1 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:12,200 Tower Bridge control. Tower Bridge control. 2 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:13,600 BEEPING 3 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:15,240 Can you confirm your name, please? 4 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:17,120 This is Coast. 5 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:29,200 As islanders it's in our blood to reach out and explore. 6 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:35,920 Sails up, gears in motion, and 30 miles to the open sea. 7 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:42,720 I'm following in the wake of our coastal pioneers, 8 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:47,960 seafarers who left the land in search of oceans of opportunity. 9 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:52,440 And the team are on voyages of exploration too. 10 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:59,200 Tessa is telling a Pilgrims' tale, where explorers go wayward. 11 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:02,600 How did a group of illegal stowaways 12 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:05,800 come to found the most powerful nation on earth? 13 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:08,920 And why did they head here, 14 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:11,240 to Amsterdam, before America? 15 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:16,680 Andy's in pursuit of cod, exploring the deep. 16 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:19,640 I'm searching for the solution to 17 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:23,240 a question that's easy to ask but hard to answer. 18 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:25,560 How many fish are in the sea? 19 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:30,080 And Mark's on an extraordinary quest for the explorer 20 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:34,400 who turned a prison colony into a nation. 21 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:35,920 This is not the birthplace 22 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:38,840 that you would expect for the Father of Australia. 23 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:47,800 This is The Explorers' Coast. 24 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:52,520 MUSIC: "Coast Theme" by Alan Parker 25 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:24,600 For centuries, explorers set sail from the capital 26 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:26,320 to make their mark on the world. 27 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:29,320 This Explorers' Coast 28 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:32,400 offers glimpses of glorious voyages gone by. 29 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,160 A replica of Drake's Golden Hind - 30 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:41,080 the first English ship to circumnavigate the globe. 31 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:48,640 The Cutty Sark - a super-fast clipper built for global commerce. 32 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:53,040 She ran trade routes that early explorers pioneered. 33 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:59,240 And, surprisingly, that spirit of exploration 34 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:02,600 still thrives on this highway to the sea. 35 00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:10,400 I've hitched this lift to meet modern-day explorers, 36 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:15,360 soon to embark in the wake of heroic seafarers of old. 37 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:23,760 It's a personal passion of mine 38 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:26,360 to walk around our coast, as you may know, 39 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:29,240 but circumnavigating these isles by sea 40 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:32,960 has captivated intrepid explorers for millennia. 41 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:35,960 It's a nautical tradition that proudly lives on. 42 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:42,080 Our earliest explorers relied on muscle power. 43 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:46,120 Can these crews match our ancient ancestors? 44 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:51,960 Remarkably, they're trying to row right around Britain. 45 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:54,360 This is going to be a wild ride. 46 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:05,040 This is what it was always like leaving the Thames 47 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:07,480 at the beginning of an amazing voyage. 48 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:09,360 You waited till the ebb tide 49 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:12,160 and you got sluiced down towards the ocean. 50 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:15,680 You can feel the power of the river willing you on your way. 51 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:21,880 Soon, the tide will propel 52 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:23,760 the rowing boats to sea. 53 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:28,440 Turning the corner 54 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:29,720 on the south coast, 55 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:31,400 the rowers will follow 56 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:35,480 in the wake of paddle-powered explorers from the Bronze Age... 57 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:41,000 ..braving the same deadly reefs at Land's End. 58 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:45,840 Pressing on to the Irish Sea, 59 00:04:45,840 --> 00:04:50,720 they'll struggle like Celtic oarsmen of old. 60 00:04:53,840 --> 00:04:57,200 As our crews reach the Scottish coast, 61 00:04:57,200 --> 00:04:58,680 they'll row in seas 62 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:01,080 ruled by Viking explorers. 63 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:08,440 On the home shores of Captain Cook and Admiral Nelson, 64 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:11,040 our rowers must pull together, 65 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:14,160 as did heroic life-savers of the east coast. 66 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:19,840 Coming full circle, 67 00:05:19,840 --> 00:05:21,920 our explorers will have rowed 68 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:24,440 themselves into history. 69 00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:27,560 That incredible voyage lies ahead. 70 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:31,840 Now, they're almost ready to leave the capital behind, 71 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:35,040 for a month or more, in tiny craft. 72 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:39,640 Well, it's very confined in that cabin 73 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:42,240 and that's putting it politely - it's absolutely minute! 74 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:43,960 And when you crawl in, then - 75 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:46,720 you really do have to crawl - after a rowing spell, 76 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:49,040 you're really tired 77 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:51,160 and you don't get much rest in there 78 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:54,000 because the boat is pitching from side to side. 79 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:55,960 Just movement the whole time, 80 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:58,720 there's actually no physical rest at all. 81 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:01,360 And this is just the Thames! 82 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:06,080 Well, good luck, guys, 83 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:08,000 and row safe. 84 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,120 Cheers. Bye. Bye. 85 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,680 Exploration begins with fond farewells 86 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:19,120 that our coast has witnessed through the ages. 87 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:22,400 SHIP HORNS BLARE 88 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:31,240 Can these explorers prove their mettle 89 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:33,320 and match up to ancient mariners 90 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:36,000 who propelled themselves around our isles? 91 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:43,400 2,000 miles on the oars - an odyssey from millennia ago. 92 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:45,920 Whoa! 93 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:49,640 While they're all at sea, 94 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:53,080 I'm going on my own journey by foot. 95 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:56,040 I'm following the forgotten explorers 96 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:59,400 who first navigated our treacherous coast. 97 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,800 Epic voyages that not only shaped us as a people, 98 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:06,560 but revealed the shape of our mysterious shores. 