1 00:00:09,120 --> 00:00:14,360 This is Coast. A very unusual Coast. 2 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:20,240 We're leaving our mainland far, far behind, 3 00:00:20,240 --> 00:00:25,160 off to explore surprising opportunities offshore. 4 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:31,600 Miranda discovers how a deserted isle promises remarkably long life... 5 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:33,480 ..to puffins. 6 00:00:33,480 --> 00:00:34,760 Nearly 30 years old. 7 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:35,840 Getting that way. 8 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:37,240 That's really awesome. 9 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:41,280 Nick Hewitt boards an extraordinary sea tower. 10 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:45,160 Now a life-saver but it was built to kill. 11 00:00:45,160 --> 00:00:49,120 Wow, looks like Frankenstein's lab. 12 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:52,440 And Tessa encounters a top secret weapon... 13 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:55,440 ..with an offshore mystery. 14 00:00:55,440 --> 00:01:00,240 How did the government send orders to a submarine deep underwater? 15 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:03,840 How do we speak to subs? 16 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:10,280 My quest takes me offshore across the Atlantic to a new world. 17 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:12,440 I'm in Canada. 18 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:16,520 What opportunities did this outpost of empire offer to those 19 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:18,280 fleeing our isles? 20 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:22,800 It's almost as if you're more Scottish than the Scots here. 21 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:27,080 This is Coast - Offshore. 22 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:57,120 My offshore odyssey to Canada begins on our own shores... 23 00:01:57,120 --> 00:01:58,480 ..in Scotland. 24 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:06,160 The embarkation point for many Scottish emigrants to the 25 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:08,600 New World was Cromarty. 26 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:17,360 Offshore opportunities are nothing new here. 27 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:21,400 Recently, it's been oil rigs in transit to the sea 28 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:27,080 but in centuries past, people queued for a one-way ticket offshore. 29 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:29,880 It's the 24th of April 1833, 30 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:33,040 and there's an air of unrest in Cromarty. 31 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:36,920 A newspaper advertisement reads, "The subscribers will, 32 00:02:36,920 --> 00:02:40,760 "in a few days, commence fitting out two first class ships, 33 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:45,840 "to sail from Cromarty betwixt the 25th of May and the 5th of June." 34 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:48,040 A new life in Canada beckoned. 35 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:53,920 A mass exodus was under way around the Scottish coast. 36 00:02:55,800 --> 00:03:00,080 In the 18th and 19th centuries tens of thousands departed 37 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,080 the highlands and islands. 38 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:04,880 They sought new opportunities in North America. 39 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,240 Over 50 ships left for Canada from Cromarty alone. 40 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:14,320 So, why were the Scots fleeing? 41 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:20,240 Around 250 years ago, the "highland clearances" began. 42 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,200 Crofters were forced off the land - 43 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:26,320 people replaced with more profitable sheep. 44 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:32,480 Some had little choice, others saw Canada as a new start. 45 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:37,280 In the new world, land was plentiful and settlers were welcome. 46 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:39,960 But the emigrants left with mixed emotions. 47 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:45,840 Here's an eyewitness account of one of the departures. 48 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:50,200 "The Cleopatra as she swept past the town of Cromarty was greeted 49 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,240 "with three cheers by crowds of the inhabitants 50 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:55,520 "and the emigrants returned the salute... 51 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:01,000 "..but mingled with the dash of the waves 52 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:07,480 "and the murmurs of the breeze, their faint huzzas seemed rather 53 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:12,840 "sounds of wailing and lamentation than of a congratulatory farewell." 54 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:17,320 Almost two centuries on, 55 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:21,560 I want to know what became of those who made the voyage. 56 00:04:23,280 --> 00:04:26,320 The only way to find out is to follow them. 57 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:28,000 I'm heading offshore. 58 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:33,520 I'm leaving our isles, bound for Canada. 59 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:38,680 I want to discover what new opportunities awaited overseas. 60 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:56,040 My journey begins in Nova Scotia, "New Scotland." 61 00:04:56,040 --> 00:05:01,160 Many Scots facing the challenge of a new continent landed at Pictou. 62 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:15,000 On arrival, ships moored offshore. 63 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:18,000 Rowing boats ferried the settlers to join fellow Scots who'd 64 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:19,360 spread the word. 65 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:27,480 After some six weeks at sea, the newcomers to the New World 66 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:30,280 had to find their own place to call home. 67 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:33,800 The prime locations were all coastal 68 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:36,560 and once those places had been used up, people were 69 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:42,120 forced inland to the inaccessible forests, places like this. Look, 70 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:47,760 a tiny clearing, a crude log cabin. It was very tough and in winter, 71 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:51,920 they had to put up with temperatures down to minus 20 degrees centigrade. 72 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:58,080 The majority of Scots headed east to Cape Breton. 73 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:02,960 I'm following them. 74 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:09,680 It's a road trip which feels strangely familiar. 75 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:13,120 There's so much of this that reminds me of Scotland. Right now, 76 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:17,320 we're driving along what could be a sea loch... 77 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:20,600 ..but we're in Canada. 78 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:24,040 The further I travel, the closer to Scotland I seem. 79 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:29,920 And this is just like the bridge at the bottom of Glen Coe. 80 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:41,160 Cape Breton is awash with Scottish namesakes. 81 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:43,320 It even has its own highlands. 82 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:47,960 But what's in a name? 83 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:55,160 I want to know if the settlers were able to retain their Scottish 84 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:57,520 identity so far from home. 85 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:04,720 But an inland sea stands in my way. Time to take to the water. 86 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:09,480 I've got a date with the descendant of one Scottish emigrant who 87 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:11,320 arrived two centuries ago. 88 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:16,120 Just over the water is the spot where he settled. 89 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:19,040 So what did New Scotland have in store for him? 90 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:29,800 To find out, I need to paddle my way offshore. 91 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:38,040 Many of those who settled in Canada after their epic Atlantic 92 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:43,840 voyage were born to life offshore on the Western Isles of Scotland. 93 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:51,560 Some left island homes with a heavy heart. 94 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:57,360 Others opted for adventure when opportunity came knocking. 