183 00:13:55,247 --> 00:13:59,877 whose occupation is lodging-house keeper, and she was born in London. 184 00:13:59,927 --> 00:14:02,760 We've got these women recorded as being the heads of the household. 185 00:14:02,807 --> 00:14:05,685 They are, which means that these were businesswomen. 186 00:14:05,727 --> 00:14:11,245 What l've noticed is that 7 out of 1 0 of these households were headed by women. 187 00:14:11,287 --> 00:14:14,996 l find it remarkable that these women are able to be financially independent, 188 00:14:15,047 --> 00:14:19,165 running their own businesses, and this is a time before women have the vote. 189 00:14:19,207 --> 00:14:24,042 ln the late 1 9th century, the seaside landlady was a pioneer, 190 00:14:24,087 --> 00:14:29,241 breaking down the social barriers that prevented women from owning businesses 191 00:14:29,287 --> 00:14:31,847 decades before the women's rights movement. 192 00:14:35,767 --> 00:14:40,921 ln 1 938, the Holiday with Pay Act changed workers'lives. 193 00:14:40,967 --> 00:14:45,802 By the 1 950s, 1 7 million people a year came to the coast. 194 00:14:47,207 --> 00:14:48,720 Hello, boys and girls! 195 00:14:48,767 --> 00:14:50,997 From Bridlington to Brighton, 196 00:14:51,047 --> 00:14:55,086 working-class families were able to afford their week on the beach, 197 00:14:55,127 --> 00:15:00,724 thanks largely to the seaside boarding houses and their tireless landladies. 198 00:15:00,767 --> 00:15:04,203 WOMAN: l've been running this boarding house now for 1 3 years. 199 00:15:04,247 --> 00:15:06,477 l do all the cooking, all the washing and the ironing. 200 00:15:06,527 --> 00:15:09,246 As for the food, l get sick of the sight of the food. 201 00:15:09,287 --> 00:15:11,482 ALlCE: But there's no getting away from it, 202 00:15:11,527 --> 00:15:15,805 landladies had a bit of an image problem. 203 00:15:19,647 --> 00:15:25,279 They were characterised as rule-making, clock-watching tyrants, 204 00:15:25,327 --> 00:15:27,477 the butt of seaside humour. 205 00:15:31,447 --> 00:15:35,360 So do they deserve this dragon image? 206 00:15:35,407 --> 00:15:37,875 Time to meet the ladies. 207 00:15:47,047 --> 00:15:51,120 Between them, these ladies have more than 1 00 years'experience 208 00:15:51,167 --> 00:15:52,646 of running guest houses. 209 00:15:52,687 --> 00:15:55,201 Lovely to meet you. You must be Patsy. Hello. 210 00:15:55,247 --> 00:15:59,718 So, first things first, were they the kind of landladies 211 00:15:59,767 --> 00:16:02,156 that laid down the law to their guests? 212 00:16:02,207 --> 00:16:04,721 - Only if people were late. - Late for what? 213 00:16:04,767 --> 00:16:07,281 Meals. Because we had it on a set time. 214 00:16:07,327 --> 00:16:10,478 lt was dead on one o'clock, five o'clock. 215 00:16:10,527 --> 00:16:14,440 ALlCE: Tough love maybe, but their guests couldn't get enough of it. 216 00:16:14,487 --> 00:16:17,240 That's Maud and Hubert. They came year after year. 217 00:16:17,287 --> 00:16:19,039 - Maud and Hubert. - Yes. 218 00:16:19,087 --> 00:16:22,841 BRENDA: Maud and Hubert said to my mum, ''We love coming here. 219 00:16:22,887 --> 00:16:26,118 We're very fond of Brenda and Steve. They look after us so well.'' 220 00:16:26,167 --> 00:16:30,797 And my mother said, ''Well, l wouldn't go to the same place every year.'' 221 00:16:30,847 --> 00:16:33,236 JEAN: We went everywhere with some of the people. 222 00:16:33,287 --> 00:16:35,482 They just treated us like holidaymakers. 223 00:16:35,527 --> 00:16:39,440 They took us on day trips to France, any entertainment. 224 00:16:39,487 --> 00:16:41,842 We were one of their family, you know. 225 00:16:41,887 --> 00:16:43,525 l've got some photographs here. 226 00:16:43,567 --> 00:16:46,400 What l really like about them is that the guests are all lined up 227 00:16:46,447 --> 00:16:48,517 on the steps of the guest houses. 228 00:16:48,567 --> 00:16:51,639 So was there great camaraderie amongst the guests? 229 00:16:51,687 --> 00:16:54,759 - Yes, course there was. - They'd be very shy Saturday night. 230 00:16:54,807 --> 00:16:59,278 But by Sunday afternoon, you couldn't get in the dining room for the noise. 231 00:16:59,327 --> 00:17:01,557 HAZEL: lt wasn't just mum and dad in one room. 232 00:17:01,607 --> 00:17:06,158 lt was mum, dad, two children or three children in one room, 233 00:17:06,207 --> 00:17:08,084 because it was desperate after the war. 234 00:17:08,127 --> 00:17:11,358 People would say, ''Can't you just put a bed up in the bathroom?'' 235 00:17:11,407 --> 00:17:13,716 ALlCE: Really? - Which we have done. 236 00:17:13,767 --> 00:17:17,043 We did have a dead body once, and it was a bit like Fawlty Towers, 237 00:17:17,087 --> 00:17:19,521 get it out of the way quick, you know, 238 00:17:19,567 --> 00:17:23,355 Actually, it was a relation, a distant relation had come to stay, 239 00:17:23,407 --> 00:17:27,002 and we'd given him bacon and eggs in our quarters 240 00:17:27,047 --> 00:17:30,278 and he suddenly fell forward into my bacon and eggs. 241 00:17:30,327 --> 00:17:31,646 ALlCE: No. - And he was dead. 242 00:17:31,687 --> 00:17:33,803 Were they that bad, your bacon and eggs? 243 00:17:33,847 --> 00:17:35,599 Yeah, there you are. 244 00:17:35,647 --> 00:17:38,241 HAZEL: Look at the size of our kitchen. ALlCE: Tiny. 245 00:17:38,287 --> 00:17:41,085 HAZEL: But we used to cater for 25 meals in that. 246 00:17:41,127 --> 00:17:44,358 ALlCE: Really? Do you miss it, Hazel? 247 00:17:44,407 --> 00:17:48,366 No. The day we sold up, l didn't miss a thing. 248 00:17:48,407 --> 00:17:51,683 l didn't realise until l took an office job and l'd finished 249 00:17:51,727 --> 00:17:53,718 that l'd worked so hard. 250 00:18:03,247 --> 00:18:07,286 ALlCE: The seaside dreams of millions were built on that hard work. 251 00:18:09,287 --> 00:18:14,964 But the delights of the B&B couldn't compete with cheap breaks abroad, 252 00:18:15,007 --> 00:18:19,080 and increased regulations brought the golden era of the seaside landladies 253 00:18:19,127 --> 00:18:20,958 to a close. 254 00:18:21,007 --> 00:18:24,841 Yet for so many, our holiday memories are inseparable 255 00:18:24,887 --> 00:18:28,038 from the redoubtable women who made them possible. 256 00:18:28,087 --> 00:18:31,716 They gave us all a home from home by the sea. 257 00:18:41,087 --> 00:18:44,841 NlCK: Even on this busy coast there are open spaces 258 00:18:44,887 --> 00:18:48,436 where the rich and famous have come to get away from it all. 259 00:18:56,047 --> 00:18:59,403 ln the 1 950s, novelist lan Fleming 260 00:18:59,447 --> 00:19:02,325 bought one of these houses on St Margaret's Bay 261 00:19:02,367 --> 00:19:05,120 from the previous owner, Noel Coward. 