1 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:09,200 We're taking a city break. 2 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:15,160 Around our isles, the coast is ringed with cities. 3 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:17,640 From the smallest... 4 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:19,800 to the grandest - 5 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:22,040 their lifeblood's the sea. 6 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:28,320 A city can thrive on its coastal connections, 7 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:34,280 but it's a relationship that can bring both prosperity and pain. 8 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:37,120 Mark's on board to see how navigation 9 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:41,480 put one city at the centre of the world's sea charts. 10 00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:44,560 This is the story of how London, 11 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:47,240 a city 50 miles from the open sea, 12 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:50,640 became the capital of global navigation. 13 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:54,120 And Tessa's going underground 14 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:57,080 to investigate a secret wartime threat. 15 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:05,120 A forgotten but extraordinary story how, in World War II, 16 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:07,480 we stopped the Nazis flooding London. 17 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:14,600 Ruth exposes an urban epidemic spread by the sea. 18 00:01:15,960 --> 00:01:18,520 As the sailors flood into the city, 19 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:21,120 a silent danger looms. 20 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:26,840 And I'll be immersed in a tidal wave of trade... 21 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:33,440 ..as I uncover the unsung port all our cities rely on. 22 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:40,000 Join us to put the sea back into the city. 23 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:41,440 This is Coast! 24 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:16,760 For centuries, the beating hearts of our coastal cities 25 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:19,720 were the docklands that fed them. 26 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:25,520 But today these urban landscapes have transformed 27 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:27,160 to suit changing times. 28 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:33,760 In Cardiff, redundant docks have been dammed 29 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:36,560 to create a freshwater lake - 30 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:38,960 a perfect pond for pleasure. 31 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:46,880 Bristol's great floating harbour is now a home of heritage. 32 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:52,960 And in Liverpool, apartments not ships 33 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:55,480 stack up along the waterfront. 34 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:03,160 So where has the trade that once filled these docks disappeared to? 35 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:09,720 I'm finding out what happens when the sea moves out of the city. 36 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:14,080 A journey that's brought me to the Humber, 37 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:17,520 to explore an unsung hero of our isles - 38 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:20,360 the mega port at Immingham. 39 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:36,560 Some seaports grow up slowly over centuries, 40 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:40,000 but Immingham sprang up as a super port, 41 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:42,400 practically a city in its own right. 42 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:49,840 More tonnes of cargo arrive here than at any other port in the UK. 43 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:55,320 Its towering skyline marks a dramatic new chapter 44 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:58,320 in the story of the sea and our cities. 45 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:03,440 Pedal power suits this mini city. 46 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:07,280 Immingham's so big it has its own road and rail network. 47 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:13,080 A bevy of workers beaver away to keep our coastal trade rolling 48 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:15,600 day and night. 49 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:24,960 Every cog, ship, 50 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:26,800 train and crane 51 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:29,880 dances to the tune of our country's needs. 52 00:04:57,440 --> 00:04:59,320 Go back a century, though, 53 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:03,040 and this working landscape looked very different. 54 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:07,400 At the turn of the 20th century, 55 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:10,360 Immingham was a sleepy backwater. 56 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:15,520 How did it spring up into this city of enterprise? 57 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:21,640 Immingham was transformed into an industrial powerhouse 58 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:23,960 by mountains of coal. 59 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:36,600 In the early 1900s, coal was being mined at a ferocious rate - 60 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:39,880 black treasure sought across the globe. 61 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:43,600 To convey our great export, 62 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:46,840 super-sized ships were called on. 63 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:54,240 The Humber's urban ports at Grimsby and Hull 64 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:56,040 couldn't expand sufficiently. 65 00:05:58,840 --> 00:06:02,880 So, in 1912, Immingham was purpose-built, 66 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:05,200 opened in pomp and circumstance 67 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:06,920 by the King himself. 68 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:13,840 100 years on, coal mines have closed 69 00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:17,240 but Immingham is still awash with the black stuff. 70 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:23,800 Today, though, the traffic's going in reverse. 