95 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:04,200 They'd experienced the harsh life off Scotland's shore. 96 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:08,640 Even the rock is eventually eaten away by the sea. 97 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:14,240 But there are opportunities for wildlife out here. 98 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:20,680 Being a strong swimmer helps, and so does a pair of wings. 99 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:28,680 There's a remarkable sea bird colony on the Shiant Islands. 100 00:08:32,680 --> 00:08:36,840 People have given up the struggle to survive on these volcanic outcrops. 101 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:43,720 But could they hold the secret to a surprisingly long life for puffins? 102 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:45,880 Miranda is off to explore. 103 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:53,440 The rocky Shiants lie about five miles out to sea. Deserted by the 104 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:57,480 locals 100 years ago, they're now home to over 20,000 sea birds. 105 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:03,360 But I have just one special bird in my sights. 106 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:06,680 A bird that hit the headlines. 107 00:09:06,680 --> 00:09:11,680 This is EB73152 but he's more than just a number, this is 108 00:09:11,680 --> 00:09:16,560 the OAP of the bird world, famed as being Britain's oldest puffin. 109 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:20,960 Scientists recorded his age as 34 - 110 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:23,600 that's well over 100 in human years. 111 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:28,560 So why has this puffin pensioner chosen such a harsh 112 00:09:28,560 --> 00:09:30,800 and unforgiving island as home 113 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:33,520 and how has he managed to survive so long? 114 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:36,240 I'm trying to meet this offshore hero 115 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:40,520 to see how sea birds manage to grow so old out here. 116 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:42,600 And it's just puffins everywhere. 117 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:48,080 Finding one particular puffin in this lot is a tall task. 118 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:52,240 I'm relying on some expert bird spotters. 119 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:57,960 The welcome party awaits on the beach. 120 00:09:57,960 --> 00:09:59,840 Hope they've put a brew on for us. 121 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:05,680 For just two weeks a year, researchers come to the Shiants. 122 00:10:05,680 --> 00:10:08,520 I'm joining the team who've been ringing puffins here 123 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:11,040 since the 1970s. 124 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:16,360 Hopefully my quest to meet the catchily named EB73152 will help 125 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:21,960 me understand why puffins live so long in remote outposts like this. 126 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:24,920 If anyone can find him, it's Ian Buxton. 127 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:28,120 He's been coming to the Shiants for nearly 40 years. 128 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:31,800 Ian and the puffins have grown old together. 129 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:37,720 When he netted EB73152, he'd discovered Britain's oldest puffin. 130 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:40,240 Now, the search continues. 131 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:46,480 So you're catching them in the mist nets here, how does this work? 132 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:49,080 And the bird flies into some slack net. 133 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:50,960 This pocket, and sort of falls down. 134 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:52,200 Yes, that's right. 135 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:55,240 So it doesn't harm the bird, it just holds it there safely 136 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:56,640 and we come along and extract it. 137 00:10:56,640 --> 00:11:00,120 OK. What have you learned about the birds that return here every year? 138 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:03,160 Well firstly, that they're very long lived. 35 years of thereabouts. 139 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:06,040 The European record I believe is about 41. That's not a British 140 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:09,200 one quite yet. Hopefully it will be fairly soon but you never know. 141 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:11,080 And they're burrow-faithful aren't they? 142 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:13,840 So you can recover the same bird year after year from the same... 143 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:16,480 Well, basically a very small area, so it does sounds as though 144 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:20,680 they are certainly burrow-faithful, and... We have another one in there. 145 00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:22,960 Fairly keen today. 146 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:27,960 Hopefully these burrow-faithful birds return to the same nest site. 147 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:32,840 That gives us a chance to nab EB73152. 148 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:35,200 We'd never spot him by sight. 149 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:38,920 One puffin looks pretty much like another. 150 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:41,480 The only way we can tell is simply through the ring, 151 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:45,640 cos the birds look exactly the same once they get to adulthood. 152 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:49,160 And I'd say that this one is going to be over 15 years. 153 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:51,240 That was ringed in 1990 154 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:55,280 so that's going to be 26/27 years old at least. 155 00:11:55,280 --> 00:12:02,440 No sign of EB73152, but surprisingly there are lots of old puffins. 156 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:03,840 Wow, look at that. 157 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:05,960 1st July 1985. 158 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:09,400 That's nearly 30 years old. That's really awesome. 159 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:12,880 I'm looking for one long-lived bird, 160 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:16,000 but this island is full of puffin pensioners. 161 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:20,320 It's remarkable to find they can grow so old offshore. 162 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:26,120 And it's not just puffins. Oystercatchers, 40 years old, 163 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:28,440 razorbills, 41, 164 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:33,800 and Britain's oldest Manx shearwater, an astonishing 50 years old. 165 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:38,440 In contrast, garden birds have an average life expectancy less 166 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:40,160 than 2 years. 167 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:43,600 To keep the population going, they have many chicks quickly. 168 00:12:45,560 --> 00:12:50,400 But puffins invest in one chick at a time. 169 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:54,520 Oh, look at that. Cuteness in the extreme! 170 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:55,720 Do you want to swap? 171 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:57,160 Well, if you're happy to. 172 00:12:57,160 --> 00:12:58,680 Yes, there you go, have a cuddle. 173 00:12:58,680 --> 00:13:00,760 It's not going to take my arm off is it? 174 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:06,520 Oh, look at that that is just the best thing, how sweet. 175 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:12,000 A single bundle of fluff, a year's worth of effort for proud parents. 176 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:15,040 Once fledged, the young birds take time to learn 177 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:17,920 survival in their harsh offshore home. 178 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:21,840 They don't breed until they're at least four years old. 179 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:25,520 It's this breeding strategy which provides the best answer as to 180 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:27,160 why puffins live so long. 181 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:32,120 Long-lived puffins get a chance to rear many chicks. 182 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:36,280 Offshore, they've found the opportunity to live with few predators 183 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:38,200 poaching their precious young. 184 00:13:39,560 --> 00:13:42,280 But then something happened. 185 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:47,160 A threat to the puffin nest suddenly appeared on tier rocky outpost. 