262 00:19:06,487 --> 00:19:10,196 Whatever secret schemes Fleming may have dreamt up 263 00:19:10,247 --> 00:19:12,363 looking out over the channel, 264 00:19:12,407 --> 00:19:16,685 Mr Bond's fictional cliff-hangers couldn't match the reality 265 00:19:16,727 --> 00:19:21,357 of one daring mission played out just around the corner 266 00:19:21,407 --> 00:19:23,398 off the coast of Dover. 267 00:19:29,367 --> 00:19:33,758 Today taking the ferry to France is as easy as catching the bus, 268 00:19:33,807 --> 00:19:38,039 but 70 years ago a Channel crossing was a deadly affair. 269 00:19:38,087 --> 00:19:41,716 As Britain looked out on Europe under German occupation, 270 00:19:41,767 --> 00:19:44,679 the Channel at least seemed secure. 271 00:19:44,727 --> 00:19:45,955 But at the height of the war, 272 00:19:46,007 --> 00:19:50,205 an entire German fleet sailed past the guns of Dover 273 00:19:50,247 --> 00:19:52,761 and survived to tell the tale. 274 00:19:53,647 --> 00:19:57,879 Neil is on the trail of the Nazis' Channel dash. 275 00:19:59,367 --> 00:20:02,165 lt's 1 2th February 1 942. 276 00:20:02,207 --> 00:20:06,485 Out there in the Channel, three of the German navy's most fearsome battleships 277 00:20:06,527 --> 00:20:11,362 are steaming at full speed just a few miles off the south coast of England. 278 00:20:13,887 --> 00:20:18,563 The Scharnhorst, the Gneisenau and the Prinz Eugen. 279 00:20:18,607 --> 00:20:20,757 They'd been wreaking havoc in the North Atlantic, 280 00:20:20,807 --> 00:20:24,516 responsible for destroying 22 Allied ships. 281 00:20:25,807 --> 00:20:28,526 Not surprisingly, British naval intelligence 282 00:20:28,567 --> 00:20:30,558 had been keeping a close eye on them. 283 00:20:32,607 --> 00:20:35,599 They thought the ships were undergoing repairs, 284 00:20:35,647 --> 00:20:41,199 berthed at the French port of Brest, almost 500 miles away from Dover, 285 00:20:41,247 --> 00:20:43,681 but they weren't. 286 00:20:43,727 --> 00:20:47,481 ln a breathtakingly audacious move, the Germans had somehow managed 287 00:20:47,527 --> 00:20:50,519 to sail up the Channel in broad daylight, 288 00:20:50,567 --> 00:20:53,127 right under the nose of Britain's defences. 289 00:20:56,687 --> 00:21:00,362 ln the aftermath of the ensuing battle, the Times reported, 290 00:21:00,407 --> 00:21:03,479 ''Nothing more mortifying to the pride of British sea power 291 00:21:03,527 --> 00:21:07,122 has happened in home waters since the 1 7th century.'' 292 00:21:07,167 --> 00:21:11,001 So how were the British so badly caught out? 293 00:21:11,047 --> 00:21:13,607 Historian Nick Hewitt and l are plotting the events 294 00:21:13,647 --> 00:21:15,717 that led up to this remarkable episode. 295 00:21:19,527 --> 00:21:22,564 So, Nick, where were these German ships coming from? 296 00:21:22,607 --> 00:21:24,677 The German ships are coming from here in Brest. 297 00:21:24,727 --> 00:21:27,639 The German navy would quite like to refit them and keep them in Brest 298 00:21:27,687 --> 00:21:30,076 where they can threaten Allied trade out in the Atlantic. 299 00:21:30,127 --> 00:21:34,245 Adolf Hitler wants them brought home to Germany and sent to Norway. 300 00:21:34,287 --> 00:21:36,676 - And what Adolf wants, Adolf gets. - Absolutely. 301 00:21:36,727 --> 00:21:42,563 NElL: By late 1 94 1, Hitler feared an Allied invasion of Norway. 302 00:21:42,607 --> 00:21:47,635 He believed his warships at Brest were essential to prevent this attack. 303 00:21:47,687 --> 00:21:51,999 With German troops engaged across Europe, Russia and North Africa, 304 00:21:52,047 --> 00:21:56,199 he needed his battleships back right away. 305 00:21:56,247 --> 00:21:58,363 The decision is taken to get them home 306 00:21:58,407 --> 00:22:00,398 by the shortest, dirtiest route possible, 307 00:22:00,447 --> 00:22:03,086 straight through the English Channel and the Straits of Dover. 308 00:22:04,887 --> 00:22:08,926 But it's only three battleships. You'd think they could slip through. 309 00:22:08,967 --> 00:22:12,243 The thing to remember is at this point it's not just three battleships. 310 00:22:14,407 --> 00:22:16,045 What the Germans had been doing 311 00:22:16,087 --> 00:22:18,726 is that they'd been bringing through escorting ships, 312 00:22:18,767 --> 00:22:21,645 so by the time the heavy ships sail from Brest, 313 00:22:21,687 --> 00:22:24,679 there are 63 warships around the fleet. 314 00:22:25,527 --> 00:22:27,165 And it's not just ships. 315 00:22:27,207 --> 00:22:30,040 At no point is there anything less than 1 6 aircraft 316 00:22:30,087 --> 00:22:32,806 over the top of the ships from dawn to dusk every day. 317 00:22:32,847 --> 00:22:35,725 So this is a huge force moving through the Channel. 318 00:22:38,687 --> 00:22:41,121 NElL: Hitler's aim was bold. 319 00:22:41,167 --> 00:22:44,762 Drive his battle fleet through the Channel at full speed. 320 00:22:46,287 --> 00:22:47,879 Right under Britain's big guns. 321 00:22:50,607 --> 00:22:55,806 The Nazi propaganda machine, confident of success, put cameras on the ships. 322 00:22:55,847 --> 00:22:57,838 This is the film they shot. 323 00:22:58,927 --> 00:23:00,724 Surprise was vital. 324 00:23:00,767 --> 00:23:05,761 Preparations were so secret, even the German crews didn't know the plan. 325 00:23:06,727 --> 00:23:09,161 We're going to find out what happened next, 326 00:23:09,207 --> 00:23:12,483 that stormy day in February 1 942. 327 00:23:14,367 --> 00:23:18,758 Our historian, Nick Hewitt, has tracked down a remarkable eyewitness. 328 00:23:20,687 --> 00:23:24,885 lt's the first time August Brunmyer has visited British soil, 329 00:23:24,927 --> 00:23:27,725 but he has seen Dover Castle once before, 330 00:23:27,767 --> 00:23:30,884 from the deck of the Prinz Eugen. 331 00:23:30,927 --> 00:23:33,395 NlCK: How did you feel when you were told 332 00:23:33,447 --> 00:23:35,677 that you were going through the English Channel? 333 00:23:51,367 --> 00:23:54,006 NElL: lf the mission was a surprise to the German crews, 334 00:23:54,047 --> 00:23:56,720 it sent the British defenders into a panic. 335 00:23:58,007 --> 00:24:00,441 They'd been caught on the hop. 336 00:24:00,487 --> 00:24:03,559 The German ships had left port undetected. 337 00:24:03,607 --> 00:24:05,325 The British admiralty were convinced 338 00:24:05,367 --> 00:24:08,882 the Germans wouldn't venture into the Channel in daylight. 339 00:24:10,567 --> 00:24:15,357 Shrouded by fog, the fleet wasjust an hour from Dover before it was spotted. 340 00:24:17,847 --> 00:24:21,123 Britain's defences were already stretched to breaking point. 