99 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:12,360 And, of course, our exploration of the explorers' coast 100 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:14,120 is a team effort. 101 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:21,680 Tessa is going back 400 years for a voyage to new worlds. 102 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:25,800 She's embarking from Boston Lincolnshire, 103 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,840 on a pitch-dark night. 104 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:37,520 It's winter, 105 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:42,120 the year of our Lord 1607, on the shores of Boston. 106 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:47,920 A desperate group are fleeing from religious persecution. 107 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:51,960 A hundred men, women, and children are gathered here, 108 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:55,400 seeking illegal passage to a new life overseas. 109 00:07:58,120 --> 00:07:59,640 But they're betrayed. 110 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:03,520 DOOR THUDS AND LOCK CLICKS 111 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:06,600 The captain has double-crossed the illegal emigrants. 112 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:10,680 They're captured by the authorities, who throw them into this very cell. 113 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:11,760 DOOR THUDDING 114 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:18,720 These explorers in search of religious freedom 115 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:22,040 were in fact the Pilgrim Fathers. 116 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:23,520 MUSIC: "The Star-Spangled Banner" 117 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:27,280 The founders of what would become the United States of America. 118 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:33,160 And as every American knows, 119 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:36,960 their founding fathers set sail from Plymouth, England, 120 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:39,720 on board the good ol' Mayflower. 121 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:41,480 MUSIC STOPS RAPIDLY 122 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:43,040 But hang on a minute! 123 00:08:43,040 --> 00:08:44,280 The Pilgrim Fathers, 124 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:47,560 when they were attempting to leave Boston, weren't on the Mayflower, 125 00:08:47,560 --> 00:08:49,840 and they weren't heading for America - 126 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:52,160 they were off to Holland. 127 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:53,480 BICYCLE BELL RINGS 128 00:08:56,840 --> 00:09:02,160 We know that... because of this man...here. 129 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:04,720 William Bradford. 130 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:07,280 He was one of the would-be escapees, 131 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:09,920 and he kept a journal. 132 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:11,840 In it he wrote - 133 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:14,800 "We resolved to go to the Low Countries, 134 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:18,680 "where we heard was freedom of religion for all men." 135 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:24,280 So, if Holland was where they intended to set up home, 136 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:27,400 how on earth did they become blown off course 137 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:30,160 and end up founding modern America? 138 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:35,240 To understand that, let's begin with where they came from - 139 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:37,400 the tiny Nottinghamshire village 140 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:41,840 of Scrooby, with its own historian Sue Allen. 141 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:46,400 So, Sue, tell me about this place called Scrooby. 142 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:48,520 Well, you've probably never heard of it, 143 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:50,720 but everyone knows where Sheffield is, 144 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:51,960 and if you just travel 145 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:55,400 east into north Nottinghamshire 146 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:58,520 you'll find this tiny little speck. That's Scrooby. Oh, 147 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:02,920 it is weeny and there's no sea. It's landlocked! 148 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:04,960 This is rural Nottinghamshire. 149 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,120 They clearly weren't seafaring types, 150 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:13,160 why where these villagers so keen to leave? 151 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:16,280 It's all down to religion. 152 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:18,240 Our group were Puritans, 153 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:22,720 the Church of England was too Catholic for their liking, 154 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:25,240 and because they made a stand 155 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:28,560 and wanted to leave the Church of England 156 00:10:28,560 --> 00:10:30,160 that was a no-no. 157 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:32,040 The head of the church was the monarch, 158 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:36,760 if you go against the monarch it's almost treason. 159 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:40,240 So they have no option but to turn towards the sea. 160 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:41,360 To go across the sea. 161 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:48,320 The Puritans resolved to put their faith in Protestant Holland. 162 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:53,200 Their story is taught to children 163 00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:55,680 but that chapter's often skipped over. 164 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:03,320 Remember we last left them in prison in Boston in 1607. 165 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:08,440 The book tells us that they were released and sent back home 166 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:10,800 and told NOT to flee again. 167 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:12,680 But they didn't obey. 168 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:18,560 Their next voyage was successful. 169 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:25,400 By the grace of God the Pilgrims had been delivered to Amsterdam. 170 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:34,600 In 1608, they'd set sail from the Humber Estuary, 171 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:38,280 but the English villagers didn't find the bustling business hub 172 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:42,120 of Amsterdam to their Puritan taste. 173 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:45,240 So the group set off again to Leiden... 174 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:51,320 ..a city not of commerce but of ideas. 175 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:55,200 The explorers in search of religious freedom, 176 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:59,120 settled happily into the university town of Leiden... 177 00:12:00,560 --> 00:12:02,160 ..and set about 178 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:04,840 doing what they did best. 179 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:09,120 Antagonising the Church of England. 180 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:12,800 Have a look at this pamphlet, it's signed by William Brewster - 181 00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:16,200 one of the Pilgrims' ringleaders - and it's a debate about 182 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:20,200 whether to split from the Church of England, heretical stuff. 183 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:24,120 But pamphlets like these could be safely printed here in Leiden 184 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:27,600 and sent back to England to stir up discontent. 185 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:30,880 The city seemed heaven-sent. 186 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:34,840 But being an immigrant in someone else's country wasn't easy, 187 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:39,520 and after ten years it looked like Catholic Spain might invade 188 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:40,800 Protestant Holland. 189 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:45,080 Time for the English Puritans to move on. 190 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:50,680 The Pilgrims set sail from Holland in 1620, next stop America. 191 00:12:51,680 --> 00:12:53,600 Well, OK, not quite. 192 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:57,360 Next stop, Southampton, and from there 193 00:12:57,360 --> 00:12:59,080 they set sail for America 194 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:02,880 in a ship called the Speedwell. 