186 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:48,680 Somewhere out there, 187 00:13:48,680 --> 00:13:52,680 hidden from view is Britain's only colony of black rats. 188 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:59,000 Rats with a reputation for eating puffin eggs. 189 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:05,080 The black rats probably landed on the island after a shipwreck 190 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:07,320 over 100 years ago. 191 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:10,800 Now, the rats can feed on puffin eggs and attack their chicks. 192 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:20,080 Being a wildlife enthusiast, I love all animals 193 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:24,120 but I find it very hard to feel affectionate towards rats. 194 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:26,520 Especially if you're sleeping near them. 195 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:36,840 Our cameras reveal my worst fears. 196 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:41,040 Black rats foraging for food around our camp. 197 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:49,800 Offshore, the fate of these castaways has become entwined with the puffins. 198 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:55,400 In the cold light of day, I'm meeting Charlie Elder, 199 00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:59,400 who's studied the black rats of the Shiants. 200 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:02,880 Black rats now only exist in some dockland areas and on this 201 00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:07,160 island. This is the last stable population of black rats in Britain. 202 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:09,400 In a way, you've got this rare species, 203 00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:12,040 so should you be conserving it, but then you've got the sea bird 204 00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:13,960 colonies that you want to conserve as well, 205 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:16,200 so it's a bit of a dilemma for conservationists. 206 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:18,640 If you get rats on an island, they can devastate sea bird 207 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:20,440 populations and cause extinctions. 208 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:23,040 It seems here the fine balance has been struck 209 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:25,320 between the sea bird populations and the rats. 210 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:28,640 But we'll never know how much bigger the sea bird populations could be 211 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:31,320 if the rats weren't here. 212 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:36,360 Puffin utopia or the black rat's last stand, the opportunities 213 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:41,720 offered offshore, held in the balance here on the Shiants. 214 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:48,560 EB73152 hasn't turned up. Maybe he's finally come to the 215 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:51,720 end of his innings out in the Atlantic, or maybe, 216 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:56,080 like the puffin I'm ringing, he'll be back in years to come. 217 00:15:56,080 --> 00:15:59,160 So you could come back in 30 years and say hi. 218 00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:01,920 Wouldn't that be amazing if I did? 219 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:05,640 All right, little puffin. I might see you again one day, off you go. 220 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:11,640 Puffins spend much of their life offshore, 221 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:15,520 returning to the same island time and again. 222 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:18,280 But I'm pursuing Scottish men 223 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:22,480 and women who left these shores never to return. 224 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:35,960 The Isle of Barra is the powerbase of the Clan MacNeil. 225 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:41,600 Around two centuries ago, many of the MacNeils deserted Barra. 226 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:46,400 Clansman Donald McNeil was one of them and I'm on his trail. 227 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:52,000 Donald sought fresh opportunities 228 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:57,320 and more land offshore in Nova Scotia - New Scotland. 229 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:05,400 I'm following Donald MacNeil's route to a new life. 230 00:17:07,360 --> 00:17:10,040 What became of his overseas gamble? 231 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:16,240 Apparently, it was springtime, 1802, a good time of year, the whole 232 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:20,320 summer ahead of them to get a toehold in this wilderness. 233 00:17:20,320 --> 00:17:24,960 There are no pictures of Donald, just the graves of his descendants. 234 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:28,920 But luckily for us, the final stages of his epic transatlantic 235 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:31,720 journey have been logged in his family archive. 236 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:37,600 "Donald and his son Rory came in a small rowboat. 237 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:42,960 "After rowing some distance down the lake, 238 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:46,000 "they came to the north side of the narrows." 239 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:50,800 And this is it straight ahead here. I can see a beach 240 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:54,240 and I'm just trying to put myself in their rowing boat, imagine what they 241 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:58,160 felt. They'd made this extraordinary journey across the Atlantic, they'd 242 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:02,520 taken a heavy rowing boat over land, across the sea, and they'd 243 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:06,920 finally reached this spot, the place that was going to provide for them, 244 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:11,200 perhaps for all time, and they were about to set foot on that land. 245 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:16,600 And I've got to say, today it feels absolutely enchanting. 246 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:22,040 So far from all the places and people they'd known, 247 00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:26,080 Donald and his son pressed on. 248 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:28,960 I've got my heart in my mouth, I'm quite emotional. 249 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:36,480 "They landed, staked out lands, and decided to settle down. 250 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:43,040 "Those were the first MacNeils who settled in Cape Breton." 251 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:44,360 For the MacNeils! 252 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:53,320 I feel a bond with this Scotsman who invested all in a one-way ticket, 253 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:56,440 braving the unknown to begin again. 254 00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:59,400 I'm two centuries too late to see him, 255 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:03,480 but I can meet his direct descendant, Vince MacNeil. 256 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:05,640 Very good to meet you. Nice to meet you. 257 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:07,600 So, this is the beach? This is the very place, 258 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:10,480 the very place where my ancestors arrived in 1800. 259 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:12,680 It must mean something very special to you. 260 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:15,520 It's very special to me. It's part of my identity, part of who I am. 261 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:18,400 And what do you think Donald and Rory were like as people? 262 00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:21,640 Well, they were adventurous, that's for sure, to come to a place 263 00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:25,320 where they had never been before which was unsettled, the New World. 264 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:27,960 It would have been dangerous for them, so they had to be brave 265 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:30,920 to go from being simple crofters to owning hundreds of acres of land. 266 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:34,080 It would have been just amazing for them. 267 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:38,560 200 years on, Vince ensures Scottish ties aren't extinguished. 268 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:41,440 He's keeper of the family flame. 269 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:45,360 So, through my father, I would be Vincent son of Edward, 270 00:19:45,360 --> 00:19:50,240 son of Raymond, son of Hector, son of Hector, son of James, 271 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:54,200 son of Malcolm, son of John, son of Rory the piper. 