341 00:24:21,167 --> 00:24:26,161 Now, with the Germans on their doorstep, they scrambled all they had, 342 00:24:26,207 --> 00:24:31,156 a handful of small ships and six extraordinary biplanes. 343 00:24:34,527 --> 00:24:36,563 This is a Swordfish. 344 00:24:36,607 --> 00:24:40,202 Now, it might look like a throwback to the First World War, 345 00:24:40,247 --> 00:24:43,557 but this old-fashioned biplane packed a deadly punch. 346 00:24:43,607 --> 00:24:47,646 A torpedo dropped from one of these could hurt even the biggest battleship. 347 00:24:47,687 --> 00:24:52,807 ln fact, a Swordfish attack had crippled the Bismarck earlier in the war. 348 00:24:56,927 --> 00:25:00,124 The pride of the German fleet had been left dead in the water 349 00:25:00,167 --> 00:25:02,158 by the flimsy biplanes. 350 00:25:03,847 --> 00:25:06,122 Lieutenant Commander Eugene Esmonde 351 00:25:06,167 --> 00:25:08,601 was the leader of that sortie against the Bismarck. 352 00:25:08,647 --> 00:25:11,684 He'd been decorated for his bravery. 353 00:25:11,727 --> 00:25:17,165 Now Esmonde was facing the largest German flotilla of the war. 354 00:25:17,207 --> 00:25:22,156 The plan was to protect his Swordfish attack with five Spitfire squadrons. 355 00:25:23,607 --> 00:25:25,563 But the Spitfires are late, 356 00:25:25,607 --> 00:25:29,759 and the German battleships are steaming beyond range at a rate of knots. 357 00:25:29,807 --> 00:25:34,005 Against overwhelming odds, Esmonde presses on with the attack. 358 00:25:39,727 --> 00:25:42,844 As the German ships slipped into the Channel, 359 00:25:42,887 --> 00:25:46,721 the fog lifted and they could almost touch the white cliffs. 360 00:25:55,287 --> 00:25:58,085 (Siren wails) 361 00:25:59,087 --> 00:26:01,123 NElL: All too clearly, Esmonde and his men 362 00:26:01,167 --> 00:26:04,079 were now the front line of Britain's defence. 363 00:26:07,447 --> 00:26:11,679 From a British torpedo boat, Reg Mitchell witnessed the battle. 364 00:26:11,727 --> 00:26:13,046 Hello, sir. 365 00:26:13,087 --> 00:26:18,241 Reg saw the powerful German fighters begin to pick off the British biplanes. 366 00:26:20,127 --> 00:26:22,766 REG: The Fokker Wolfs were coming up behind them 367 00:26:22,807 --> 00:26:26,083 with their flaps down and their wheels down, 368 00:26:26,127 --> 00:26:30,040 and they were revving up all the time to try and stop themselves stalling 369 00:26:30,087 --> 00:26:32,123 so they could get a good burst in. 370 00:26:32,167 --> 00:26:36,604 And we would watch them, watch the tracers going into the Swordfish, 371 00:26:36,647 --> 00:26:39,320 and they got shot down one after the other. 372 00:26:55,847 --> 00:26:59,760 NElL: The German flotilla sailed past Dover unharmed. 373 00:26:59,807 --> 00:27:05,279 Left in the water all six Swordfish, 1 3 of their crew dead, 374 00:27:05,327 --> 00:27:07,682 among them Eugene Esmonde. 375 00:27:11,647 --> 00:27:16,038 The boldness and power of the German fleet found Britain ill-prepared. 376 00:27:17,367 --> 00:27:20,359 But those few who did press home the attack were not forgotten. 377 00:27:20,407 --> 00:27:23,205 Esmonde was awarded the Victoria Cross. 378 00:27:30,527 --> 00:27:34,236 This is the citation, together with the stamp of King George Vl, 379 00:27:34,287 --> 00:27:35,800 that accompanied the medal. 380 00:27:36,967 --> 00:27:39,481 ''He flew on, cool and resolute, 381 00:27:39,527 --> 00:27:43,998 serenely challenging hopeless odds to encounter the deadly fire of the enemy.'' 382 00:27:44,047 --> 00:27:49,917 ''Undismayed he led his squadron on, straight through this inferno of fire. '' 383 00:28:04,207 --> 00:28:08,200 NlCK: The Channel has always been our great natural border, 384 00:28:08,247 --> 00:28:10,317 a barrier in times of war 385 00:28:10,367 --> 00:28:13,962 but also our link to the trading ports of Northern Europe. 386 00:28:16,207 --> 00:28:18,357 l've crossed the Channel to Dunkirk. 387 00:28:20,367 --> 00:28:25,361 The most northerly French port, its name evokes British fighting spirit. 388 00:28:26,487 --> 00:28:30,321 lts beaches still bear the scars of conflict. 389 00:28:33,247 --> 00:28:35,636 ln the aftermath of two world wars, 390 00:28:35,687 --> 00:28:39,157 a new trade alliance grew up along these shores, 391 00:28:39,207 --> 00:28:42,597 dedicated to breaking down borders. 392 00:28:42,647 --> 00:28:44,956 lt would become the European Union. 393 00:28:46,167 --> 00:28:48,806 The founding principle of the original union 394 00:28:48,847 --> 00:28:54,399 was to make war not only unthinkable but materially impossible. 395 00:28:55,207 --> 00:28:57,960 lt's made it rather difficult to find any borders. 396 00:28:59,647 --> 00:29:02,878 l'm about six miles northeast of Dunkirk 397 00:29:02,927 --> 00:29:06,636 and l'm looking for the border that marks the edge of France. 398 00:29:06,687 --> 00:29:09,997 You'd think they might have put a flag up or something. 399 00:29:11,447 --> 00:29:13,756 l've got the coordinates of where the border should be 400 00:29:13,807 --> 00:29:17,163 in this little GPS unit and it's telling me to go up here. 401 00:29:18,207 --> 00:29:21,882 This cannot possibly be a border post. 402 00:29:23,087 --> 00:29:25,396 l think l'm on a wild border chase here. 403 00:29:26,367 --> 00:29:30,519 OK, l've seen something but on the wrong side of the fence. 404 00:29:32,447 --> 00:29:35,325 This is the border marker. 405 00:29:35,367 --> 00:29:37,927 There's an F on this side for France... 406 00:29:39,367 --> 00:29:42,404 ...a broken N, that must be the Netherlands, 407 00:29:42,447 --> 00:29:45,757 and here a date, 1 81 9. 408 00:29:45,807 --> 00:29:49,356 Well, that is not the Netherlands any more. 409 00:29:49,407 --> 00:29:53,286 1 90 years ago, when this marker was put in the sand, 410 00:29:53,327 --> 00:29:57,445 the country we're about to enter didn't even exist. 411 00:29:58,207 --> 00:30:02,041 lf that seems a bit confusing, the change in the landscape at least 412 00:30:02,087 --> 00:30:05,284 leaves you in no doubt you've entered a new country, 413 00:30:05,327 --> 00:30:10,685 as wild open spaces transform into something a little more concrete. 414 00:30:12,047 --> 00:30:15,244 Welcome to Belgium. 415 00:30:17,007 --> 00:30:18,804 Looks like they've had the builders in. 416 00:30:18,847 --> 00:30:21,759 PLASTlC BERTRAND: Ca Plane Pour Moi 417 00:30:27,447 --> 00:30:30,883 One of Europe's most densely populated coastal countries, 418 00:30:30,927 --> 00:30:35,876 it also has one of its shortest coastlines, less than 50 miles. 