71 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:30,200 Surprisingly, coal is still king here, 72 00:06:30,200 --> 00:06:32,800 but rather than shipping it out, 73 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:35,160 huge boats now bring coal in. 74 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:39,440 They're importing tonnes of it. 75 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:48,600 This might look like a minnow nudging a whale, 76 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:51,960 but these tiny tugs are incredibly powerful, 77 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:55,280 and they have to be, because some of the ships sailing into Immingham 78 00:06:55,280 --> 00:06:58,120 weigh 200,000 tonnes. 79 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:07,680 Overseeing this mountainous operation 80 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:10,560 is port director John Fitzgerald. 81 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:14,800 How much coal's actually passing through this port now? 82 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:17,920 Well, this year we're on track for about 14 million tonnes. 83 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:21,720 I'm quite surprised because, you know, I'm not the only one 84 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:24,520 who thought that Britain was decarbonising 85 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:26,640 and heading towards renewable fuels, 86 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:28,400 and yet we're surrounded by... 87 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:31,000 literally, mountains of the black stuff. 88 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:36,320 Nearly 50% of all the electricity generated in the UK 89 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:38,360 is generated from coal, 90 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:41,400 and that, effectively, means that the coal here at Immingham 91 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:44,440 is powering well over three million homes. 92 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:52,120 As we struggle to end our dependence on fossil fuels, 93 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:54,600 Immingham helps keep our lights on. 94 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:01,880 Out there in the North Sea, 95 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:04,720 there's always another coal ship waiting to come in, 96 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:06,800 then another then another, 97 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:09,960 vessels queuing up to disgorge their cargoes 98 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:13,880 into this energy capital on England's east coast. 99 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:19,400 I'll embark on a 24-hour exploration of this vast site, 100 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:25,040 to see how the port's kept on call for cargo around the clock. 101 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:47,280 One advantage of using the sea as a highway... 102 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:53,320 ..this city traffic flows without the traffic jams. 103 00:08:56,560 --> 00:09:00,600 Deep-water city docks export British cars across the world. 104 00:09:04,560 --> 00:09:06,560 But 300 years ago, 105 00:09:06,560 --> 00:09:11,360 a maritime mystery made global sea trade much more difficult. 106 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:18,080 In the 18th century, sailors had no way of knowing 107 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:20,240 their precise position at sea. 108 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:28,480 How would cracking the question of navigation 109 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:32,080 put our capital on every mariner's map? 110 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:43,640 For centuries, London's made the most 111 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:46,480 of its narrow link with the sea. 112 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:49,160 Mark's discovering how the city became 113 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:51,600 the centre of the maritime world. 114 00:09:55,480 --> 00:10:00,960 The most important location for any sailor at sea 115 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:03,600 is marked by a single line 116 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:08,200 drawn through a surprisingly urban setting - 117 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:09,920 London. 118 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:11,680 Or, more precisely, Greenwich. 119 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:17,960 This is the home of the Prime Meridian, 120 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:22,120 the reference line for every ship at sea. 121 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:24,480 But how did it end up here? 122 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:29,200 This is the story of how London, 123 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:32,240 a city 50 miles from the open sea, 124 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:35,440 became the capital of global navigation. 125 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:47,680 Our story starts some 300 years ago, 126 00:10:47,680 --> 00:10:52,880 with a maritime mystery that perplexed sailors around the world. 127 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:57,200 It may sound unbelievable today, 128 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:00,720 but up until the 1700s, sailors could not determine 129 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:03,000 their exact position at sea - 130 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:06,160 it was all a matter of guesswork. 131 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:15,160 In sight of the coast, seafarers could navigate using landmarks. 132 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:20,320 But in the 18th century, global trade was growing. 133 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:23,640 For ships to cross oceans, 134 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:28,960 sailors needed a new way to work out their location. 135 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:33,120 To understand more, I'm meeting with historian Simon Schaffer. 136 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:35,160 Hi! Hi! 137 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:37,480 Simon, why in the 18th century 138 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:40,800 was there this sudden need to know where we were? 139 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:43,440 Up till then, most trade routes 140 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:46,360 and most military enterprises that mattered 141 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:49,240 had been local, they'd been European, 142 00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:52,040 and that meant you could navigate along the coasts. 