272 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:57,840 And through my mother, I would be Vincent, son of Patsy MacNeil, 273 00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:02,160 daughter of Hector Joseph, son of Franz Hector, Son of Hector Rory, 274 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:05,880 son of Rory Mor, son of Donald, son of Rory. 275 00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:07,520 All MacNeils. 276 00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:10,080 You really DO know your family story, don't you? I do. 277 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:12,400 And I actually have my family tree here, 278 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:15,000 so I can show you my connection with them. Fantastic. 279 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:16,520 I might need some help with this. 280 00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:20,080 Oh my, it's huge! Is this beach big enough? 281 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:21,560 I'm not sure. 282 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:25,240 Wow, that is amazing! So, going down the tree, 283 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:28,320 where do we get to Donald who landed on this beach? 284 00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:31,960 OK, there is Donald and there is Rory Mor, his son. 285 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:36,000 You've shown an unusual passion for tracing your roots. 286 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:39,520 It's just part of who I am, and it's also part of my culture. 287 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:42,560 Genetic links offshore across the ocean. 288 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:45,400 What else did those pioneers carry with them 289 00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:48,120 from the old country to the New World? 290 00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:53,080 Up in the village, a highland gathering awaits. 291 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:05,720 Nick, these are some of my cousins here that we've assembled, 292 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:09,480 and we're going to have a milling frolic. A what? 293 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:17,120 The milling frolic is an old community ritual. Beating 294 00:21:17,120 --> 00:21:21,800 newly woven cloth compressed the fibres, making it warmer to wear. 295 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:24,000 It looks extraordinary to me coming from Britain. 296 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:27,200 Well, the traditions here survived. 297 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:29,400 And do you take part in this yourself? 298 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:31,560 Yes, yes. Would you like to join us? 299 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:34,400 Well, yeah I'd love to yeah. Come on over. 300 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:36,280 Hello, that was wonderful. 301 00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:39,880 I've never heard of a milling frolic. It's completely extraordinary. 302 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:44,080 It's almost as if you're more Scottish than the Scots here. 303 00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:47,320 It's about maintaining your heritage and your culture 304 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:49,080 and this is a good way to do it. 305 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:51,360 People get together, have fun, and sing songs. 306 00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:55,680 So, if your ancestors walked over the hill now, they'd immediately 307 00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:58,960 recognise the song, the sound, and they'd know what you're doing? 308 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:01,560 Exactly yep, they'd be quite familiar with it. 309 00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:03,200 So, here's a bit of a tricky question, 310 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:06,520 Are you more Canadian or more Scottish? 311 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:09,320 Oh, we're more Cape Bretoners. 312 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:12,400 I'm sorry, I can't lie. 313 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:19,760 I'm suddenly feeling very English and a bit underdressed. 314 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:22,840 THEY SING SCOTTISH SONG 315 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:37,480 Traditionally, before being beaten, the cloth was soaked in stale 316 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:40,560 urine to get rid of any unwanted oils. 317 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:46,760 Luckily for me the Nova Scotians don't observe the ritual that closely. 318 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:52,520 The milling frolic's a new one on me. 319 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:55,600 But for these descendants of Scottish emigrants, it's a 320 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:59,480 bridge across the great divide. 321 00:23:01,120 --> 00:23:06,040 An incredibly powerful sense of connection between the MacNeils 322 00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:07,280 here in Nova Scotia 323 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:11,760 and their roots in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It's as if 324 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:17,280 200 year of history and 2,000 miles of Atlantic Ocean just didn't exist. 325 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:22,040 It's as if Nova Scotia is moored just offshore mainland Scotland. 326 00:23:27,360 --> 00:23:31,560 We've left our mainland behind... 327 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:34,560 ..to explore outposts of opportunity. 328 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:43,080 An ocean away in Canada and closer to home. 329 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:53,640 Beyond our own shore, we've built a network of offshore enterprise. 330 00:23:55,840 --> 00:24:00,000 Strange structures providing new possibilities. 331 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:04,520 Beacons to light the way. 332 00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:12,880 Farms in the sea to harvest fish. 333 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:19,240 Metal giants to deliver energy. 334 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:26,720 A little-seen world of wonder, 335 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:30,600 littered with extraordinary outposts. 336 00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:37,920 But head off our south coast, and the waters of the Solent 337 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:41,360 surround a structure shrouded in mystery. 338 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:48,560 An offshore riddle best investigated from Portsmouth. 339 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:55,040 Naval historian Nick Hewitt is going back to the First World War. 340 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:02,280 Ever since I was a boy, I've been fascinated by subs. 341 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:08,640 I've always wanted to do that. I'm standing on a U-Boat. 342 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:14,920 The threat U-Boats might sink Britain a century ago was very real. 343 00:25:16,360 --> 00:25:21,160 Offshore at Portsmouth is a towering reminder of Britain's 344 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:23,360 anti-submarine war. 345 00:25:23,360 --> 00:25:24,880 And there she is. 346 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:29,080 You can just make out a sort of shadowy spec on the horizon. 347 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:31,440 She's known as the Nab Tower and she was 348 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:35,560 built in 1918 as a defence against attack by German U-Boats. 349 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:40,720 The Nab Tower was kept top secret during its construction 350 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:41,960 but she wasn't alone. 351 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:44,840 There were two towers. 352 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:49,480 Take a look at this newspaper account from the time. 353 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:53,240 It was written when the towers were nearing completion at Shoreham 354 00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:57,120 on the south coast and it says that "no-one except for those responsible 355 00:25:57,120 --> 00:26:00,600 "for their construction knows for what use they're intended." 356 00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:04,200 It goes on to describe them as "the mysterious twins" 357 00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:10,000 The press went to town on the towers, 358 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:13,440 but no-one knew the desperate wartime plan. 359 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:15,520 The towers were being built to intercept 360 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:18,320 German U-Boats in the English Channel. 361 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:25,840 Nets, mines, and patrol boats were part of the scheme 362 00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:29,720 but the crowning glory was something more concrete. 363 00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:34,640 If you can put forts permanently in the straits, 364 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:39,160 then you've got powerful gunfire support for these little warships. 