195 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:04,400 Confused? 196 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:06,280 Well, a few days into their journey, 197 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:07,920 the Speedwell sprang a leak. 198 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:10,120 So they had to go back to Plymouth, 199 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:12,120 where they transferred onto 200 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:13,760 a new ship called... 201 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:15,120 the Mayflower. 202 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:17,040 This time, the next stop 203 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:18,800 for our intrepid explorers 204 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:21,120 really was...America. 205 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:24,000 # I like to be in America 206 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:26,440 # OK by me in America 207 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:28,600 # Everything's free in America... # 208 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:32,920 Even troublesome Puritans were welcome in this new English colony. 209 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:37,480 But not all the women and children made it to the promised land. 210 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:40,400 THEY CHATTER IN DUTCH 211 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:42,320 Hello, Ria. Hello, Tessa. 212 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:46,080 'Ria Koet and her family are descendants of Mayflower 213 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:48,360 'passenger Moses Fletcher. 214 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:52,880 'Moses died in America before his own family could join him.' 215 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:55,720 His family stayed in Leiden 216 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:57,680 and they stayed, and stayed, 217 00:13:57,680 --> 00:14:00,960 and stayed many generations. And so now, 218 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:04,600 we are living here in Holland in Leiden, all in Leiden. 219 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:08,440 Do you wish you were American, or are you happy to be Dutch? 220 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:12,240 No, I am very happy to be a real Leiden woman. 221 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:17,520 And Leiden sons. Yes, we love Leiden and I stay here. 222 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:19,040 But, of course, 223 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:22,360 if we go really far back in history, you are in fact British. 224 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:25,320 Yes. Well, long live the Dutch. 225 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:28,640 Thank you very much. Thank you. Bye. 226 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:32,600 The Pilgrim Fathers have left a living legacy in Holland, 227 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:36,800 but they also took a surprising tradition from Leiden with them. 228 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:43,600 A tradition we think of as quintessentially American - 229 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:45,680 Thanksgiving. 230 00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:50,920 Every year since 1574, Protestant Leiden has held 231 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:55,800 a community feast to give thanks for the defeat of Catholic Spain. 232 00:14:56,960 --> 00:15:00,400 The Pilgrims took the Dutch ritual of Thanksgiving 233 00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:05,080 across the Atlantic, and it's come full circle. 234 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:09,720 Now every year, Leiden celebrates American Thanksgiving. 235 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:12,480 ALL: One nation under God... 236 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:19,800 The Pilgrims left Britain and headed east to Europe, 237 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:22,440 but they ended up going west to America. 238 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:26,040 It was the beginning of our special relationship with the New World, 239 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:29,360 and the rest, as they say, is history. 240 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:43,120 Britons looked longingly across the ocean 241 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:46,920 long before the Pilgrims made their voyages. 242 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:50,720 We've explored our own seas for millennia. 243 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:56,080 Before sail it was paddle power. 244 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:01,360 Now six teams are reliving the experience 245 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:04,560 of Britain's early explorers. 246 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:07,520 Whoa! He's literally right under the boat. 247 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:09,560 There he is. 248 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:14,880 They're trying to row right around our isles. 249 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:19,360 That's the White Cliffs of Dover. 250 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:20,760 That's not bad, is it? 251 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:26,160 They've chalked up the first major landmark, 252 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:30,400 but some 2,000 miles of struggle lie ahead. 253 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:34,160 I've got five blisters on my hand already, 254 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:36,640 and it's only day two. 255 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:40,480 They hurt quite a bit, so I've got to wear these giant gloves. 256 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:47,040 Our 21st-century explorers 257 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:51,080 soon discover determination isn't enough... 258 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:53,800 ..if your luck runs out. 259 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:01,320 Electrical failure means this crew lose radio and navigation. 260 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:04,960 Their voyage is over. 261 00:17:07,080 --> 00:17:11,440 Soon, more boats call for help and drop out. 262 00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:17,120 It's humbling to think of the problems tiny craft 263 00:17:17,120 --> 00:17:20,640 must have posed for our earliest explorers. 264 00:17:22,120 --> 00:17:25,240 To discover more about those nautical heroes 265 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:28,120 I'm basing myself in Cornwall. 266 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:34,200 This rocky finger pointed THEIR way to the wider world. 267 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:40,360 For me, Cornwall is the explorers' coast. 268 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:44,160 For our ancient ancestors, 269 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:48,360 epic journeys began from inlets like Falmouth. 270 00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:59,440 It's the third-largest natural harbour on earth. 271 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:08,840 Boats have been coming and going not just for hundreds of years 272 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:13,080 but thousands of years, journeys we can't possibly imagine. 273 00:18:14,120 --> 00:18:15,480 Or so I thought. 274 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:21,880 In 1963, archaeologists excavated the remains of a boat 275 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:24,880 that had been buried in mud since the Bronze Age, 276 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:28,320 that's 2,000 years before the birth of Christ. 277 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:33,040 And now, this extraordinary piece of prehistory has been resurrected. 278 00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:38,560 At the National Maritime Museum, Cornwall, 279 00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:43,120 they've built a life-size replica of that Bronze Age craft. 280 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:51,400 Now, for the first time, historians can experience 281 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:55,000 how Britain's earliest-known boat handles. 282 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:57,280 And...stroke, 283 00:18:57,280 --> 00:18:59,200 stroke. 284 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:04,120 Pretty hard work, these paddles are cut with bronze tools 285 00:19:04,120 --> 00:19:06,600 from solid pieces of ash, and they're... 286 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:09,400 very heavy so it's pretty physical. 287 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:13,760 There's evidence these tiny Bronze Age craft 288 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:17,760 made voyages to rival our ocean-going liners. 289 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:20,520 And...stroke. Stroke... 290 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:22,640 Archaeologist Robert van de Noort 291 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:25,760 knows how Britons traded bronze around Europe. 