143 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:57,520 But now, from the late 1600s, early 1700s, Britain goes global, 144 00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:00,160 big time, and that means 145 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:03,840 long-range voyages across oceans 146 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:06,400 where you could not stick to the coasts. 147 00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:09,800 There were two places in particular that really mattered - 148 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:13,160 the West Indies, where the sugar trade was based, 149 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:15,360 and the East Indies and India, 150 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:18,040 where spices were imported. 151 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:24,320 Why where ocean voyages so difficult? 152 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:29,400 300 years ago, sailors could determine 153 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:32,680 how far north or south they were, 154 00:12:32,680 --> 00:12:34,600 thanks to the sun. 155 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:38,560 This was their latitude. 156 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:45,240 But no-one knew how to measure how east or west they were - 157 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:47,520 longitude. 158 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:52,600 So, if solving longitude was so important, 159 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:55,520 why hadn't anyone come up with a solution? 160 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:00,480 Even the world's top scientists were stumped. 161 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:08,240 In desperation, the Government took a novel step. 162 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:13,400 In 1714, they threw the question open to the general public. 163 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:18,800 Men across the country brought their solutions to London 164 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:24,560 to be examined by a government committee like no other - 165 00:13:24,560 --> 00:13:26,680 the Board of Longitude... 166 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:30,760 ..a panel of the great and good, 167 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:32,560 Britain's brightest brains. 168 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:39,080 They offered a huge cash prize to anyone clever enough 169 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:41,280 to crack the riddle of longitude. 170 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:47,640 Unsurprisingly, hundreds of submissions flew in. 171 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:53,680 Inventive, beautiful but sadly harebrained schemes. 172 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:59,640 Decades passed with no practical solution. 173 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:04,040 The Board of Longitude became a national joke. 174 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:10,600 A very good example of this is this image made by William Hogarth 175 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:12,640 in the 1730s, 176 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:15,080 which is a picture of Bedlam - 177 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:18,360 the vast and sprawling London madhouse - 178 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:22,080 and Hogarth was put right in the middle of this picture 179 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:24,400 of a lunatic asylum - 180 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:29,240 a man scribbling, and the man is drawing a longitude scheme. 181 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:37,000 After years of head-scratching, what had the board come up with? 182 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:40,640 There was one concept they all agreed on. 183 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:45,640 The secret to determining longitude was time. 184 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:49,400 BELL TOLLS 185 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:53,000 As long as you know the time at a fixed point like Greenwich, 186 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:56,280 then you can work out where you are anywhere in the world. 187 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:00,280 Because the Earth rotates, 188 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:03,000 the sun rises in the east, 189 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:06,600 so midday will be earlier on this side of Greenwich 190 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:09,240 and later on this side. 191 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:13,560 These lines represent lines of longitude. 192 00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:17,400 It takes two hours for the sun to travel 193 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:20,680 from one line to the next. 194 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:24,160 So, if it's noon at Greenwich, 195 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:25,720 it's... 196 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:28,240 2pm here... 197 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:30,080 and 10am here. 198 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:35,080 That time difference between local time 199 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:37,640 and Greenwich time 200 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:40,760 could be converted to distance from Greenwich. 201 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:43,200 Local time was easy - 202 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:45,640 when the sun was highest, 203 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:47,560 they knew it was noon. 204 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:51,080 But how could they keep track of time in Greenwich? 205 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:58,840 300 years ago, this was the only kind of clock sailors had. 206 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:04,760 Pendulum clocks just don't work on board boats. 207 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:10,840 They needed a new method to keep Greenwich time. 208 00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:15,120 Fundamentally, there were two approaches that seemed viable. 209 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:19,200 One was carrying Greenwich time with you in a box - 210 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,760 that meant building a very reliable and accurate clock. 211 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:26,680 The other was observing the time of events in the heavens 212 00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:28,280 using astronomy. 