365 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:46,000 But why did only one of the towers make it offshore, and not 366 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:50,200 as planned in the Dover Straits, but here close to Portsmouth? 367 00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:54,280 Nearly a century on, mystery still surrounds the Nab Tower. 368 00:26:56,600 --> 00:26:58,680 Now there's a chance to explore 369 00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:01,880 while vital repairs are taking place. 370 00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:04,720 This is just amazing. I've looked at this for years 371 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:07,320 and years from shore side but I've never been this close 372 00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:10,240 and I've certainly never stepped aboard. 373 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:11,640 Look at the rust on that. 374 00:27:14,120 --> 00:27:16,520 I've got to get off this boat now. 375 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:20,640 That will do! Wow, excellent. 376 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:23,800 Up close, the Nab Tower is enormous. 377 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:26,480 Civil Engineer Ron Blakely has the stats. 378 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:32,200 It weighs, we understand, up to about 20,000 tonnes, 379 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:35,040 and 10,000 tonnes of steel above. 380 00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:38,000 So how on earth was this massive structure going to be 381 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:39,480 installed offshore? 382 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:47,320 To see how clever the secret plan was, take one cardboard box 383 00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:51,200 and smother it in quick-drying concrete. 384 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:52,840 And...it floats! 385 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:55,480 It floats. Perfectly. 386 00:27:55,480 --> 00:27:59,400 A huge hollow base meant the Nab Tower was built to float. 387 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:04,200 The idea was to tow the floating structure offshore. 388 00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:05,480 Then what? 389 00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:07,080 Right, here we go then. 390 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:09,120 This power drill offers a clue. 391 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:17,160 The valves are open, the air is coming out, down she goes. 392 00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:18,640 Settles to the bottom of the sea. 393 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:19,680 Fantastic. 394 00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:25,400 Within the Nab's base was a honeycomb of floodable tubes. 395 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:30,840 It was a brilliant plan, but there was a big problem. 396 00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:35,040 The construction proved so complex that by the time the towers 397 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:38,200 were ready, the First World War was over. 398 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,400 This should have been the nerve centre to intercept U-Boats 399 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:46,720 patrolling the Channel a century ago. 400 00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:51,120 Wow, looks like Frankenstein's lab. 401 00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:53,280 But she never saw action. 402 00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:56,520 With the war finished, 403 00:28:56,520 --> 00:29:00,360 whilst still in dock, one twin was quietly scrapped. 404 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:06,680 But for the other tower, the authority spied an offshore opportunity. 405 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:14,280 In 1920, she was finally towed out to sea, not near Dover to fight 406 00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:19,680 subs, but 100 miles further along the coast near Portsmouth 407 00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:23,160 for an unexpected career as a lighthouse, 408 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:28,200 a beacon in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. 409 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:31,720 Now, a much-needed make-over will keep the light 410 00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:34,320 burning for another 50 years at least. 411 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:40,200 It's really great to see this fantastic piece of history 412 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:43,240 living on usefully into the 21st century. 413 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:53,840 We're exploring opportunities offshore. 414 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:58,080 I've journeyed over the ocean to Canada. 415 00:30:02,080 --> 00:30:05,880 I'm following in the tracks of those who left our shores 416 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:09,680 forever in search of a new life. 417 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:12,960 In Nova Scotia, I discovered connections reaching 418 00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:15,360 back across the seas to Scotland. 419 00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:21,320 Now, I'm heading east to where an expedition from England first 420 00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:24,200 set foot over a century earlier. 421 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:29,800 When Nova Scotia became a home from home for the Scots, 422 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:33,760 it was the English who first laid claim to Newfoundland. 423 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:42,560 I've journeyed to the first site settled by English emigrants - 424 00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:44,920 Cupids Cove. 425 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:56,840 England's interest in Canada was first aroused by explorer 426 00:30:56,840 --> 00:31:00,800 John Cabot who landed in 1497. 427 00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:06,480 Now, as Cabot was working for Henry VII, it was the English who 428 00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:11,920 claimed all of this and named it, rather prosaically, New-found-land. 429 00:31:14,160 --> 00:31:17,520 But it took over 100 years for emigrants to take 430 00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:20,320 advantage of this new outpost. 431 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:26,760 In 1610, adventurers led by John Guy arrived here in Cupids Cove 432 00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:30,200 to establish England's first Canadian colony. 433 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:33,360 I've got a clue to help me 434 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:37,240 find where those first English pioneers set up home. 435 00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:42,680 It's a copy of a letter written in 1611 by one of the settlers and 436 00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:47,080 it describes in very exact detail how to find the settlement site. 437 00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:53,080 I have to walk for 240 paces from the side of this lake towards the coast. 438 00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:57,680 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6... 439 00:31:57,680 --> 00:31:59,400 I've done a lot of walking... 440 00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:02,000 ..108,109,110... 441 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:04,160 ..but this is a first. 442 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:08,240 Each step brings me closer to the origins of an English colony. 443 00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:11,600 240 and there it is, an English flag. 444 00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:13,160 The cross marks the spot. 445 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:19,920 Wow, take a look at this. 446 00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:26,640 An archaeological investigation is being led by Bill Gilbert. 447 00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:27,880 Very good to meet you. 448 00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:30,120 Nice to meet you, welcome to Cupids. Why, thank you. 449 00:32:30,120 --> 00:32:35,200 The site of the first English settlement in Canada, established in 1610. 450 00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:40,160 The dig reveals the first stones laid by English settlers. 451 00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:44,640 Four centuries on, it's as though building has only just started. 452 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:47,000 This is the outside wall? This is the outside wall. 453 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:49,720 These are the foundations of modern Canada in a way. 454 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:52,040 Really, it's the beginnings of English Canada. 455 00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:56,040 This precious time capsule contains everyday treasures 456 00:32:56,040 --> 00:33:01,040 from home that the settlers carried with them far offshore. 