419 00:30:35,927 --> 00:30:39,363 But, boy, do the Belgians make the most of it. 420 00:30:47,207 --> 00:30:50,677 There are no fewer than 1 6 major holiday resorts 421 00:30:50,727 --> 00:30:54,197 packed in along this tiny coast. 422 00:30:56,847 --> 00:31:01,762 And what links it all is the Kusttram, the coast tram. 423 00:31:05,367 --> 00:31:08,359 Starting near the border town of De Panne, 424 00:31:08,407 --> 00:31:11,877 the track runs more or less the length of the Belgian coast, 425 00:31:11,927 --> 00:31:14,964 loops around and comes back down again, 426 00:31:15,007 --> 00:31:16,998 85 miles all told, 427 00:31:17,047 --> 00:31:21,325 making it the longest single-track tram in the world. 428 00:31:23,527 --> 00:31:26,041 No need for walking boots when you're taking the tram. 429 00:31:26,087 --> 00:31:28,601 l think a change of outfit is in order. 430 00:31:31,767 --> 00:31:33,519 l'm curious to know how the tramline 431 00:31:33,567 --> 00:31:37,355 helps the Belgians cram so much into their coast. 432 00:31:37,407 --> 00:31:40,444 So at a station in a rare break between high-rises, 433 00:31:40,487 --> 00:31:43,479 l'm meeting tram man Dirk Schockaert. 434 00:31:43,527 --> 00:31:45,119 - You must be Nick. - l am Nick. 435 00:31:45,167 --> 00:31:49,763 This is one of the extraordinary rail stations l've ever been to in the world. 436 00:31:49,807 --> 00:31:50,842 lt's on a beach. 437 00:31:50,887 --> 00:31:53,879 Yes, it's a tram stop in the middle of nowhere. 438 00:31:53,927 --> 00:31:56,395 NlCK: Why was the tramline built and when? 439 00:31:56,447 --> 00:31:59,484 DlRK: The tramline was created in 1 885. 440 00:31:59,527 --> 00:32:03,679 ln the beginning we had three train stations at the coast, 441 00:32:03,727 --> 00:32:07,800 so all the rich tourists came from the inside of the country 442 00:32:07,847 --> 00:32:10,315 to their holiday here at the coast, 443 00:32:10,367 --> 00:32:14,519 and they were stuck at their place, so they were thinking, 444 00:32:14,567 --> 00:32:20,199 ''Well, we will create a tramline so that we can transport people.'' 445 00:32:20,247 --> 00:32:21,760 Mostly rich tourists. 446 00:32:21,807 --> 00:32:24,844 And, for example, l have here an old poster. 447 00:32:24,887 --> 00:32:26,798 NlCK: That's wonderful. DlRK: Touristic poster. 448 00:32:26,847 --> 00:32:30,806 The image in the picture is very much of a seaside paradise 449 00:32:30,847 --> 00:32:32,166 waiting to be opened up. 450 00:32:32,207 --> 00:32:35,563 DlRK: Yes, at that time our coast was like that, 451 00:32:35,607 --> 00:32:39,566 and now there are everywhere buildings. 452 00:32:39,607 --> 00:32:41,279 - l'd better give you that. - Yes, indeed. 453 00:32:41,327 --> 00:32:45,036 lt just shot past. Well, we missed that one. 454 00:32:50,087 --> 00:32:53,921 lt was the Kusttram that really shaped the Belgian coast. 455 00:32:53,967 --> 00:32:56,435 The resortsjust grew up along it. 456 00:32:57,327 --> 00:33:02,355 But the arrival of the tram did squeeze out a simpler way of life. 457 00:33:02,407 --> 00:33:06,923 For generations, a band of horse-riding fishermen have hunted shrimps 458 00:33:06,967 --> 00:33:10,562 in the sandy shallows off the Belgian coast. 459 00:33:10,607 --> 00:33:13,804 Today horse-back fishing's a dying art. 460 00:33:13,847 --> 00:33:17,556 Miranda's off to see how it's done before it's too late. 461 00:33:18,647 --> 00:33:20,319 These days if you want to find the homes 462 00:33:20,367 --> 00:33:22,323 of the shrimp fishermen and their horses, 463 00:33:22,367 --> 00:33:24,358 you have to head inland. 464 00:33:25,287 --> 00:33:27,676 Coastal construction has forced the shrimp men 465 00:33:27,727 --> 00:33:29,797 to live miles from the beach, 466 00:33:29,847 --> 00:33:33,317 but they still work to the sea's traditional rhythms. 467 00:33:33,367 --> 00:33:36,165 Catching the tide means an early start. 468 00:33:36,207 --> 00:33:38,596 Morning, Dominique. How are you doing? 469 00:33:38,647 --> 00:33:40,842 Very good, thank you. 470 00:33:40,887 --> 00:33:43,037 At 21, Dominique Vandendriessche 471 00:33:43,087 --> 00:33:45,681 is the youngest of the remaining shrimp fishermen 472 00:33:45,727 --> 00:33:49,959 and part of this local tradition which has gone on for generations. 473 00:34:00,367 --> 00:34:03,996 Fishing from horseback was begun by local farmers 474 00:34:04,047 --> 00:34:06,561 who used the leftovers as fertiliser. 475 00:34:09,967 --> 00:34:12,879 Once there were almost a hundred shrimp fishermen, 476 00:34:12,927 --> 00:34:17,000 Now only a handful cling on in this concrete jungle. 477 00:34:21,487 --> 00:34:24,445 l must say, l do feel a bit conspicuous. 478 00:34:32,887 --> 00:34:37,403 This is one of the last places anywhere that they fish like this. 479 00:34:37,447 --> 00:34:38,766 How does it work? 480 00:34:38,807 --> 00:34:40,206 DOMlNlQUE: Those two boards, 481 00:34:40,247 --> 00:34:42,807 they are used to open the net in the water. 482 00:34:42,847 --> 00:34:44,439 - Seven metres. MlRANDA: Right. 483 00:34:44,487 --> 00:34:46,842 DOMlNlQUE: Once side floating on the water 484 00:34:46,887 --> 00:34:50,436 and the other side stays on the ground because of the weight of the chain. 485 00:34:50,487 --> 00:34:51,476 Yeah. 486 00:34:51,527 --> 00:34:56,078 But the chain is really used to wake up the shrimps, 487 00:34:56,127 --> 00:34:58,766 because the shrimps live under the sands. 488 00:34:58,807 --> 00:35:01,116 And what happens, the chain makes a noise 489 00:35:01,167 --> 00:35:02,805 and all the shrimps, they jump up 490 00:35:02,847 --> 00:35:05,122 and they get caught between the two sides of the net, 491 00:35:05,167 --> 00:35:09,240 they get pushed there in the end of the net, you see? 492 00:35:09,287 --> 00:35:11,755 MlRANDA: But working in the shallows with this heavy gear 493 00:35:11,807 --> 00:35:14,401 would be impossible without the right horse. 494 00:35:14,447 --> 00:35:18,963 lt takes the exceptional strength of these huge Brabant draft horses 495 00:35:19,007 --> 00:35:21,123 to drag the nets through the wet sand. 496 00:35:21,167 --> 00:35:23,362 - What's your horse called? - Jim. 497 00:35:23,407 --> 00:35:27,320 This is Jim. He's huge, isn't he? He's really built for the job. 498 00:35:27,367 --> 00:35:29,562 How on earth am l gonna get up there? 499 00:35:29,607 --> 00:35:31,996 You've got longer legs than l have, though. 500 00:35:34,927 --> 00:35:36,326 MlRANDA: l'm used to riding, 501 00:35:36,367 --> 00:35:40,440 but these giants are incredibly difficult to control in the water, 502 00:35:40,487 --> 00:35:42,796 so l've got to hitch a ride with Dominique. 