213 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:34,240 In 1764, the two leading methods 214 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:37,480 were trialled on a voyage to Barbados. 215 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:42,920 First up, the astronomical, or lunar, method. 216 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:48,240 This uses the clockwork nature of the sky at night 217 00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:51,240 as a huge celestial timekeeper. 218 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:57,320 All you need is a sextant to measure 219 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:01,320 the angles between the moon and certain stars. 220 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:05,960 Once you've got your angle, 221 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:10,160 you can work out what time it is in Greenwich - easy. 222 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:14,240 But the maths back then, took over four hours. 223 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,480 Fiddly calculations aside, 224 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:21,840 the Barbados trial showed the lunar method 225 00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:25,160 to be accurate to within one degree of longitude. 226 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:32,440 But that could still mean a ship was more than 60 miles adrift. 227 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:35,320 Surely there was another option? 228 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:39,160 Next up, a sea clock, 229 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:44,360 submitted by an unknown carpenter from Yorkshire, John Harrison. 230 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:48,680 The rocking motion of ships 231 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:52,720 interrupted the timekeeping of pendulum clocks, 232 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:58,080 but Harrison had spent years perfecting a new design. 233 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:03,120 Harrison's clock was like none other. 234 00:18:03,120 --> 00:18:05,400 In fact, it wasn't a clock, 235 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:07,840 it was modelled on a watch. 236 00:18:09,360 --> 00:18:12,480 Using springs instead of a pendulum, 237 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:15,160 the watch only lost 40 seconds 238 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:17,800 during the seven-week Barbados voyage. 239 00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:24,240 At last, sailors could carry Greenwich time with them. 240 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:27,320 This incredible clock 241 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:30,320 had finally solved the problem of longitude. 242 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:32,600 The end, surely? 243 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:37,520 Harrison thought he'd cracked longitude - 244 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:40,920 the board, however, thought otherwise. 245 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:46,240 Harrison was the greatest clockmaker of the age, 246 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:51,640 and it had taken him years and years to build his marine watch. 247 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:54,080 That was ONE watch. 248 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:58,400 That scheme would only work if every mariner had a watch. 249 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:03,680 The board rewarded Harrison, 250 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:08,360 but refused to give him recognition for cracking longitude 251 00:19:08,360 --> 00:19:12,440 until accurate sea-going clocks could be mass produced. 252 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:16,880 Harrison never lived to see it. 253 00:19:19,360 --> 00:19:25,000 It took another 40 years for clocks to become commonplace on our seas. 254 00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:31,720 In the meantime, sailors across the world 255 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:34,880 persevered with the lunar method. 256 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:39,760 And it was astronomical data 257 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:44,400 compiled here in Greenwich that became their bible, 258 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:47,360 with far-reaching consequences for the city. 259 00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:52,640 The astronomers here in Greenwich 260 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:55,680 began to make books exactly like this. 261 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:58,960 This is the book called The Nautical Almanac. 262 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:05,040 On these pages, the distance of the moon from a list of stars 263 00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:08,480 is tabulated with exquisite precision, 264 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:13,720 based on the longitude of Greenwich as zero. 265 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:16,440 Every mariner who used these tables 266 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:20,360 would be assuming that Greenwich was the origin of time, 267 00:20:20,360 --> 00:20:23,280 and therefore the origin of longitude. 268 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:29,600 Those British books circulated around the globe. 269 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:32,760 All used Greenwich 270 00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:34,640 as their reference point. 271 00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:40,040 Most mariners acquired the habit of looking to London 272 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:42,080 to work out their location. 273 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:47,280 In 1884, a world conference 274 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:50,680 confirmed our capital's connection to the sea. 275 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:55,840 When it came to a vote, it was official - 276 00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:58,640 Greenwich was sanctioned 277 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:00,240 as the Prime Meridian, 278 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:03,360 the line of zero degree longitude. 279 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:26,120 Greenwich remains the centre of the maritime world. 280 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:31,680 But where is the capital's once-thriving sea trade? 281 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:37,960 Out towards the edge of the Thames Estuary 282 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:41,360 a new mega port has been taking shape, 283 00:21:41,360 --> 00:21:43,320 London Gateway. 