292 00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:28,040 Bronze is made from 293 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:29,920 tin and copper, 294 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:34,880 and these two ores are rarely found in the same location together, so 295 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:37,960 to make bronze axes, which are much, much harder than copper axes, 296 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:41,680 you have to start to travel, you have to often travel great distances. 297 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:44,720 And you can see that in the archaeological evidence. You get 298 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:48,120 the same kinds of pottery in Holland, in France, in Spain, in Ireland and 299 00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:52,240 in Britain, and it can only happen because you have boats like this. 300 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:54,600 4,000 years ago, 301 00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:58,400 how on earth did those early explorers find their way? 302 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:00,880 One way of doing it is to travel at night. 303 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:04,840 If you start observing the stars, then you would immediately recognise 304 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:08,480 that the North Star is always stable in the northern hemisphere 305 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:11,400 and it is the safest tool to navigate by. 306 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:13,760 So it's very simple. If you go from Britain to France 307 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:16,800 you travel eastwards, you have the North Star on your left shoulder. 308 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:18,520 When you come back to Britain, 309 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:20,560 you have it on the right of your shoulder. 310 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:22,040 It's really basic. 311 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:24,240 But very effective and very safe. 312 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:29,560 Seafarers still look to the heavens to navigate. 313 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:32,800 Now though, it's for satellites not stars. 314 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:39,800 But those Bronze Age explorers would feel at home today 315 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:42,840 in the tiny boats we're following. 316 00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:46,160 Only two crews are left, 317 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:48,280 trying to row around Britain. 318 00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:54,320 A voyage of exploration 319 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:58,480 facing the fierce waters off Portland Bill... 320 00:21:00,120 --> 00:21:03,840 ..the whirlpool of the Corryvreckan... 321 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:07,520 ..and the tidal races of the Pentland Firth. 322 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:13,880 Wayward explorers must also be wary of sandbanks. 323 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:18,920 This is the fourth time we've done this today. Fourth time. 324 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:22,040 Fourth time we've...run aground. 325 00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:29,360 And open seas usher in sea monsters unknown to ancient explorers. 326 00:21:29,360 --> 00:21:32,800 That's quite a big beastie. Be a bit of a wash after that, Josh, 327 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:35,160 do you think? Maybe a splash. SHIP'S HORN BLARES 328 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:40,400 With so many hazards to navigate, 329 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:44,080 no wonder seafarers worry about exactly where they are. 330 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:54,720 That's why lighthouses were a welcome sight for explorers, 331 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:57,800 both a comfort and a warning. 332 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:02,680 Mariners' lonely companions for centuries, 333 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:06,960 bright beacons of hope, staking out our edge. 334 00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:13,440 But what about before the lights, in the dark nights of ancient history? 335 00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:19,760 Before charts, no-one knew the shape or position of our isles. 336 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:24,560 To see how, 2,500 years ago, 337 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:28,760 a Greek explorer first put us on the map, 338 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:31,360 I'm continuing my Cornish adventure. 339 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:40,440 Around 320BC, a seafarer from the Mediterranean landed here, 340 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:44,720 a man who literally penned our isle into existence. 341 00:22:56,840 --> 00:22:58,800 This remarkable seafarer was 342 00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:02,640 embarking on a circumnavigation of our isles that would become 343 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:07,520 so legendary his story would be retold for generations. 344 00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:11,000 His name was Pytheas the Greek, 345 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:14,040 and he's one of my greatest heroes. 346 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:21,360 He was an explorer eager to discover the fabled "Tin Islands" - 347 00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:24,360 the mysterious lands where the ancient Greeks sourced 348 00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:26,600 tin in the Bronze Age. 349 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:30,080 A voyage to uncharted territory 350 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:33,480 that Pytheas named "Prettanike". 351 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:38,680 The exact details of Pytheas the Greek's odyssey have been lost, 352 00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:42,360 but he left a series of measurements that would eventually allow 353 00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:48,240 our isles to be mapped, and as a map man that's what excites me the most. 354 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:51,280 Like navigators before him, 355 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:55,480 we know Pytheas looked to the skies for guidance. 356 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:58,840 But not just the distant stars, 357 00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:00,560 he used the sun too. 358 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:08,800 Pytheas travelled with an instrument called a "gnomon". 359 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:13,040 A stick much like a sundial, the gnomon cast a shadow 360 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:15,280 when raised vertically in the midday sun. 361 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:20,520 Imagine I'm the gnomon. 362 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:22,360 The further south we travel, 363 00:24:22,360 --> 00:24:25,200 the higher in the sky the sun is at noon 364 00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:27,200 and the shorter the shadow. 365 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:28,960 The further north we travel, 366 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:33,560 the lower the sun is in the sky at noon and the shadow lengthens. 367 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:37,440 By looking at the length of the shadow cast by his stick, 368 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:41,920 his gnomon, Pytheas could get an indication of how far north 369 00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:44,000 or south he had travelled. 370 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:46,920 But it was only an indication. 371 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:52,200 To convert shadow lengths into a precise position on the globe 372 00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:55,360 would take some clever calculations. 373 00:24:55,360 --> 00:24:58,600 Mathematicians cracked the code that would help them 374 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:01,360 to convert the measurements of the sun's shadow, 375 00:25:01,360 --> 00:25:03,600 taken by Pytheas the Greek, 376 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:08,560 into that critical navigational tool - lines of latitude. 377 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:17,680 Lines of latitude run round the earth parallel to the equator, 378 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:20,360 a measure of how far north 379 00:25:20,360 --> 00:25:22,200 or south you are. 380 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:28,280 Latitude is crucial to making maps. 381 00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:33,320 Using Greek trigonometry of angles, 382 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:35,800 and the shadow lengths from Pytheas 383 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:37,880 for latitude, 384 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:40,480 early map-makers went to work. 385 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:45,920 Without even visiting Britain, scholars could use 386 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:51,080 Pytheas's raw data to plot the location of our isles. 