503 00:35:45,767 --> 00:35:47,325 [Laughs] 504 00:35:47,367 --> 00:35:49,358 OK. 505 00:35:49,407 --> 00:35:52,285 (Dominique speaks Flemish) 506 00:35:56,167 --> 00:35:58,761 So tell me a bit about Jim. How old is he? What's he like? 507 00:35:58,807 --> 00:36:01,640 DOMlNlQUE: He's seven years old. He's a really relaxed horse. 508 00:36:01,687 --> 00:36:04,645 He never worries about anything and he never complains. 509 00:36:04,687 --> 00:36:07,440 MlRANDA: So what's it like for Jim in the water? ls it really hard work? 510 00:36:07,487 --> 00:36:10,365 DOMlNlQUE: Yes, the faster he goes, the harder it gets, 511 00:36:10,407 --> 00:36:14,002 because the water has not time enough to escape out of the net. 512 00:36:14,047 --> 00:36:19,724 But after a couple of times the horse realises if he goes slower, it's easier. 513 00:36:19,767 --> 00:36:24,045 The only thing they get scared of is when the waves come towards them. 514 00:36:24,087 --> 00:36:27,159 When that happens and they are frightened, 515 00:36:27,207 --> 00:36:30,597 you turn them round and you make them go backwards to the sea, 516 00:36:30,647 --> 00:36:34,401 so they don't see the waves, and once they're in it, their fear is over. 517 00:36:35,407 --> 00:36:38,604 MlRANDA: And you obviously have an amazing bond with Jim. 518 00:36:38,647 --> 00:36:41,525 DOMlNlQUE: Yes, we know each other by heart and soul. 519 00:36:41,567 --> 00:36:42,920 MlRANDA: Yeah? 520 00:36:52,207 --> 00:36:54,641 MlRANDA: Wow! 521 00:36:54,687 --> 00:36:57,997 This is what we've been catching, little grey shrimps. 522 00:36:59,127 --> 00:37:01,322 So, Dominique, what's this sort of catch worth, then? 523 00:37:01,367 --> 00:37:04,757 This, well, maybe two euros. 524 00:37:04,807 --> 00:37:07,958 Two euros? That's not even enough money to feed your horse for the day. 525 00:37:08,007 --> 00:37:09,042 No, no. 526 00:37:09,807 --> 00:37:12,401 MlRANDA: Their meagre catch doesn't make for a living, 527 00:37:12,447 --> 00:37:15,280 but a profitable sideline is opening up. 528 00:37:16,247 --> 00:37:20,445 Their novelty has made the horsemen into a local attraction. 529 00:37:20,487 --> 00:37:25,607 While fishing for shrimps, they're also being paid to haul in the tourists. 530 00:37:30,167 --> 00:37:32,123 MlRANDA: So l can try one? Yeah? MAN: Yeah. 531 00:37:33,847 --> 00:37:36,281 - OK? - Those are really good. 532 00:37:36,327 --> 00:37:38,443 That's about as fresh a shrimp as l've ever eaten. 533 00:37:38,487 --> 00:37:39,715 MAN: Yes. 534 00:37:39,767 --> 00:37:41,325 MlRANDA: On this coastline, 535 00:37:41,367 --> 00:37:44,279 embracing tourism and the changes that come with it 536 00:37:44,327 --> 00:37:47,125 helps this traditional way of life to survive. 537 00:37:58,727 --> 00:38:00,558 NlCK: We're on the Belgian coast, 538 00:38:00,607 --> 00:38:04,282 riding the tram towards the pretty town of De Haan. 539 00:38:10,487 --> 00:38:12,955 This small coastal retreat grew up 540 00:38:13,007 --> 00:38:16,966 as a quiet alternative to Belgium's bustling resorts, 541 00:38:17,007 --> 00:38:20,761 the station unchanged since 1 902. 542 00:38:24,007 --> 00:38:29,604 Stepping onto the platform, you get the feeling that time is standing still. 543 00:38:38,247 --> 00:38:41,603 lt certainly did for De Haan's most celebrated visitor 544 00:38:41,647 --> 00:38:45,003 who was kicking his heels here some 80 years ago. 545 00:38:45,047 --> 00:38:50,883 ln 1 933, this sleepy stretch of coast was the unlikely destination 546 00:38:50,927 --> 00:38:54,397 for one of the most famous men in the world. 547 00:38:54,447 --> 00:38:58,725 He was the face of physics, the image of genius. 548 00:38:58,767 --> 00:39:03,682 Why was Albert Einstein here in De Haan? 549 00:39:12,647 --> 00:39:18,279 By 1 933, at the age of 54, Einstein was world famous. 550 00:39:18,327 --> 00:39:22,036 His theory of relativity had revolutionised physics. 551 00:39:22,087 --> 00:39:26,444 lt would lead to the concept of the big bang and black holes. 552 00:39:26,487 --> 00:39:28,478 He'd won the Nobel prize. 553 00:39:29,847 --> 00:39:34,682 But the world his physics described was undergoing violent change. 554 00:39:40,607 --> 00:39:42,643 Fascism was on the rise in Europe. 555 00:39:42,687 --> 00:39:46,202 Hitler had become dictator of Germany. 556 00:39:46,247 --> 00:39:48,477 Persecution of the country's Jews had begun, 557 00:39:48,527 --> 00:39:51,200 sanctioned by the new Nazi government. 558 00:39:52,407 --> 00:39:54,875 Einstein, both German and Jewish, 559 00:39:54,927 --> 00:39:57,805 was in America when Hitler came to power. 560 00:39:57,847 --> 00:39:59,838 A lifelong peace campaigner, 561 00:39:59,887 --> 00:40:03,004 the physicist had spoken out against the Nazis, 562 00:40:03,047 --> 00:40:04,765 calling for economic sanctions. 563 00:40:07,367 --> 00:40:12,885 He returned to Europe in 1 933, stateless, unable to go home to Germany, 564 00:40:12,927 --> 00:40:16,840 his life under threat and wondering how, as a man of peace, 565 00:40:16,887 --> 00:40:19,447 to respond to the violent times. 566 00:40:26,247 --> 00:40:30,798 So how did he end up in this small Belgian seaside resort? 567 00:40:32,687 --> 00:40:35,247 l'm hoping Brigitte Baeten can tell me. 568 00:40:35,287 --> 00:40:39,599 She's the town's unofficial guardian of all things Einstein, 569 00:40:39,647 --> 00:40:43,003 including a statue dedicated to the physicist. 570 00:40:43,047 --> 00:40:44,526 Are you just dusting him down? 571 00:40:44,567 --> 00:40:48,401 Yes, a little bit. l like to have his hands clean. 572 00:40:48,447 --> 00:40:50,642 (Both laugh) 573 00:40:50,687 --> 00:40:54,521 NlCK: How did De Haan come to be looking after the great man? 574 00:40:54,567 --> 00:40:57,479 BRlGlTTE: Well, actually, it was the royal family, 575 00:40:57,527 --> 00:41:01,805 as he was a good friend of the royal Belgian family, 576 00:41:01,847 --> 00:41:06,841 which is our King Albert l and the Queen Elizabeth. 577 00:41:06,887 --> 00:41:13,042 lt is them who said he would better stay for a while in Belgium. 578 00:41:15,687 --> 00:41:18,406 NlCK: lt was the friendship with the royal family 579 00:41:18,447 --> 00:41:20,756 that bought Einstein to Belgium, 580 00:41:20,807 --> 00:41:23,526 but it was the need for a quiet place to think, 581 00:41:23,567 --> 00:41:27,480 a refuge from the turmoil in Europe, that brought him to De Haan. 582 00:41:30,887 --> 00:41:33,526 BRlGlTTE: l have first of all... NlCK: Oh, my goodness. 583 00:41:34,607 --> 00:41:36,677 What an incredible photograph. ls this him here? 584 00:41:36,727 --> 00:41:38,797 He's not wearing any socks. 