457 00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:05,120 This is actually the earliest English coin ever found in Canada. 458 00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:09,480 Wow. It was minted at the Tower of London. It's a silver fourpence. 459 00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:11,000 That's amazing! A groat, yeah. 460 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:13,880 Whoever dropped that must have been gutted. How much would... 461 00:33:13,880 --> 00:33:16,920 Well I would think it would probably have been half a day's pay for sure. 462 00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:19,640 It's a big chunk of change, you wouldn't want to lose it. 463 00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:23,200 This is an apothecary jar. This would have held perhaps ointment 464 00:33:23,200 --> 00:33:26,000 or some sort of medicine, and it was probably made in Southwark. 465 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,400 Come all the way from the Thames. From the Thames. 466 00:33:28,400 --> 00:33:30,720 They were importing their culture, their way of life. 467 00:33:30,720 --> 00:33:34,360 This is bringing Englishness to the continent of North America. 468 00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:35,560 Exactly. Yeah, 469 00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:40,520 they were trying to re-establish their culture here in the New World. 470 00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:44,320 These long lost pieces make a personal connection to 471 00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:46,520 a motherland an ocean away. 472 00:33:47,560 --> 00:33:52,520 Cherished possessions of those who dared to explore new opportunities. 473 00:33:59,240 --> 00:34:02,800 Following the success of the first settlement at Cupids Cove, 474 00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:05,760 more English communities soon sprang up. 475 00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:13,280 There was a clear pattern to the locations they chose to settle. 476 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:18,120 Look at a map and nearly every town in Newfoundland is coastal. 477 00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:21,640 Settlers came here to make the most of the bounties offshore. 478 00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:25,480 Newfoundland's seas were teeming with fish. 479 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:31,080 When John Cabot discovered Newfoundland, eyewitnesses 480 00:34:31,080 --> 00:34:33,480 spoke of the seas here being, 481 00:34:40,640 --> 00:34:42,960 The king of them all was cod. 482 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:47,080 Over the centuries, a huge industry grew, 483 00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:49,960 attracting trawlers from around the world. 484 00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:58,200 The early pioneers came to start new lives. 485 00:34:58,200 --> 00:35:01,400 Then generations of British fishermen took the opportunity 486 00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:04,680 to plunder the riches off Newfoundland's shores. 487 00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:13,680 Those days of plenty are long gone. 488 00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:19,000 Cod fishing was banned when stocks collapsed. 489 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:20,920 British boats have disappeared. 490 00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:26,640 But what links do remain with the motherland? 491 00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:32,520 It seems they're still flying the flag. 492 00:35:35,080 --> 00:35:38,000 This little harbour town claims to have the largest 493 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:40,040 Union Jack in the world. 494 00:35:41,960 --> 00:35:44,080 Today, they're giving it an airing. 495 00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:51,720 This is a big flag. 496 00:35:51,720 --> 00:35:57,440 To be exact, this monster is 23 foot by 36 foot. 497 00:35:57,440 --> 00:36:01,120 Why do these Canadians fly the Union flag? 498 00:36:01,120 --> 00:36:04,240 You're a long way from England, a long way from Britain. 499 00:36:04,240 --> 00:36:07,760 Yes, but we still feel very connected. I guess many 500 00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:12,520 of our people came from Devon, and we think we're very British here. 501 00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:18,360 I have tights with Union Jacks on them, I have boxer shorts 502 00:36:18,360 --> 00:36:23,520 with Union Jacks on them, I have pillows, I have everything. 503 00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:26,000 We're very proud of this Union Jack. 504 00:36:27,200 --> 00:36:29,480 It's the birthplace of English Canada. 505 00:36:30,720 --> 00:36:33,840 Without any further ado, we're going to raise our flag, 506 00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:37,720 and as we do, we're going to sing "God Save the Queen." 507 00:36:37,720 --> 00:36:43,400 # God save our gracious Queen 508 00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:48,960 # Long live our noble Queen 509 00:36:48,960 --> 00:36:54,840 # God save the Queen. # 510 00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:10,240 When the province of Newfoundland voted to join Canada in 1949, 511 00:37:10,240 --> 00:37:15,560 political ties were severed but emotional bonds are stronger. 512 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:18,440 No longer an outpost of Empire, 513 00:37:18,440 --> 00:37:23,920 they still salute those who braved the ocean for unknown opportunities. 514 00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:35,920 Back home, life offshore provides a different sort of escape. 515 00:37:40,440 --> 00:37:46,440 Free from the confines of our island's edge, spirits soar. 516 00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:59,240 Coastal folk spend happy hours gazing out to sea. 517 00:38:01,720 --> 00:38:07,320 But some go further. They chose to spend eternity offshore. 518 00:38:10,960 --> 00:38:12,440 My name is John Lister. 519 00:38:14,640 --> 00:38:19,840 I spend the vast majority of my life by the sea, by the coast 520 00:38:19,840 --> 00:38:23,320 but I'm here today for a very special reason. 521 00:38:27,800 --> 00:38:31,720 We're leaving here from Keyhaven and we shall go about 3 miles south of 522 00:38:31,720 --> 00:38:35,360 the Needles, which are the western extreme of the Isle of Wight, 523 00:38:36,840 --> 00:38:40,440 to a designated area specifically for burial at sea. 524 00:38:44,480 --> 00:38:47,200 Everyone in the UK has a right to be buried at sea, 525 00:38:47,200 --> 00:38:48,800 should they choose that way. 526 00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:52,560 If we did 20 in a year, we'd be surprised 527 00:38:52,560 --> 00:38:58,160 so it's a very, very tiny percentage of people who actually opt for this. 528 00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:04,880 As the engine slows on the boat, we'll often play Elgar's Nimrod. 529 00:39:06,200 --> 00:39:10,600 And then we will often read Tennyson's Crossing The Bar, 530 00:39:10,600 --> 00:39:15,760 and that poem is very, very pertinent. 531 00:39:15,760 --> 00:39:21,560 "Sunset and evening star And one clear call for me! 532 00:39:22,920 --> 00:39:26,840 "And may there be no moaning of the bar, 533 00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:28,960 "When I put out to sea." 534 00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:35,520 We have come here today as an expression of our regard 535 00:39:35,520 --> 00:39:38,240 for the life of a beloved human being... 536 00:39:38,240 --> 00:39:41,280 In quite a few occasions, we've had people that have 537 00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:43,360 opted for a burial at sea because they've got 538 00:39:43,360 --> 00:39:47,800 a son in Australia, a daughter in America and they feel that as they 539 00:39:47,800 --> 00:39:51,880 become part of the sea, so they sort of unite family together as it were. 540 00:39:58,280 --> 00:40:03,440 The coffins are made of 18mm marine ply that bears no 541 00:40:03,440 --> 00:40:07,600 resemblance to the coffin you see pallbearers bringing into a church. 542 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:11,360 They will survive in the water for about 4-5 years. 543 00:40:11,360 --> 00:40:15,360 They will just return to pulp and the concrete that's in them 544 00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:19,960 will return to sand, by which time the deceased is there no longer. 545 00:40:21,080 --> 00:40:24,560 "We have met to pay tribute and say farewell. 546 00:40:24,560 --> 00:40:29,160 "We therefore commit his body to the deep in maritime tradition. 547 00:40:29,160 --> 00:40:30,760 "May he rest in peace." 548 00:40:39,280 --> 00:40:43,720 "For tho' from out our borne of Time and Place 549 00:40:43,720 --> 00:40:45,960 "The flood may bear me far, 550 00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:53,120 "I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crost the bar." 551 00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:09,520 Leaving the mainland behind, surprising stories 552 00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:11,880 await in the surrounding seas. 553 00:41:14,280 --> 00:41:16,880 We're exploring life offshore. 554 00:41:22,640 --> 00:41:25,880 For some, life at sea is part of the job. 555 00:41:31,280 --> 00:41:34,280 Our Navy has long roamed the oceans, 556 00:41:35,560 --> 00:41:39,840 only returning to land to ready for their next adventure. 