387 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:55,560 It had taken one epic voyage and some pretty epic brain work, 388 00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:59,920 but finally Britain could be marked on a map. 389 00:25:59,920 --> 00:26:03,120 And what a map. 390 00:26:03,120 --> 00:26:07,640 Classical scholars pieced together a remarkable picture of our isles, 391 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:13,680 that endured for centuries, using stick measurements and maths. 392 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:16,720 Cornwall was big in their minds, 393 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:18,760 revealing its importance to explorers, 394 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:21,400 but Scotland needs some work! 395 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:28,080 After thousands of years of effort, 396 00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:30,760 we've mapped every inch of the globe. 397 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:33,720 But most of the planet still remains a mystery. 398 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:39,400 The oceans are explorers' biggest challenge. 399 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:43,280 And Britain leads the way, 400 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:49,760 as scientists try to discover how many fish are left in our seas. 401 00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:54,680 To explore this conundrum, 402 00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:57,800 experts embark from Ullapool. 403 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:02,200 Andy Torbet is joining an underwater mission 404 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:06,360 that's been under way for over half a century. 405 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:11,880 Like generations of scientific explorers before me, 406 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:14,400 I'm setting sail in search of fish. 407 00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:19,320 I've signed on with the Scotia, 408 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:23,280 a research vessel that studies fish stocks in Scottish waters. 409 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:33,320 Time to cast our nets into a stretch of water 410 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:36,400 that's been explored with scientific precision. 411 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:43,240 Every year the same procedure, but every year a different catch. 412 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:48,640 Since the 1950s, they've been comparing catches year on year. 413 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,800 Concerns about fish stocks are nothing new. 414 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:56,920 The numbers of our nation's old favourite, 415 00:27:56,920 --> 00:27:59,320 cod, have been falling for decades. 416 00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:06,600 I've got here the logbook from the 1960s with the records of hauls. 417 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:11,960 And finally a crew's report with comments like - 418 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:16,360 "Whiting was fairly numerous at all stations, cod was rather scarce". 419 00:28:16,360 --> 00:28:20,600 Scottish scientists are old hands at counting fish. 420 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:24,360 1956 saw the first purpose-built vessel. 421 00:28:24,360 --> 00:28:26,280 And here she is. 422 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:28,040 The SS Explorer. 423 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:37,400 The Explorer's pioneering voyages provide clues to how today's 424 00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:41,080 scientists try to forecast fish stocks. 425 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:42,920 For the first time, 426 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:46,320 age-old techniques were married with hi tech. 427 00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:54,240 Now, the Explorer is washed up in Edinburgh 428 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:55,760 somewhat the worse for wear. 429 00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:02,560 Helping to restore her is scientist and old shipmate John Dunn. 430 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:06,800 The Explorer was very, very strongly built, 431 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:09,520 and I would quite happily, in the day, 432 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:12,320 have gone anywhere in her, and indeed did do. 433 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:18,440 All of our fittings and fixtures were good quality. 434 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:21,400 The phones were very heavy Bakelite. 435 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:25,200 The Explorer was right up there with the best. 436 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:31,160 This equipment from another age did point the way to the future. 437 00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:35,200 She was one of the very first fisheries' research vessels 438 00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:37,920 anywhere to sail with a computer. 439 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:43,160 It had quite large pieces of valve-operated machinery 440 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:46,920 and ticker tape, and it had a teleprinter chattering away, 441 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:52,000 but it did manage to deal with huge amounts of data, 442 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:55,480 which otherwise had to be done by hand, and number-crunched by hand. 443 00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:03,200 It was the start of something which revolutionised everything. 444 00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:08,000 Computers are now at the heart of our fish forecast, 445 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,800 processing data dragged up from the deep. 446 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:16,280 Detailed measurements are recorded and fed into computer simulations 447 00:30:16,280 --> 00:30:19,400 which help predict likely fish stocks. 448 00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:25,040 For biologist Coby Needle, a crucial factor in their analysis 449 00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:26,720 is the age of the fish we've caught. 450 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:32,200 To determine the age we take out the otolith, 451 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:34,400 or one of the otoliths from the fish, which are 452 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:36,640 ear bones. So you go in through the gills 453 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:38,640 and pull out the otoliths that way. 454 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:42,600 We then cut the otoliths in two, slice it down the middle 455 00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:44,680 and look at them under a microscope. 456 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:48,480 And otoliths are very much like tree rings - every year the animal 457 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:52,400 lays down another bony ring onto the otolith, so you can essentially 458 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:56,320 count up the rings and work out from that how old that fish was. 459 00:30:57,720 --> 00:30:59,280 This meticulous research 460 00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:02,200 will help set the all-important fishing quotas. 461 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:08,760 The catches landed by trawlermen 462 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:11,200 are also fed into the computer models. 463 00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:13,560 But these guys have their favourite fishing grounds, 464 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:17,520 and they stick to the areas with the largest stocks. 465 00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:23,200 In contrast, the Scotia trawls all around Scottish waters, 466 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:27,800 helping build up a better picture of fish populations. 467 00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:31,240 As a survey vessel, we need to fish in areas both where 468 00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:34,560 there are a lot of fish and also areas where there may have been fish 469 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:36,040 in the past - in the '50s and '60s - 470 00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:37,760 but there are no longer fish any more. 471 00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:40,080 If we were running a commercial fishing vessel, 472 00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:43,120 we wouldn't do this operation here, we would go where the fish are, 473 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:45,920 but then you might get an overly optimistic impression 474 00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:47,800 of how many fish there are in the sea. 475 00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:55,200 The latest findings do indicate some recovery in North Sea cod stocks 476 00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:59,080 as co-operation between scientists and trawlermen deepens. 