585 00:41:38,847 --> 00:41:41,122 BRlGlTTE: He's not, because he used to say, 586 00:41:41,167 --> 00:41:45,558 ''Socks are the worst thing in the world. You always have a hole in it.'' 587 00:41:45,607 --> 00:41:48,360 Well, that's a logical approach. That's good. Yeah, l like that. 588 00:41:49,447 --> 00:41:51,483 NlCK: He appears a man at ease, 589 00:41:51,527 --> 00:41:54,963 but the great thinker had a lot on his mind. 590 00:41:55,007 --> 00:41:59,205 Walking the dunes and avenues, Einstein wrestled with his conscience. 591 00:41:59,247 --> 00:42:03,399 He believed in peace but also that Hitler had to be stopped. 592 00:42:04,247 --> 00:42:07,319 - So where is Einstein's house? - This is the house of Einstein. 593 00:42:07,367 --> 00:42:08,800 - This one here? - This one. 594 00:42:08,847 --> 00:42:10,917 - There's a plaque on the front. - Look at the window. 595 00:42:10,967 --> 00:42:12,605 BRlGlTTE: There he is. NlCK: How funny. 596 00:42:12,647 --> 00:42:15,923 BRlGlTTE: lsn't that wonderful? - And the doors are unchanged. 597 00:42:15,967 --> 00:42:18,037 lt's all unchanged. 598 00:42:18,087 --> 00:42:21,636 Excuse me. l'm so sorry to interrupt your supper, 599 00:42:21,687 --> 00:42:24,520 but we were just looking at the plaque on the front of your home. 600 00:42:24,567 --> 00:42:26,239 What's it like living in Einstein's house? 601 00:42:26,287 --> 00:42:29,006 Do you get fed up with people coming and leaning over the gate like we are? 602 00:42:29,047 --> 00:42:32,881 Most of them being Belgian, they're pretty polite, 603 00:42:32,927 --> 00:42:34,406 so it's not that much of a problem. 604 00:42:34,447 --> 00:42:36,324 Now, what about this photograph here? 605 00:42:36,367 --> 00:42:39,120 Could we go inside and try and match it up with you, if you haven't seen it? 606 00:42:39,167 --> 00:42:41,556 - lt might be quite interesting. - Absolutely. Just follow me. 607 00:42:41,607 --> 00:42:42,596 Thank you. 608 00:42:44,447 --> 00:42:46,244 Wow. 609 00:42:47,207 --> 00:42:49,596 Yes. Brigitte's already done it. 610 00:42:49,647 --> 00:42:53,196 Yeah, l think you recognise that part of the house. 611 00:42:53,247 --> 00:42:55,715 But the fireplace, it's the same one, isn't it? 612 00:42:55,767 --> 00:42:58,440 - lt must be the same, yeah. BRlGlTTE: Yes. 613 00:42:58,487 --> 00:43:02,480 NlCK: lt seems that sitting in this living room almost 80 years ago, 614 00:43:02,527 --> 00:43:06,600 Einstein the pacifist became an advocate of war, 615 00:43:06,647 --> 00:43:09,241 albeit a war against oppression and dictatorship. 616 00:43:12,527 --> 00:43:14,882 Einstein told an American professor, 617 00:43:14,927 --> 00:43:19,239 ''To prevent the greater evil, it is necessary for the lesser evil, 618 00:43:19,287 --> 00:43:22,996 the hated military, to be accepted for the time being.'' 619 00:43:24,647 --> 00:43:29,641 After a six-month stay, Einstein left Belgium in September 1 933 620 00:43:29,687 --> 00:43:32,201 for a new life in America, 621 00:43:32,247 --> 00:43:35,523 committed to fighting tyranny in whatever way he could. 622 00:43:36,487 --> 00:43:39,524 What he couldn't have known is the part his physics would play 623 00:43:39,567 --> 00:43:40,966 in the coming struggle. 624 00:43:41,687 --> 00:43:45,396 30 years earlier, Albert had written an equation, 625 00:43:45,447 --> 00:43:48,723 a formula for the conversion of matter into energy. 626 00:43:50,567 --> 00:43:54,560 E for energy equals M for mass, 627 00:43:54,607 --> 00:43:57,565 times C for the speed of light squared. 628 00:43:57,607 --> 00:44:01,202 Now, the speed of light squared is a huge number, 629 00:44:01,247 --> 00:44:08,642 so you only need a tiny amount of mass to equal a lot of energy. 630 00:44:08,687 --> 00:44:13,556 Cram that mass into a bomb and the results are devastating. 631 00:44:36,727 --> 00:44:39,525 ldeas change the fate of nations, 632 00:44:39,567 --> 00:44:43,401 and nature changes the fate of the coast. 633 00:44:43,447 --> 00:44:48,646 Now the city of Bruges is connected to the port of Zeebrugge by a mighty canal. 634 00:44:50,287 --> 00:44:53,677 But 700 years ago it was a different story. 635 00:44:53,727 --> 00:44:57,606 Mark is exploring how mediaeval Bruges 636 00:44:57,647 --> 00:45:01,720 once had a much closer connection to the coast, and to us. 637 00:45:02,647 --> 00:45:05,605 For me, this is a very emotional journey. 638 00:45:05,647 --> 00:45:10,323 l first came here to Bruges aged 1 3. 639 00:45:10,367 --> 00:45:14,918 l was obsessed with medieval history. 640 00:45:16,967 --> 00:45:21,404 Now l'm back to rekindle my old passion for the place 641 00:45:21,447 --> 00:45:24,837 but also to explore an intriguing connection to England 642 00:45:24,887 --> 00:45:27,526 l discovered all those years ago. 643 00:45:28,447 --> 00:45:33,567 The city's canals give us a clue to its rich maritime past. 644 00:45:33,607 --> 00:45:38,317 Sea trade made the burgers of Bruges very rich 645 00:45:38,367 --> 00:45:40,756 in the 1 3th and 1 4th centuries. 646 00:45:40,807 --> 00:45:47,645 Believe it or not, this was once the main canal into the heart of Bruges, 647 00:45:47,687 --> 00:45:52,477 where ships from all round the world came and unloaded their cargos 648 00:45:52,527 --> 00:45:56,202 in the water hall in the middle of the town square. 649 00:45:58,727 --> 00:46:02,197 700 years ago a bird's eye view of Bruges 650 00:46:02,247 --> 00:46:04,477 would have been radically different. 651 00:46:04,527 --> 00:46:08,315 A sea inlet reached the outskirts of the city, 652 00:46:08,367 --> 00:46:11,803 linking it directly to the North Sea 653 00:46:11,847 --> 00:46:15,726 and historic ports like lpswich and King's Lynn. 654 00:46:17,647 --> 00:46:21,606 Those links between East Anglia and Bruges 655 00:46:21,647 --> 00:46:25,037 l discovered for myself as a 1 3-year-old 656 00:46:25,087 --> 00:46:27,726 armed only with a roll of paper 657 00:46:27,767 --> 00:46:29,678 and a wax crayon. 658 00:46:33,527 --> 00:46:39,875 Sint-Salvator Cathedral is a wonderful place for a spot of brass rubbing. 659 00:46:44,567 --> 00:46:48,003 Unfortunately, it's now discouraged in Belgium. 660 00:46:51,047 --> 00:46:53,436 But l did a few earlier. 661 00:46:53,487 --> 00:46:55,478 40 years earlier. 662 00:46:56,567 --> 00:46:58,922 The thing about these brasses 663 00:46:58,967 --> 00:47:03,563 is they show the shear wealth and prosperity of Bruges. 664 00:47:03,607 --> 00:47:07,316 This is a brass of one of these merchants. 665 00:47:07,367 --> 00:47:10,598 There he is with his wife and his daughter, 666 00:47:10,647 --> 00:47:14,959 and you can see down at the bottom there is an image of a ship. 667 00:47:15,007 --> 00:47:20,684 But these brasses also tell us about trade between England and Bruges, 668 00:47:20,727 --> 00:47:24,561 because in lpswich there's an almost identical brass. 