557 00:41:46,240 --> 00:41:50,560 In our harbours, great ships are on show for all to see. 558 00:41:51,560 --> 00:41:52,920 But far from home, 559 00:41:52,920 --> 00:41:58,920 the Navy has a fleet of boats that they'd rather keep hidden. 560 00:41:58,920 --> 00:42:03,440 Weapons of war, roving far, far offshore. 561 00:42:05,240 --> 00:42:10,000 Today, a battle-hardened veteran of this secret fleet 562 00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:12,080 rests at Devonport. 563 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:21,080 Tessa's about to discover how we keep in contact with our submarines. 564 00:42:23,120 --> 00:42:26,640 Lying in Devonport is a beached steel whale. 565 00:42:28,880 --> 00:42:34,240 But this whale was a killer. An attack submarine. 566 00:42:37,480 --> 00:42:41,640 Courageous here is the sister vessel of the only British submarine 567 00:42:41,640 --> 00:42:45,080 that's sunk a warship since the Second World War 568 00:42:45,080 --> 00:42:50,520 and here is that deadly sub, HMS Conqueror. 569 00:42:50,520 --> 00:42:55,040 Like Courageous, HMS Conqueror is now retired 570 00:42:55,040 --> 00:43:00,640 but she's famous, or some would say infamous, for sinking the Belgrano. 571 00:43:00,640 --> 00:43:06,480 In 1982, Britain prepared to fight way off our shores. 572 00:43:06,480 --> 00:43:10,080 Britain has sent more ships to join the Falklands Task Force, now 573 00:43:10,080 --> 00:43:11,600 steaming south. 574 00:43:11,600 --> 00:43:15,080 Argentina had invaded the Falkland Islands. 575 00:43:15,080 --> 00:43:18,480 Britain readied to re-take them by force. 576 00:43:20,640 --> 00:43:22,360 Then came a deadly strike. 577 00:43:23,800 --> 00:43:28,280 The Argentinian cruiser, General Belgrano, 578 00:43:28,280 --> 00:43:34,680 was hit by torpedoes fired from a British submarine. 579 00:43:37,080 --> 00:43:43,600 On May the 2nd 1982, the sub HMS Conqueror fired three torpedoes. 580 00:43:48,520 --> 00:43:50,760 She hit the General Belgrano, 581 00:43:50,760 --> 00:43:56,800 a perceived threat to the British fleet. 323 men died. 582 00:43:58,960 --> 00:44:03,320 The lethal blow came from Conqueror 583 00:44:03,320 --> 00:44:06,040 but permission to fire came from home. 584 00:44:09,160 --> 00:44:13,400 How did the British government in London send orders to 585 00:44:13,400 --> 00:44:18,640 a submarine deep underwater 8,000 miles away in the south Atlantic? 586 00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:22,000 How do we speak to subs? 587 00:44:23,040 --> 00:44:25,720 Attack submarines are on the front line. 588 00:44:25,720 --> 00:44:30,640 They patrol at the sharp end in stealth, miles offshore. 589 00:44:30,640 --> 00:44:33,080 Our Government needed to contact the subs, 590 00:44:33,080 --> 00:44:37,880 but hundreds of feet underwater, that wasn't so easy. 591 00:44:39,440 --> 00:44:43,080 When submerged, it was tricky to tune into signals 592 00:44:43,080 --> 00:44:46,600 as ex-radio operator Mike Pitt knows. 593 00:44:48,680 --> 00:44:51,360 So, Mike, this was the radio control room? 594 00:44:51,360 --> 00:44:53,200 It was the radio office. 595 00:44:53,200 --> 00:44:56,040 And what was your main job in here? What were you doing? 596 00:44:56,040 --> 00:44:58,160 To receive all the signals coming from the UK. 597 00:44:58,160 --> 00:45:00,960 Right, but you'd have to go up to a certain depth to receive 598 00:45:00,960 --> 00:45:02,680 the signal to then pick it up here? 599 00:45:02,680 --> 00:45:05,520 There were a number of different aerials carried on board, 600 00:45:05,520 --> 00:45:09,160 for example we have a floating wire aerial which trailed 601 00:45:09,160 --> 00:45:10,480 out the back of the submarine. 602 00:45:10,480 --> 00:45:13,320 If we were using that, the submarine could stay at a lower depth 603 00:45:13,320 --> 00:45:17,360 because the aerial was then lying just underneath the surface. 604 00:45:17,360 --> 00:45:20,120 We had another aerial which was fitted into the back of the fin, 605 00:45:20,120 --> 00:45:24,000 so then the submarine had to come a lot shallower to be able to receive the signals. 606 00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:30,080 Our submarines had multiple aerials to try and receive radio messages. 607 00:45:30,080 --> 00:45:35,160 But still, in the Falklands War, communication proved a major problem 608 00:45:35,160 --> 00:45:37,880 as recently released documents reveal. 609 00:45:39,040 --> 00:45:43,080 Kept top secret for years, we now have the de-classified 610 00:45:43,080 --> 00:45:46,680 Captain's narrative from HMS Conqueror. 611 00:45:46,680 --> 00:45:52,520 On the 5th of April 1982, Conqueror left Faslane for the Falklands. 612 00:45:52,520 --> 00:45:54,720 But as she approached the South Atlantic, 613 00:45:54,720 --> 00:45:57,800 deep underwater, there were radio failures. 614 00:45:58,920 --> 00:46:04,600 "9th of April 1982. Traffic received, garbled. 615 00:46:05,600 --> 00:46:12,120 "13th of April 1982. All corrupt, attempting to patch the signals." 616 00:46:14,360 --> 00:46:17,200 Vital commands were struggling to reach the most deadly 617 00:46:17,200 --> 00:46:18,680 weapon in the Task Force. 618 00:46:20,080 --> 00:46:24,720 How come receiving radio signals underwater was so hard? 619 00:46:24,720 --> 00:46:27,800 I'm at sea with scientist Chris Stevens. 620 00:46:29,040 --> 00:46:34,400 Why is it so challenging for radio waves to try and penetrate water? 621 00:46:34,400 --> 00:46:37,160 When radio waves hit water, particularly sea water, it's 622 00:46:37,160 --> 00:46:40,200 just like light hitting metal. A lot of the waves reflect, 623 00:46:40,200 --> 00:46:43,320 and what little actually enters the water is very rapidly absorbed. 624 00:46:43,320 --> 00:46:47,840 It creates electrical currents in the water that absorb the energy. 625 00:46:47,840 --> 00:46:51,080 To see how radio signals of different frequencies perform 626 00:46:51,080 --> 00:46:54,480 underwater, we'll try different radio stations. 627 00:46:54,480 --> 00:46:57,760 So Chris, what are we actually going to do? 628 00:46:57,760 --> 00:46:59,600 OK, so we have a radio here. 629 00:46:59,600 --> 00:47:01,560 HE PLAYS RADIO 630 00:47:03,480 --> 00:47:05,360 Here we go. Receiving radio waves. 631 00:47:05,360 --> 00:47:08,800 So Chris, that station you've just tuned into is an FM station, 632 00:47:08,800 --> 00:47:11,080 or broadcast on FM which means it's high frequency. 633 00:47:11,080 --> 00:47:13,560 That's right, high frequency means many, many, 634 00:47:13,560 --> 00:47:16,920 many radio peaks per second, whereas low frequencies are very, very 635 00:47:16,920 --> 00:47:20,480 long waves with only a few peaks coming past. 636 00:47:20,480 --> 00:47:22,920 Let's see if it works. 637 00:47:22,920 --> 00:47:26,640 So, put the radio into our plastic submarine, 638 00:47:26,640 --> 00:47:32,720 attach a depth gauge, submerge it in seawater and listen. 639 00:47:32,720 --> 00:47:35,400 RADIO GURGLES 640 00:47:35,400 --> 00:47:38,280 Oh! We can't hear a thing. 641 00:47:38,280 --> 00:47:42,440 Is that what we're left with, some gurgling? That's all you're left with. 642 00:47:42,440 --> 00:47:49,600 Just 10cm beneath the sea, the high frequency FM radio signal is lost. 643 00:47:49,600 --> 00:47:51,600 It's no good for submarines. 644 00:47:51,600 --> 00:47:53,480 Not at all, useless. 645 00:47:53,480 --> 00:47:57,600 What happens when we repeat, but with a lower frequency station? 646 00:47:57,600 --> 00:47:59,640 OK, so this is long wave. 647 00:47:59,640 --> 00:48:03,000 This is long wave yeah, this is the lowest frequency we've got. 648 00:48:03,000 --> 00:48:05,440 We're going to toss Radio 4 into the estuary. 649 00:48:05,440 --> 00:48:06,480 Let's do it. 650 00:48:09,440 --> 00:48:10,920 How far down is the basket? 651 00:48:10,920 --> 00:48:12,360 It's about 2m. 652 00:48:12,360 --> 00:48:14,720 OK, can I still hear the radio? 653 00:48:14,720 --> 00:48:17,840 Yes, definitely still get human voices. 654 00:48:19,320 --> 00:48:23,120 The low frequency signal penetrates much deeper... 655 00:48:24,720 --> 00:48:27,560 ..down about 2m before it fades out. 656 00:48:27,560 --> 00:48:33,400 So long wave 20 times more effective underwater than the higher 657 00:48:33,400 --> 00:48:37,920 frequency FM, but still, Chris, 2m, I mean, not great 658 00:48:37,920 --> 00:48:40,360 if you're a giant submarine having to come up that high. 659 00:48:40,360 --> 00:48:42,200 No, this would still be no good. 660 00:48:42,200 --> 00:48:44,840 To get a 150m underwater, the Navy had to go to 661 00:48:44,840 --> 00:48:47,840 a frequency 3,000 times lower than this one. 662 00:48:50,120 --> 00:48:54,200 Very low frequency or VLF radio signals were the key to 663 00:48:54,200 --> 00:48:56,000 communicating with subs. 664 00:48:57,720 --> 00:48:59,440 But the lower the frequency, 665 00:48:59,440 --> 00:49:03,000 the bigger the masts needed to transmit the message. 666 00:49:04,040 --> 00:49:08,360 At a massive installation in Rugby, a giant array of antennae 667 00:49:08,360 --> 00:49:13,880 sent commands to our submarines, using very low frequency, VLF, radio 668 00:49:15,480 --> 00:49:19,760 as former Station Manager, Malcolm Hancock remembers. 669 00:49:19,760 --> 00:49:23,600 This is a plan of the site, the 900 acre site with 670 00:49:23,600 --> 00:49:27,600 all of the large 12 masts. You see them dotted all around here. 671 00:49:29,360 --> 00:49:33,360 During the Falklands War, the signals were top secret. 672 00:49:33,360 --> 00:49:36,720 Even Malcolm's team couldn't decipher them. 673 00:49:36,720 --> 00:49:40,200 Messages came up by landline from Northwood or Whitehall. 674 00:49:40,200 --> 00:49:44,240 We could transmit in Morse code or latterly in the Cold War, 675 00:49:44,240 --> 00:49:45,520 more teleprinter messages, 676 00:49:45,520 --> 00:49:48,320 a single teleprinter message would be going out. 677 00:49:50,040 --> 00:49:56,120 8,000 miles from home, HMS Conqueror entered the Falklands battle zone. 678 00:49:56,120 --> 00:49:58,480 The stakes couldn't' be higher. 