477 00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:06,040 We may never be sure about the future of our fish but, 478 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:08,920 thanks to this exploration of the deep, 479 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:11,120 we're not completely in the dark. 480 00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:37,920 We're charting a course around our explorers' coast. 481 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:47,160 On epic voyages, adventure becomes a way of life. 482 00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:53,480 Muscling their way around our shores, 483 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:55,400 Jason McKinlay 484 00:32:55,400 --> 00:33:00,320 and Josh Tarr fall into a shipboard routine that explorers 485 00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:02,640 over the centuries would recognise. 486 00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:11,320 How are you feeling, Jase? 487 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:13,640 Can't see you, mate. 488 00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:18,280 They've got to work with the sea to make it their home. 489 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:23,360 Which means housekeeping. 490 00:33:26,560 --> 00:33:27,800 Washing clothes... 491 00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:32,600 ..and themselves. 492 00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:40,120 After weeks away from loved ones, 493 00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:43,080 Jason's suffering in Scottish weather. 494 00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:49,800 Roughly halfway round Britain, 495 00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:51,720 they've struggled to reach Skye. 496 00:33:55,640 --> 00:34:00,400 But it's pausing for reflection that gives explorers the greatest pain. 497 00:34:01,880 --> 00:34:05,600 Like adventurers of old, it's not what they endure, 498 00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:07,800 it's what they leave behind. 499 00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:10,840 I miss my kids and my wife terribly. 500 00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:13,560 Sarah really understands what I'm like deep down, and this 501 00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:16,280 is going to be good for us, not just good for me in the long run. 502 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:18,840 She builds up a lot of Brownie points doing this, by the way. 503 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:22,640 'I've just had to sort of get used to it 504 00:34:22,640 --> 00:34:24,800 'and accept that's part of him.' 505 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:27,240 I know that if he's not doing these challenges 506 00:34:27,240 --> 00:34:28,960 he's a misery to live with. 507 00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:31,600 'So I knew what I was letting myself in for when I married him.' 508 00:34:46,720 --> 00:34:50,360 Josh and Jason have learned to rely on each other. 509 00:34:55,160 --> 00:34:59,120 The bond they've forged has brought them to a key turning point. 510 00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:01,720 KLAXON BLARES 511 00:35:01,720 --> 00:35:05,120 The joy of reaching the coast off John o'Groats 512 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:07,280 means they're heading south. 513 00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:15,720 Now each stroke takes them closer to the finish at Tower Bridge. 514 00:35:17,760 --> 00:35:20,560 If they do make it, they'll have done it together. 515 00:35:23,280 --> 00:35:27,360 But some explorers fail because they fall out. 516 00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:32,920 On the trail of travelling companions who famously went 517 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:35,680 separate ways, I'm in Falmouth. 518 00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:47,120 Two hundred years ago, an artist adventurer came to this coast, 519 00:35:47,120 --> 00:35:50,040 a young man with a grand plan. 520 00:35:51,240 --> 00:35:55,480 That entrepreneurial explorer became the country's most ambitious 521 00:35:55,480 --> 00:35:58,440 landscape artist - William Daniell. 522 00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:05,240 In 1813, William Daniell began a mighty project. 523 00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:12,920 Before photography, Daniell planned to depict the majesty of our coast. 524 00:36:14,800 --> 00:36:18,000 He created over 300 illustrations. 525 00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:21,400 An explorer's guide. 526 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:23,440 From Ilfracombe... 527 00:36:29,200 --> 00:36:30,600 ..to Fingal's Cave... 528 00:36:31,800 --> 00:36:33,440 ..and beyond. 529 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:38,360 Artworks to be sold in a series entitled 530 00:36:38,360 --> 00:36:40,720 "A Voyage Round Great Britain". 531 00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:45,960 Today, originals hang here at Falmouth. 532 00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:53,000 Daniell's work captures the coast of 200 years ago, 533 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:56,320 spectacular and ripe for exploration. 534 00:37:01,720 --> 00:37:04,320 But part of the picture is missing. 535 00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:07,680 Daniell didn't take on his epic voyage alone, 536 00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:11,160 he had a companion, now almost forgotten, 537 00:37:11,160 --> 00:37:13,720 a writer named Richard Ayton. 538 00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:19,840 Ayton's words were meant to accompany Daniell's drawings. 539 00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:24,880 They set off in the year 1813. 540 00:37:26,560 --> 00:37:28,640 The first location - Land's End. 541 00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:34,360 And here is Ayton's description. 542 00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:39,400 "This western promontory presents a very grand and striking scene; 543 00:37:39,400 --> 00:37:43,280 "the rocks hang about it in huge, disjointed masses 544 00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:47,840 "and are tumbled together in magnificent confusion." 545 00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:52,680 The scene is exhilarating both in words and in picture. 546 00:37:54,920 --> 00:37:57,960 Daniell's illustration shows a lighthouse. 547 00:37:59,520 --> 00:38:03,160 That original lighthouse has since been demolished. 548 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:09,200 William Daniell's partnership with his writer wouldn't last either. 549 00:38:11,320 --> 00:38:14,360 To see why, I'm retracing their footsteps 550 00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:17,360 with artist Charles Newington. 551 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:22,480 We're picking up their route at Portreath. 552 00:38:28,880 --> 00:38:32,200 Daniell was inspired by what he saw in Portreath. 553 00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:39,760 And, two centuries later, so is Charles. 554 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:48,640 I'm fascinated to see what you're selecting from the view, Charles. 555 00:38:48,640 --> 00:38:51,200 Just what Daniell would've been doing. 556 00:38:51,200 --> 00:38:56,800 Daniell was hunting for the beautiful view all the time, and, um, 557 00:38:56,800 --> 00:38:58,600 this one rather does it for me here. 558 00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:03,560 OK, this wonderful hillside here with the great bite taken out of it 559 00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:05,600 and this extraordinary sort of nose 560 00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:07,600 in the middle. It's fantastic. 561 00:39:07,600 --> 00:39:10,080 He was bringing the beauty, 562 00:39:10,080 --> 00:39:12,040 the diversity of the coast 563 00:39:12,040 --> 00:39:16,440 and celebrating it in a way that it had never been celebrated before. 564 00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:17,920 Yes, you've got it, I think. 565 00:39:17,920 --> 00:39:20,480 There was nothing like it before. 566 00:39:20,480 --> 00:39:26,160 He produced the ultimate, best travel guide to Britain you could imagine. 567 00:39:28,200 --> 00:39:29,640 200 years ago, 568 00:39:29,640 --> 00:39:32,760 full-colour reproductions of Daniell's pencil sketches 569 00:39:32,760 --> 00:39:36,160 took painstaking effort, back in his studio, 570 00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:39,320 using the aquatint process. 571 00:39:40,720 --> 00:39:45,080 Copper plates were coated in fine powder to give a textured finish. 572 00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:49,840 Beeswax was applied and burned to blacken. 573 00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:54,440 The original pencil drawing was placed on top. 574 00:39:56,360 --> 00:40:00,040 Pressing transferred an imprint of pencil graphite. 