669 00:47:24,607 --> 00:47:27,201 lt shows Thomas Pownder. 670 00:47:27,247 --> 00:47:29,966 He was a cloth merchant, a very wealthy man. 671 00:47:30,007 --> 00:47:32,157 There's his merchant's mark. 672 00:47:32,207 --> 00:47:35,404 He was not satisfied with inferior English brasses 673 00:47:35,447 --> 00:47:39,486 but went all the way here to Bruges to get his memorial, 674 00:47:39,527 --> 00:47:41,518 and this is it. 675 00:47:45,207 --> 00:47:50,440 The link between Bruges and Eastern England l'd stumbled upon as a boy 676 00:47:50,487 --> 00:47:52,159 was centuries old, 677 00:47:52,207 --> 00:47:56,405 part of a trade alliance known as the Hanseatic League. 678 00:47:59,527 --> 00:48:04,317 This enormous medieval room would have been a warehouse 679 00:48:04,367 --> 00:48:08,201 stacked high with East Anglian wool. 680 00:48:08,247 --> 00:48:11,876 On their return, the empty ships were so unstable, 681 00:48:11,927 --> 00:48:15,124 they had to be filled with Flemish bricks. 682 00:48:19,687 --> 00:48:23,965 Bricks were in big demand 700 years ago in England 683 00:48:24,007 --> 00:48:27,636 because back then we weren't making any of our own. 684 00:48:29,567 --> 00:48:33,082 l'm hoping historian David Andrews can tell me why. 685 00:48:34,647 --> 00:48:36,444 The Romans, of course, had made bricks, 686 00:48:36,487 --> 00:48:40,560 but with the collapse that came after the fall of the Roman Empire, 687 00:48:40,607 --> 00:48:42,916 the technology was lost throughout much of northern Europe, 688 00:48:42,967 --> 00:48:45,037 maybe parts of the Mediterranean as well. 689 00:48:45,087 --> 00:48:47,601 So when is brick making rediscovered? 690 00:48:47,647 --> 00:48:50,639 ln the 1 2th century, the Cistercians are making bricks, 691 00:48:50,687 --> 00:48:53,281 and the Cistercians built this wonderful barn here. 692 00:48:53,327 --> 00:48:56,842 lt's like a cathedral, isn't it? With the sort of east window in brick. 693 00:48:56,887 --> 00:48:59,162 DAVlD: With tracery in brick, yes. 694 00:48:59,207 --> 00:49:02,916 MARK: Cistercian monks may have revived the art of brick making, 695 00:49:02,967 --> 00:49:07,085 but in England we're a bit slow on the uptake. 696 00:49:08,167 --> 00:49:12,718 Rather than make our own, we bought them from the Low Countries. 697 00:49:13,727 --> 00:49:15,843 DAVlD: We had ceramic technologies, 698 00:49:15,887 --> 00:49:18,162 we could make pottery, we could make roof tile, 699 00:49:18,207 --> 00:49:20,277 but we don't seem to have bothered with brick. 700 00:49:20,327 --> 00:49:23,399 MARK: And what do these Flemish bricks actually look like? 701 00:49:23,447 --> 00:49:26,166 DAVlD: Well, l've got one from Essex here. 702 00:49:26,207 --> 00:49:30,120 MARK: So these are really grotty. You can just see how soft they are. 703 00:49:30,167 --> 00:49:32,317 You can put the powder everywhere. 704 00:49:32,367 --> 00:49:34,562 Yes, they aren't marvellous bricks, 705 00:49:34,607 --> 00:49:37,963 but they work and they're quite long-lasting and quite durable. 706 00:49:38,007 --> 00:49:41,920 MARK: After 700 years, this Essex brick has come home 707 00:49:41,967 --> 00:49:46,279 to where it was made from the polder clay, 708 00:49:46,327 --> 00:49:51,560 the layer of mud left behind when the sea retreated from the land. 709 00:49:51,607 --> 00:49:57,318 Art Vandendorpe is going to show me how to turn clay into bricks. 710 00:49:58,687 --> 00:50:02,396 He's restored some of Bruges' most ancient buildings 711 00:50:02,447 --> 00:50:05,723 using the oldest instruction book there is. 712 00:50:08,007 --> 00:50:12,478 So this is the original description of how bricks were made in those days. 713 00:50:12,527 --> 00:50:16,122 ART: They take the clay and they mixed them with sand, 714 00:50:16,167 --> 00:50:18,601 they put it on the table and they make the brick. 715 00:50:18,647 --> 00:50:21,525 And then they put them here in the clamp. 716 00:50:21,567 --> 00:50:23,125 - ln the clamp. - One million. 717 00:50:23,167 --> 00:50:24,395 - MARK: ln one clamp? - Yeah. 718 00:50:24,447 --> 00:50:26,836 - So that's from the polders? - Yes, from here. 719 00:50:26,887 --> 00:50:29,162 - Just from underneath the riverbank? - Yes, yes, yes. 720 00:50:36,527 --> 00:50:37,516 Tap. 721 00:50:39,127 --> 00:50:40,685 MARK: Perfect! 722 00:50:40,727 --> 00:50:44,845 Bits of old brick, the odd shell. That's what makes the brick strong. 723 00:50:44,887 --> 00:50:46,036 Right. 724 00:50:46,087 --> 00:50:50,080 After several hundred years of the Flemish showing the way, 725 00:50:50,127 --> 00:50:54,564 English brick makers had just about got the hang of it. 726 00:50:54,607 --> 00:50:56,404 ART: Oh, this is an English brick. 727 00:50:57,447 --> 00:50:59,756 MARK: Unlike me. 728 00:50:59,807 --> 00:51:04,483 But it was the clay, the very stuff the bricks of Bruges were made of, 729 00:51:04,527 --> 00:51:07,405 that finally cut the city off from the sea. 730 00:51:07,447 --> 00:51:11,963 When the inlet silted up, gone went that trading route to Europe. 731 00:51:12,887 --> 00:51:15,560 Leaving Bruges high and dry 732 00:51:15,607 --> 00:51:19,885 but preserved in all this medieval splendour. 733 00:51:29,887 --> 00:51:33,436 NlCK: Ancient trade roots connect us to the Belgian coast, 734 00:51:33,487 --> 00:51:38,720 but we also share a deep and abiding love of chips. 735 00:51:38,767 --> 00:51:41,839 PAOLO CONTE: Via Con Me 736 00:51:43,367 --> 00:51:45,835 But, of course, these aren't any old chips. 737 00:51:45,887 --> 00:51:48,526 These are Belgian fries. 738 00:51:48,567 --> 00:51:50,876 My name is Bernard Lefevre. 739 00:51:50,927 --> 00:51:54,237 l am president of the National Union of Frituur'tsteen, 740 00:51:54,287 --> 00:51:56,801 which is the Belgian word for fry shopkeepers. 741 00:52:00,927 --> 00:52:04,442 Like l can imagine that British people couldn't live without tea 742 00:52:04,487 --> 00:52:07,763 or Frenchmen without wine, Belgians need fries. 743 00:52:10,887 --> 00:52:15,597 The first fry shops date from the period that Belgium was founded, 744 00:52:15,647 --> 00:52:17,683 the early 1 800s. 745 00:52:20,527 --> 00:52:25,362 We use round pots because a good fry needs good space to swim in. 746 00:52:26,687 --> 00:52:30,362 They are having fun now, that much fun that what we say, 747 00:52:30,407 --> 00:52:32,841 they are starting to sing, 748 00:52:32,887 --> 00:52:36,800 and when the song is finished, well, they have to jump out. 749 00:52:41,047 --> 00:52:44,596 Our special element of the Belgium fry is the size. 750 00:52:44,647 --> 00:52:47,639 lt can change a little bit from the French border, 751 00:52:47,687 --> 00:52:50,485 where they are smaller, about 9mm, 752 00:52:50,527 --> 00:52:53,883 going to the German border to 1 4mm. 753 00:52:53,927 --> 00:52:58,318 Standard size of Belgian fries is 1 0mm thick. 