679 00:49:58,480 --> 00:50:02,560 But she'd been struggling to receive VLF radio signals. 680 00:50:03,600 --> 00:50:06,640 "The VLF broadcast is not helping me." 681 00:50:09,080 --> 00:50:13,800 The problem was the VLF radio was optimised for the Cold War, 682 00:50:13,800 --> 00:50:18,400 a Soviet-NATO stand-off in the North Atlantic. 683 00:50:18,400 --> 00:50:21,960 But the Falklands War was in the South Atlantic. 684 00:50:21,960 --> 00:50:26,600 In the southern Ocean VLF messages were at their limits. 685 00:50:27,840 --> 00:50:29,560 There was an alternative 686 00:50:29,560 --> 00:50:33,520 but it meant submarines sacrificing their greatest advantage... 687 00:50:33,520 --> 00:50:35,200 ..stealth, 688 00:50:35,200 --> 00:50:38,440 as former Commander Chris Munns knows. 689 00:50:38,440 --> 00:50:41,320 The submarines were also capable of receiving a satellite signal. 690 00:50:41,320 --> 00:50:44,000 In order to receive that satellite signal, 691 00:50:44,000 --> 00:50:46,680 they had to expose an aerial above the water 692 00:50:46,680 --> 00:50:49,240 which, of course, implied much more risk for the submarine 693 00:50:49,240 --> 00:50:53,200 because they were detectable if they had an aerial above the water. 694 00:50:53,200 --> 00:50:55,120 The very thing VLF was designed to avoid, 695 00:50:55,120 --> 00:50:59,720 HMS Conqueror now had to do - expose herself. 696 00:51:00,760 --> 00:51:04,760 Even worse, a damaged mast forced her to surface, 697 00:51:04,760 --> 00:51:07,600 to repair the satellite aerial. 698 00:51:07,600 --> 00:51:10,760 The Argentinians might detect Conqueror. 699 00:51:10,760 --> 00:51:17,000 But radioed intelligence also helped Conqueror identify a target. 700 00:51:17,000 --> 00:51:20,920 "I have remained in the trail for the last 11 hours. 701 00:51:20,920 --> 00:51:23,920 "In contact with the enemy at last!" 702 00:51:23,920 --> 00:51:26,120 She had found the cruiser, General Belgrano. 703 00:51:26,120 --> 00:51:33,120 Then, on the afternoon of 2nd May 1982, 704 00:51:33,120 --> 00:51:35,920 the Conqueror was sent orders that made history. 705 00:51:38,360 --> 00:51:40,960 We know from Margaret Thatcher's account that the cabinet 706 00:51:40,960 --> 00:51:44,800 approved the Conqueror to attack the Belgrano at 13.30, half past one... 707 00:51:44,800 --> 00:51:45,920 Right. 708 00:51:45,920 --> 00:51:49,320 ..and the signal was transmitted to Conqueror shortly after that. 709 00:51:49,320 --> 00:51:52,120 The signal was received slightly garbled 710 00:51:52,120 --> 00:51:54,720 because the reception wasn't perfect 711 00:51:54,720 --> 00:51:57,800 and the captain wanted to make sure he had a perfect clean copy 712 00:51:57,800 --> 00:52:01,920 of this very important signal before he could act against the Belgrano. 713 00:52:03,640 --> 00:52:07,280 So, once had the authority to attack the Belgrano, he moved 714 00:52:07,280 --> 00:52:10,880 into a firing position, and he fired just before 7 o'clock, at 18.56. 715 00:52:10,880 --> 00:52:13,360 Yeah look at that, order of firing. 716 00:52:20,760 --> 00:52:23,720 The Conqueror fired three torpedoes. 717 00:52:23,720 --> 00:52:28,280 Two struck the Belgrano, she caught fire and sank. 718 00:52:30,560 --> 00:52:34,160 The attack on the Belgrano remains controversial 719 00:52:34,160 --> 00:52:36,960 but it changed the course of the conflict. 720 00:52:38,000 --> 00:52:42,000 Argentine ships retreated to their own waters. 721 00:52:42,000 --> 00:52:45,120 HMS Conqueror returned victorious. 722 00:52:48,680 --> 00:52:52,200 Now, a new generation of submarines patrol. 723 00:52:52,200 --> 00:52:57,320 They carry a vastly more powerful threat, Britain's nuclear weapons. 724 00:52:58,520 --> 00:53:02,480 In the dire scenario that we suffer a devastating attack, 725 00:53:02,480 --> 00:53:06,280 wiping out central authority, the loneliest decision, 726 00:53:06,280 --> 00:53:11,400 whether to retaliate, would lie with a Commander offshore. 727 00:53:22,000 --> 00:53:27,080 We've struggled for centuries to keep in touch with far-flung outposts. 728 00:53:28,120 --> 00:53:34,600 200 years ago, as the Empire grew, so did our need to send messages. 729 00:53:35,840 --> 00:53:40,840 Communications carried by sail across the Atlantic took 2 weeks. 730 00:53:41,960 --> 00:53:47,480 But amazingly, we eventually became hard-wired to North America, 731 00:53:47,480 --> 00:53:49,800 here, at Heart's Content. 732 00:53:54,920 --> 00:53:58,080 This remote harbour was the westernmost landing point 733 00:53:58,080 --> 00:54:00,840 of one of the greatest offshore 734 00:54:00,840 --> 00:54:05,280 triumphs of the 19th century, the Transatlantic cable. 735 00:54:09,920 --> 00:54:14,080 In 1866, a gigantic steam ship, 736 00:54:14,080 --> 00:54:19,840 Brunel's Great Eastern, left Ireland bound for Heart's Content in Canada. 737 00:54:22,680 --> 00:54:28,000 Behind her unravelled 2,000 miles of telegraph cable. 738 00:54:30,840 --> 00:54:37,640 I'm told the cable that transformed global communication is still to be found. 739 00:54:39,720 --> 00:54:45,680 And here it is, rising from the sea and crossing a beach. 740 00:54:45,680 --> 00:54:49,080 It's amazing, actually, just to see it lying here 741 00:54:49,080 --> 00:54:50,920 rusting on the pebbles. 742 00:54:50,920 --> 00:54:56,200 This cable once carried messages 2,000 miles across the Atlantic all 743 00:54:56,200 --> 00:55:00,200 the way from Heart's Content here to Valentia in Ireland. 744 00:55:01,240 --> 00:55:04,760 When the Great Eastern moored in the bay at Heart's Content 745 00:55:04,760 --> 00:55:09,600 and the cable was brought ashore, continent was wired to continent. 746 00:55:09,600 --> 00:55:13,080 Messages now sped around the world in minutes. 747 00:55:15,240 --> 00:55:18,400 It was an audacious feat of engineering 748 00:55:18,400 --> 00:55:21,120 that's captured our imagination on Coast. 749 00:55:22,200 --> 00:55:25,320 We've visited the cable station on the Irish Coast... 750 00:55:28,280 --> 00:55:32,280 ..and even unearthed the remains of the Great Eastern near Liverpool. 751 00:55:34,160 --> 00:55:37,600 But now I want to explore the other side of the story. 752 00:55:38,720 --> 00:55:41,760 I want to know how this cable transformed life 753 00:55:41,760 --> 00:55:43,800 here in Newfoundland. 754 00:55:43,800 --> 00:55:47,920 Who better to ask than Roland Peddle who manned the 755 00:55:47,920 --> 00:55:49,840 cable station in the 1950s. 756 00:55:51,320 --> 00:55:55,040 This is where the cable was coming in, right here. Oh, really. Yes. 757 00:55:55,040 --> 00:55:57,480 And there they all are, look, coming out of the floor. 758 00:55:57,480 --> 00:56:02,200 I find it amazing that the messages between two entire continents 759 00:56:02,200 --> 00:56:05,600 were passing through these bits of wire here. 760 00:56:05,600 --> 00:56:10,400 The old cable station was cutting edge mid-20th century technology. 761 00:56:12,920 --> 00:56:17,280 But what I really want to know is what Roland was listening in on. 762 00:56:17,280 --> 00:56:20,400 Everything that happened on your side of the Atlantic, 763 00:56:20,400 --> 00:56:24,880 private messages, all the news, came out here. 764 00:56:24,880 --> 00:56:28,840 I was here from 1953 to '60 and some of the things that 765 00:56:28,840 --> 00:56:32,920 happened in that time, of course... Grace Kelly married Rainier. 766 00:56:32,920 --> 00:56:34,520 Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe, 767 00:56:34,520 --> 00:56:38,640 they sent these hot little messages back and forth all the time. 768 00:56:38,640 --> 00:56:40,760 Did you read them? Oh, did I ever. Er. 769 00:56:40,760 --> 00:56:44,160 C'mon tell us one or two. Do you remember any of them? 770 00:56:44,160 --> 00:56:47,160 No. But there were different things like that. I bet you do really. 771 00:56:47,160 --> 00:56:48,840 I'm not going to give you any juicy stuff, 772 00:56:48,840 --> 00:56:50,760 poor old Marilyn would turn over in her grave. 773 00:56:50,760 --> 00:56:52,120 Just a little nugget, go on. 774 00:56:52,120 --> 00:56:54,360 There was everything, how much they loved each other 775 00:56:54,360 --> 00:56:57,600 and missed each other and all this and where they were and how 776 00:56:57,600 --> 00:57:01,920 they were sort of, you know, hiding away from, well, the paparazzi. 777 00:57:01,920 --> 00:57:04,720 Didn't call them paparazzi then, you know, all that kind of stuff. 778 00:57:04,720 --> 00:57:09,280 But one thing that I can remember especially was that it was 779 00:57:09,280 --> 00:57:12,640 a time Fidel Castro took over from Batista, 780 00:57:13,880 --> 00:57:16,440 and of course it was history and I decided that 781 00:57:16,440 --> 00:57:19,040 I would keep the history, and even though I probably was not 782 00:57:19,040 --> 00:57:22,120 allowed to do it, I would take the tape, and I would wind up the tape 783 00:57:22,120 --> 00:57:27,440 and get all the tape wound up, and I had it. Oh, I had all kinds of stuff. 784 00:57:27,440 --> 00:57:33,360 And my dear mum ended up getting Alzheimer's, and she quietly 785 00:57:33,360 --> 00:57:36,720 discarded the whole works. Oh, no! Yeah. The whole thing I had, yeah. 786 00:57:38,560 --> 00:57:42,560 Soon afterwards, the cable station at Heart's Content 787 00:57:42,560 --> 00:57:48,640 and the cable itself were discarded too, overtaken by new technologies. 788 00:57:52,320 --> 00:57:56,800 But on my journey, I've found much older connections. 789 00:57:56,800 --> 00:58:01,000 Connections between people endure. 790 00:58:01,000 --> 00:58:05,200 The arrival of those first emigrants from our shores planted 791 00:58:05,200 --> 00:58:10,080 memories of home still nurtured here. 792 00:58:12,800 --> 00:58:16,880 Those memories, those connections are a bond across the oceans. 793 00:58:16,880 --> 00:58:19,240 For many islanders who head offshore, 794 00:58:19,240 --> 00:58:22,360 the greater the distance, the stronger the bond.