575 00:40:01,640 --> 00:40:05,160 Those lines were then hand-etched into the copper. 576 00:40:07,680 --> 00:40:09,240 After an acid bath, 577 00:40:09,240 --> 00:40:13,400 the ink was applied for printing onto high-quality paper. 578 00:40:19,200 --> 00:40:23,160 Repeated steps built up the full hand-coloured image. 579 00:40:26,520 --> 00:40:29,600 That laborious process was expensive. 580 00:40:29,600 --> 00:40:34,560 The artist desperately needed wealthy buyers. 581 00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:37,480 But his writer, Richard Ayton, 582 00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:39,880 was interested in the poor, not the rich. 583 00:40:43,640 --> 00:40:45,440 Ayton's passion for gritty reality 584 00:40:45,440 --> 00:40:49,680 was spelt out in their trip to the tin mines at St Agnes. 585 00:40:52,480 --> 00:40:55,120 Ayton gives us an account of their arrival. 586 00:40:57,680 --> 00:41:00,480 He wrote, "There was no water in the harbour, 587 00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:03,240 "so that we were obliged to land on the rocks. 588 00:41:05,120 --> 00:41:08,360 "The cliffs above us were strangely shattered, 589 00:41:08,360 --> 00:41:11,160 "and hollowed into innumerable cavities 590 00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:13,120 "by the best of all hole-makers, 591 00:41:13,120 --> 00:41:15,360 "the Cornish miners". 592 00:41:16,360 --> 00:41:18,120 Look at that. 593 00:41:18,120 --> 00:41:20,720 And here are those holes. 594 00:41:22,080 --> 00:41:25,400 This working landscape was ignored by the artist, 595 00:41:25,400 --> 00:41:27,280 but not by the writer. 596 00:41:30,040 --> 00:41:32,840 With no illustration to see the industry 597 00:41:32,840 --> 00:41:35,000 that captivated Ayton in 1813, 598 00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:38,680 we have to rely on photos from much later. 599 00:41:41,040 --> 00:41:43,720 I'm with local historian Roger Radcliffe. 600 00:41:46,680 --> 00:41:49,480 It is really quite a miserable kind of place, 601 00:41:49,480 --> 00:41:52,600 you've got smoke, tin stamps here working. 602 00:41:52,600 --> 00:41:55,600 So the noise was something that you have to appreciate. 603 00:41:55,600 --> 00:41:58,120 The stream would be running nearly black 604 00:41:58,120 --> 00:42:01,280 at times, with this, tainting the bay. 605 00:42:01,280 --> 00:42:04,920 Back then, it really was quite a grim place to work, 606 00:42:04,920 --> 00:42:08,320 and I don't think it's any mistake that we don't have 607 00:42:08,320 --> 00:42:10,360 a nice illustration of St Agnes. 608 00:42:10,360 --> 00:42:12,640 I think it was pretty ugly at that time, 609 00:42:12,640 --> 00:42:14,280 and that's what we've got to think of. 610 00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:21,360 Ayton's words painted the grim picture 611 00:42:21,360 --> 00:42:23,640 that the artist Daniell ignored. 612 00:42:25,720 --> 00:42:29,400 "Instances of sudden suffocation are very frequent in the mines, 613 00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:33,760 "in which there are many varieties of foul air that occasion death 614 00:42:33,760 --> 00:42:39,280 "with equal certainty, but with very different degrees of suffering." 615 00:42:39,280 --> 00:42:42,600 That's pretty heavy stuff for a coffee-table book 616 00:42:42,600 --> 00:42:45,280 intended for the well-off middle classes. 617 00:42:46,840 --> 00:42:49,920 Daniell planned hundreds of luxury prints. 618 00:42:51,800 --> 00:42:54,920 Each new stretch of the journey around Britain had to be 619 00:42:54,920 --> 00:42:58,400 paid for by sales of the PREVIOUS volumes. 620 00:43:01,040 --> 00:43:04,920 But Ayton's writing on the workers' plight risked alienating 621 00:43:04,920 --> 00:43:07,880 the rich buyers Daniell relied on. 622 00:43:10,040 --> 00:43:11,600 As the voyage continued, 623 00:43:11,600 --> 00:43:14,560 their accounts grew further and further apart. 624 00:43:17,120 --> 00:43:23,000 Before they were halfway round our coast, sketcher and scribe split up. 625 00:43:24,120 --> 00:43:28,360 We don't know if Ayton jumped or was pushed, 626 00:43:28,360 --> 00:43:31,040 but the artist wrote him out of the picture. 627 00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:36,080 Daniell, taking over the writing duties himself, says, 628 00:43:36,080 --> 00:43:38,120 "Mr Ayton's account of the voyage is to be 629 00:43:38,120 --> 00:43:42,480 "considered as terminating at the close of the preceding volume." 630 00:43:47,560 --> 00:43:51,400 After departing from Land's End, it took ten years for Daniell 631 00:43:51,400 --> 00:43:55,680 to complete his masterwork - A Voyage Round Great Britain. 632 00:43:59,200 --> 00:44:04,480 Now two centuries old, the volumes inspired generations of explorers. 633 00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:10,160 Industry given an artistic gloss. 634 00:44:12,720 --> 00:44:16,160 And landscapes rendered with romantic splendour. 635 00:44:18,640 --> 00:44:23,240 His epic voyage saw William Daniell elevated to the Royal Academy. 636 00:44:24,840 --> 00:44:30,160 But writer Richard Ayton left his best work behind him on the coast. 637 00:44:31,920 --> 00:44:35,480 In 1823, the year Daniell completed the journey 638 00:44:35,480 --> 00:44:39,440 they had started together, Ayton died. 639 00:44:41,320 --> 00:44:44,120 A forgotten explorer for the truth. 640 00:44:52,680 --> 00:44:56,560 Great coastal adventures are now within everyone's reach. 641 00:44:59,200 --> 00:45:02,440 We're in the age of the independent traveller. 642 00:45:03,760 --> 00:45:06,400 A country of amateur explorers. 643 00:45:08,760 --> 00:45:12,040 There's so much history to enjoy on our shores, 644 00:45:12,040 --> 00:45:16,560 even the professionals can make surprise discoveries. 645 00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:19,720 The West of Scotland was the site of 646 00:45:19,720 --> 00:45:23,720 an odd encounter for Professor Mark Horton 647 00:45:23,720 --> 00:45:25,520 on the Isle of Mull. 648 00:45:33,080 --> 00:45:38,200 In 2010, I made this intriguing discovery. 649 00:45:39,240 --> 00:45:43,040 Why would The National Trust of Australia 650 00:45:43,040 --> 00:45:44,760 own a mausoleum, 651 00:45:44,760 --> 00:45:46,760 here on this tiny little island? 652 00:45:49,200 --> 00:45:55,000 The remarkable answer is revealed by the inscription on the mausoleum. 653 00:45:55,000 --> 00:46:02,160 This is the grave of perhaps the greatest man in Australian history. 654 00:46:03,720 --> 00:46:05,840 "The Father of Australia." 655 00:46:07,560 --> 00:46:10,760 Scotsman Major General Lachlan Macquarie. 656 00:46:15,600 --> 00:46:17,480 Embarking from Portsmouth, 657 00:46:17,480 --> 00:46:20,480 a passage of over 10,000 miles 658 00:46:20,480 --> 00:46:22,600 took this Scottish explorer 659 00:46:22,600 --> 00:46:26,600 down under to found a new country. 660 00:46:26,600 --> 00:46:30,680 But Macquarie wasn't travelling alone. 661 00:46:30,680 --> 00:46:35,480 And neither was I on my voyage of exploration to Mull. 662 00:46:35,480 --> 00:46:37,960 I made this crossing with my wife Kate, 663 00:46:37,960 --> 00:46:40,560 because of our shared fascination with 664 00:46:40,560 --> 00:46:44,840 a man and wife who set sail in 1809. 665 00:46:44,840 --> 00:46:49,280 Here they are - Lachlan Macquarie and his wife Elizabeth... 666 00:46:50,320 --> 00:46:54,520 ..a remarkable couple from a remote Scottish outpost 667 00:46:54,520 --> 00:46:59,320 who, 200 years ago, changed the face of the British Empire. 668 00:47:06,520 --> 00:47:10,400 Now, fellow historian Kate and I 669 00:47:10,400 --> 00:47:14,240 are going to explore their extraordinary tale. 670 00:47:14,240 --> 00:47:17,600 To do so we need to be continents apart. 671 00:47:17,600 --> 00:47:21,280 While I'm in Scotland on the trail of Lachlan Macquarie... 672 00:47:22,560 --> 00:47:26,160 ..I'm in Sydney to discover the creative force behind Macquarie - 673 00:47:26,160 --> 00:47:27,400 his wife Elizabeth. 674 00:47:28,720 --> 00:47:32,320 Together we're bridging two lives. 675 00:47:32,320 --> 00:47:35,360 Of two unlikely explorers. 676 00:47:40,240 --> 00:47:44,000 Let's begin our story by uncovering Lachlan's. 677 00:47:45,000 --> 00:47:49,800 It began in 1762 on the Isle of Ulva, 678 00:47:49,800 --> 00:47:52,680 just across the water from Mull. 679 00:47:54,800 --> 00:47:57,400 This is not the birthplace that you would expect 680 00:47:57,400 --> 00:47:59,000 for the Father of Australia. 681 00:48:02,960 --> 00:48:05,960 Ten to fifteen people would be living here probably, 682 00:48:05,960 --> 00:48:08,040 but they would have lived with their animals. 683 00:48:08,040 --> 00:48:12,000 There's a little stock enclosure at the back where they would have had 684 00:48:12,000 --> 00:48:15,040 one or two cows for their milk and cheese and so forth. 685 00:48:15,040 --> 00:48:19,760 And in their fields they would have grown oats and barley. 686 00:48:19,760 --> 00:48:22,880 A kind of idyllic lifestyle really. 687 00:48:22,880 --> 00:48:28,120 These are the ancestral lands of the Macquarie clan, 688 00:48:28,120 --> 00:48:30,680 and Lachlan is related to the chief. 689 00:48:30,680 --> 00:48:37,880 It is this pedigree that gives him aspirations. Macquarie is ambitious. 690 00:48:40,880 --> 00:48:47,080 Lachlan left his island home aged 14, with an eye on adventure. 691 00:48:48,680 --> 00:48:52,040 He joined the Army, moving quickly up the ranks... 692 00:48:54,040 --> 00:48:59,320 ..until in 1809, a fantastic opportunity lands in his lap. 693 00:49:00,640 --> 00:49:02,040 Governor in Australia. 694 00:49:06,640 --> 00:49:09,560 When Lachlan and his wife Elizabeth 695 00:49:09,560 --> 00:49:12,600 arrived on the 31st of December 1809, 696 00:49:12,600 --> 00:49:16,200 it wasn't called Australia, and it wasn't a country. 