754 00:52:59,847 --> 00:53:02,077 lt's a meal on itself. We don't need fish. 755 00:53:02,127 --> 00:53:03,606 We are not really a fish country. 756 00:53:03,647 --> 00:53:06,684 We only have a little part of coast. 757 00:53:09,167 --> 00:53:10,759 Voila. 758 00:53:17,967 --> 00:53:22,245 NlCK: The end of Belgium's coastal tramline delivers me to Knokke. 759 00:53:26,887 --> 00:53:29,640 lt looks pretty conventional on the outside, 760 00:53:29,687 --> 00:53:33,965 the seafront dominated by this grand 1 930s casino. 761 00:53:36,007 --> 00:53:39,556 l'm told all is not what it seems here. 762 00:53:39,607 --> 00:53:42,201 Apparently there's something surreal to see. 763 00:53:47,287 --> 00:53:50,404 And it's tucked away in a back room. 764 00:53:52,007 --> 00:53:53,679 - Hello. WOMAN: Hello. 765 00:53:53,727 --> 00:53:55,922 - l'm Nick. - Delphine. Nice to meet you. 766 00:53:55,967 --> 00:53:57,195 Very nice to meet you. 767 00:53:57,247 --> 00:54:02,765 NlCK: ln the 1 950s, Belgian surrealist Rene Magritte came to stay in Knokke 768 00:54:02,807 --> 00:54:06,038 and this is what he left behind. 769 00:54:06,767 --> 00:54:08,758 (Nick laughs) 770 00:54:11,527 --> 00:54:13,597 My goodness. 771 00:54:13,647 --> 00:54:16,366 lt's quite a thing if you see it for the first time, right? 772 00:54:16,407 --> 00:54:18,079 Yeah, it certainly is, isn't it? 773 00:54:21,247 --> 00:54:26,241 NlCK: lf you don't know Magritte's name, you might well recognise his images. 774 00:54:26,287 --> 00:54:31,407 This 360-degree mural displays some of his best known work. 775 00:54:34,487 --> 00:54:36,205 lt's a dreamscape, isn't it? 776 00:54:36,247 --> 00:54:39,000 Not necessarily a very healthy dream. 777 00:54:39,047 --> 00:54:41,641 We've got a woman with a fish's head 778 00:54:41,687 --> 00:54:44,121 and the Leaning Tower of Pisa restring on a feather. 779 00:54:44,167 --> 00:54:46,317 How do the citizens of Knokke react? 780 00:54:46,367 --> 00:54:48,039 They rather like it, l think. 781 00:54:51,207 --> 00:54:53,960 NlCK: ln 1 953 the casino owner here 782 00:54:54,007 --> 00:54:56,999 persuaded the surrealist and former wallpaper designer 783 00:54:57,047 --> 00:54:59,322 to make a rare visit to the coast 784 00:54:59,367 --> 00:55:02,325 and decorate the walls of this establishment. 785 00:55:02,367 --> 00:55:05,723 Magritte called the end result The Enchanted Domain. 786 00:55:06,887 --> 00:55:10,243 Enchanting maybe, odd certainly, 787 00:55:10,287 --> 00:55:12,278 but look closer. 788 00:55:19,527 --> 00:55:24,282 Magritte's vision seems strangely in tune with the Belgium we've experienced. 789 00:55:27,367 --> 00:55:31,519 The surrealist re-imagined the world in the name of art. 790 00:55:32,327 --> 00:55:33,840 But another local visionary, 791 00:55:33,887 --> 00:55:36,560 who re-imagined the world for practical reasons, 792 00:55:36,607 --> 00:55:39,519 is waiting at the end of my journey. 793 00:55:42,447 --> 00:55:44,085 Because it was along this coast 794 00:55:44,127 --> 00:55:48,166 that a 1 6th-century map maker of huge significance 795 00:55:48,207 --> 00:55:50,482 spent his formative years. 796 00:55:51,367 --> 00:55:54,245 He also happens to be a hero of mine. 797 00:55:54,287 --> 00:55:56,642 His name, Gerard Mercator. 798 00:55:58,167 --> 00:56:00,806 Ships like this navigate safely today 799 00:56:00,847 --> 00:56:04,317 because of a method of map making devised by Mercator. 800 00:56:04,367 --> 00:56:07,916 Even in here, surrounded by all of this hi-tech equipment, 801 00:56:07,967 --> 00:56:13,087 this modern map carries the name of a man born 500 years ago. 802 00:56:13,767 --> 00:56:16,406 Mercator cracked a complex puzzle. 803 00:56:16,447 --> 00:56:20,326 Paper maps are flat, but as you step back from the world, 804 00:56:20,367 --> 00:56:23,200 it's clear the planet isn't flat at all. 805 00:56:23,247 --> 00:56:26,398 He worked out the maths to project the 3-D world 806 00:56:26,447 --> 00:56:28,802 onto a two-dimensional sheet. 807 00:56:29,807 --> 00:56:33,880 Mercator's projection meant seafarers could, for the first time, 808 00:56:33,927 --> 00:56:37,761 navigate precisely around the three-dimensional globe. 809 00:56:38,687 --> 00:56:43,203 ln Antwerp you can see the original chart that changed the world. 810 00:56:44,327 --> 00:56:45,316 This is it. 811 00:56:45,367 --> 00:56:49,246 This is the map that turned Mercator into the first modern map maker. 812 00:56:49,287 --> 00:56:53,997 lt was completely revolutionary. lt's really a navigational device. 813 00:56:54,047 --> 00:56:59,326 What he did was to keep all the lines of longitude parallel, 814 00:56:59,367 --> 00:57:02,837 Of course, normally on the globe, they all converge at the two poles, 815 00:57:02,887 --> 00:57:06,004 but what he did was prize them apart and straighten them. 816 00:57:06,047 --> 00:57:09,483 What you end up with is quite a distorted map, 817 00:57:09,527 --> 00:57:11,518 but the sheer brilliance of this map 818 00:57:11,567 --> 00:57:14,001 is in what it does with the use of compasses. 819 00:57:14,047 --> 00:57:15,719 lf you lie a compass on this map, 820 00:57:15,767 --> 00:57:19,965 for example between Bristol and Cuba, and want to get the bearing, 821 00:57:20,007 --> 00:57:21,884 you take your bearing off the map 822 00:57:21,927 --> 00:57:23,599 and then you can stand on the deck of your ship 823 00:57:23,647 --> 00:57:27,117 and the identical bearing will take you straight from Bristol to Cuba. 824 00:57:27,167 --> 00:57:31,399 No other map projection will do that. lt was a work of sheer brilliance. 825 00:57:31,447 --> 00:57:34,245 Mercator called it the squaring of the circle. 826 00:57:40,927 --> 00:57:43,487 Mercator's genius vision, 827 00:57:43,527 --> 00:57:47,076 his projection of the earth onto accurate navigation charts, 828 00:57:47,127 --> 00:57:49,687 opened up the globe to Europeans. 829 00:57:49,727 --> 00:57:55,199 Trade blossomed and mighty estuaries became gateways to the world. 830 00:58:07,527 --> 00:58:12,999 People, goods and ideas flow between nations connected by their coastlines. 831 00:58:13,047 --> 00:58:15,845 lt gives us a common bond with our neighbours, 832 00:58:15,887 --> 00:58:20,199 stories we continue to explore around our coast and beyond.