697 00:49:16,200 --> 00:49:19,360 It was just the colony of New South Wales - 698 00:49:19,360 --> 00:49:22,520 a convict settlement in wild bushland. 699 00:49:27,440 --> 00:49:32,400 Now, embedded in the stone and steel of Sydney, 700 00:49:32,400 --> 00:49:34,760 Macquarie's name is never far away. 701 00:49:36,200 --> 00:49:38,360 Some two centuries ago, 702 00:49:38,360 --> 00:49:43,440 Lachlan began laying down the city's grid plan. 703 00:49:43,440 --> 00:49:47,560 The growth was spectacular! Look at this map from this time. 704 00:49:47,560 --> 00:49:53,120 Dilapidated streets were realigned and old houses were rebuilt. 705 00:49:53,120 --> 00:49:54,880 Public buildings were commissioned, 706 00:49:54,880 --> 00:49:57,680 including this one which was the barracks for the convicts. 707 00:49:57,680 --> 00:50:01,760 But the couple that did all this were honoured - Macquarie Street 708 00:50:01,760 --> 00:50:04,000 and Elizabeth Street. 709 00:50:05,600 --> 00:50:08,880 Kate is on HER trail. 710 00:50:10,400 --> 00:50:13,360 It wasn't only Lachlan that had grand designs, 711 00:50:13,360 --> 00:50:18,680 so did his Scottish wife - Elizabeth Macquarie. 712 00:50:20,480 --> 00:50:24,640 One of the main thoroughfares in Sydney is Elizabeth Street. 713 00:50:24,640 --> 00:50:28,840 I believe SHE was the creative powerhouse in the couple. 714 00:50:30,720 --> 00:50:34,520 Think a kind of 19th-century Michelle Obama. 715 00:50:36,160 --> 00:50:39,840 Evidence of her influence can be felt across the city. 716 00:50:41,080 --> 00:50:43,600 "Mrs Macquarie's Road, 717 00:50:43,600 --> 00:50:47,920 "so named by the Governor on account of her having originally 718 00:50:47,920 --> 00:50:54,000 "planned it. Finally completed on the 13th day of June 1816." 719 00:50:58,080 --> 00:51:01,840 From bushland to a thriving port. 720 00:51:01,840 --> 00:51:04,960 Grand houses and modest cottages sprang up. 721 00:51:06,160 --> 00:51:08,200 And where did the inspiration 722 00:51:08,200 --> 00:51:11,120 for the Macquaries' make-over spring from? 723 00:51:13,720 --> 00:51:15,520 Take a look at this. 724 00:51:15,520 --> 00:51:19,680 This is the orphan school he built near Sydney, 725 00:51:19,680 --> 00:51:23,440 and THIS is a house he often stayed in on Mull. 726 00:51:25,280 --> 00:51:30,360 Life on the Scottish isles shaped the fabric of a new country 727 00:51:30,360 --> 00:51:35,880 emerging down under in more ways than one. 728 00:51:35,880 --> 00:51:38,640 Macquarie needed builders 729 00:51:38,640 --> 00:51:42,800 and architects to make their vision a reality. 730 00:51:42,800 --> 00:51:48,160 So he made a decision to use the colony's underclass, the convicts. 731 00:51:50,640 --> 00:51:54,160 Lachlan Macquarie was rewriting the rule book. 732 00:51:54,160 --> 00:51:59,360 Prisoners who served their time were now allowed back into society. 733 00:52:01,600 --> 00:52:04,480 How much was Macquarie's radical philosophy 734 00:52:04,480 --> 00:52:08,760 inspired by his Scottish island upbringing? 735 00:52:10,640 --> 00:52:14,520 I'm meeting local historians Olive Brown and Jean Whittaker. 736 00:52:17,360 --> 00:52:23,320 The Scots valued each other for their skills and for who they were, 737 00:52:23,320 --> 00:52:27,360 they didn't necessarily rate people on their wealth. 738 00:52:27,360 --> 00:52:33,480 As a practical islander, Macquarie made the most of what was to hand. 739 00:52:35,400 --> 00:52:37,640 He wanted to have proper currency 740 00:52:37,640 --> 00:52:40,480 because up until then the currency had been rum. 741 00:52:40,480 --> 00:52:43,280 He got some silver dollars 742 00:52:43,280 --> 00:52:48,600 and he used a convict, who'd been shipped out for forging currency, 743 00:52:48,600 --> 00:52:51,840 to turn them into the first Australian coins, 744 00:52:51,840 --> 00:52:54,680 by taking the middle out of the coins. 745 00:52:54,680 --> 00:52:59,480 So he had what was known as the "holey dollar" and the "dump". 746 00:53:02,040 --> 00:53:06,960 KATE: With the convicts onside, Sydney blossomed under Macquarie. 747 00:53:06,960 --> 00:53:10,720 Macquarie's influence wasn't just physical. 748 00:53:10,720 --> 00:53:14,360 He gave us our first currency, our first police force, 749 00:53:14,360 --> 00:53:17,640 and used the Latin "Terra Australis" - 750 00:53:17,640 --> 00:53:19,560 "great southern land" - 751 00:53:19,560 --> 00:53:22,320 which of course became the name Australia. 752 00:53:24,320 --> 00:53:27,320 We've got a phrase in Australia, "a fair go", 753 00:53:27,320 --> 00:53:29,440 it means "fair dealing". 754 00:53:29,440 --> 00:53:34,800 You know, we never adopted the same class system as exists in England, 755 00:53:34,800 --> 00:53:38,680 and I wonder if we don't owe a bit of that to the people of Mull. 756 00:53:38,680 --> 00:53:42,480 And to Scottish Governor Lachlan Macquarie. 757 00:53:45,320 --> 00:53:48,440 Why, when he's so revered in Australia, 758 00:53:48,440 --> 00:53:50,400 has he been forgotten at home? 759 00:53:54,120 --> 00:53:57,960 Perhaps because being transported no longer meant punishment, 760 00:53:57,960 --> 00:54:00,280 but opportunity. 761 00:54:01,320 --> 00:54:05,760 To the Government in London Macquarie was an embarrassment, 762 00:54:05,760 --> 00:54:07,640 but more... 763 00:54:07,640 --> 00:54:09,680 he was dangerous. 764 00:54:12,480 --> 00:54:16,240 The repercussions for Macquarie were devastating. 765 00:54:19,280 --> 00:54:23,120 Pressured to change his ways, he resigned. 766 00:54:23,120 --> 00:54:28,080 In 1822, the couple found themselves back in Scotland. 767 00:54:31,040 --> 00:54:35,080 Successive governors returned to using harsh methods 768 00:54:35,080 --> 00:54:37,320 to keep the convicts in check. 769 00:54:38,360 --> 00:54:43,560 As for Lachlan, within two years of leaving Australia he was dead. 770 00:54:47,360 --> 00:54:50,520 His supporters felt that his vision had died with him. 771 00:55:01,600 --> 00:55:06,360 In death, Lachlan rests in the isles that prepared him 772 00:55:06,360 --> 00:55:09,040 for an explorer's life. 773 00:55:09,040 --> 00:55:11,080 To use his own words... 774 00:55:12,520 --> 00:55:18,720 "If you are born on a mere speck of land in the middle of the ocean, 775 00:55:18,720 --> 00:55:24,640 "you quickly learn how things work, and why people do as they do. 776 00:55:25,920 --> 00:55:27,880 "Learn that lesson well 777 00:55:27,880 --> 00:55:32,200 "and you are equipped to become a citizen of the world." 778 00:55:38,680 --> 00:55:41,280 SEAGULLS CRY 779 00:55:43,200 --> 00:55:47,960 It's easy to think that days of exploration are over, but not so. 780 00:55:47,960 --> 00:55:50,840 Epic journeys are still taking place 781 00:55:50,840 --> 00:55:53,760 and new heroes are in the making. 782 00:55:55,720 --> 00:55:59,800 Our earliest explorers would pay tribute to these crews, 783 00:55:59,800 --> 00:56:03,320 who've tried to match their exploits 784 00:56:03,320 --> 00:56:06,440 propelled by muscle power. 785 00:56:06,440 --> 00:56:09,040 Like those seafarers of old, 786 00:56:09,040 --> 00:56:12,560 they'll return with tall tales of the sea. 787 00:56:12,560 --> 00:56:15,160 We went up north into Scotland, 788 00:56:15,160 --> 00:56:16,920 behind us was a Force 8 gale, 789 00:56:16,920 --> 00:56:20,920 and that took us nicely all the way down to the Corryvreckan Gulf - 790 00:56:20,920 --> 00:56:22,680 the home of the notorious whirlpool. 791 00:56:22,680 --> 00:56:25,400 Lucky for us we didn't actually get too close to it, 792 00:56:25,400 --> 00:56:27,760 so that helped us slingshot across to... 793 00:56:27,760 --> 00:56:31,600 We rowed over two of them. Little ones but not the big one. No. 794 00:56:33,040 --> 00:56:34,080 Oh! 795 00:56:34,080 --> 00:56:36,520 Oh, Jase, look. 796 00:56:38,880 --> 00:56:43,040 Now one boat's almost come full circle around Britain. 797 00:56:43,040 --> 00:56:48,040 After 2,000 miles of struggle they finish first, 798 00:56:48,040 --> 00:56:51,960 in a record time for a four-man crew. 799 00:56:51,960 --> 00:56:55,200 CHEERING AND HORNS BLARING 800 00:56:55,200 --> 00:57:00,040 26 days, 9 hours, 9 minutes and 4 seconds. 801 00:57:01,400 --> 00:57:06,360 An achievement explorers from any age would be proud of. 802 00:57:06,360 --> 00:57:09,400 Come on, let's hear it, boys! Yeah! 803 00:57:09,400 --> 00:57:11,120 Well done, lads. 804 00:57:12,880 --> 00:57:15,600 The adventure's not quite over though. 805 00:57:17,000 --> 00:57:20,480 15 days later, I'm on the Thames. 806 00:57:21,480 --> 00:57:25,480 Not many wait around for those in second place, but we do. 807 00:57:26,680 --> 00:57:28,800 For me the greatest explorations 808 00:57:28,800 --> 00:57:31,280 are not necessarily about coming first, 809 00:57:31,280 --> 00:57:35,400 they're about not giving up, pressing on, taking your time 810 00:57:35,400 --> 00:57:38,880 and coming home with the story of a lifetime. 811 00:57:40,240 --> 00:57:44,640 Josh Tarr and Jason McKinlay have explored the edge of our isles, 812 00:57:44,640 --> 00:57:46,960 the only other crew to finish. 813 00:57:51,360 --> 00:57:54,080 It took 41 days, 814 00:57:54,080 --> 00:57:56,320 the quickest time ever for a pair. 815 00:57:56,320 --> 00:58:00,040 With muscle and sinew they've written their names 816 00:58:00,040 --> 00:58:01,720 into the record books. 817 00:58:01,720 --> 00:58:04,520 WHOOPING, WHISTLING AND APPLAUSE 818 00:58:04,520 --> 00:58:08,720 Explorers come and go, but their legacy lives on, 819 00:58:08,720 --> 00:58:13,480 their indomitable spirit has shaped our island's history. 820 00:58:13,480 --> 00:58:19,120 This is The Explorers' Coast and it's been one heck of a journey. 821 00:58:19,120 --> 00:58:20,280 CHEERING 822 00:58:20,280 --> 00:58:24,440 BOAT HORN BLARES 823 00:58:29,320 --> 00:58:30,720 Fantastic!