284 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:56,240 Around our isles, we've constructed large out-of-town ports. 285 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:00,240 When every second counts, 286 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:02,840 how do they get goods off the sea 287 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:04,640 and into our cities? 288 00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:11,920 I'm caught up in a hive of activity at Immingham. 289 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:22,920 Global sea trade demands that ships keep moving. 290 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:28,840 Delays cost companies and, ultimately, us. 291 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:33,720 The volume of traffic here is relentless. 292 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:40,000 Connecting everything are these roll-on/roll-off trailers. 293 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:51,360 A 24-hour operation, overseen by Mark Reeve. 294 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:55,840 We bring a vast amount of cargo in. 295 00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:59,320 It can be anything from food, timber, steels, 296 00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:02,400 chemicals, as well - import and export. 297 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:05,640 So a very wide and diversified cargo. 298 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:08,320 How long do you have to turn a ship around? To get it out again? 299 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:11,640 Something like the vessel that's come in from Esbjerg in Denmark today - 300 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:14,080 200-plus trailers in, 200-plus trailers out - 301 00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:17,240 we can turn that around in six hours. That's shifting! 302 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:20,000 Yeah, that's going some. That's going some. 303 00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:31,320 The container port is just one district 304 00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:33,520 in this city-sized enterprise. 305 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:38,240 More fiddly cargo is delivered by the boatload 306 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:40,160 and moved by the tonne. 307 00:23:41,360 --> 00:23:43,960 Heavy lifting - which presents me 308 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:46,920 with the opportunity to realise a boyhood ambition. 309 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:52,200 After ten years on Coast, I, Nick Crane, 310 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:55,520 finally get to do a story on cranes! 311 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:06,720 Crane driver Chris Jubb is showing me his elevated office. 312 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:11,640 Not a lot of space in here, is there, Chris? 313 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:13,240 No, they're only built for one, Nick. 314 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:15,080 What are you unloading here? 315 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:17,760 Today, we've got 13,000 tonnes of salt coming from Egypt. 316 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:19,760 Is that road salt? That's road salt, yeah. 317 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:24,240 What are the qualities you need to be a dockside crane-driver? 318 00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:27,720 I've heard it likened to the same as an airline pilot 319 00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:29,120 on takeoff and landing, 320 00:24:29,120 --> 00:24:31,000 the concentration that's needed. 321 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:33,200 So how much salt can you lift up in one go? 322 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:35,480 It's 12 tonnes of salt in that grab. That's a lot. 323 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:38,600 On top of the world up here, aren't you, looking down on the port. 324 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:41,080 The pinnacle of a manual-grades career. 325 00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:42,880 NICK LAUGHS 326 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:48,720 Chris makes it look easy, 327 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:52,680 but guiding this massive grabber into the precise position 328 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:55,080 to dump its load into the hopper 329 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:57,200 takes skill and experience. 330 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:02,480 How long to train me to do something like this? 331 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:04,200 You're looking at least a year. 332 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:06,120 Yeah, I can believe it. 333 00:25:06,120 --> 00:25:08,120 I might not have a year, 334 00:25:08,120 --> 00:25:11,160 but I can't come all this way without having a go. 335 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:17,480 Chris has a novel challenge in store for a novice like me. 336 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:21,480 Have I got the spatial awareness to drive a monster crane? 337 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:23,240 We're about to find out. 338 00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:32,160 Well, there's an awful lot of controls in here. 339 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:34,600 The only two you'll be looking at today 340 00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:36,360 are the basic controls - 341 00:25:36,360 --> 00:25:40,760 which is the jib lever, for slewing left to right, 342 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:44,080 and your right-hand lever, which is for lifting the grab, 343 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:46,920 lowering the grab, opening the grab and closing the grab. 344 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:49,360 Shall I give it a go? Give it a go, yeah. 345 00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:53,120 Nice and gently. Slow...slow. Ease the lever back gently. 346 00:25:53,120 --> 00:25:56,000 You need a light touch as a crane-driver. 347 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:57,960 Them small movements are the key movements. 348 00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:05,200 If you want to try and position yourself over that traffic cone there. 349 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:07,560 OK... We'll try and grab hold of the traffic cone. 350 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:09,680 Once you think you're somewhere over it, 351 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:11,480 just gently bring her down. 352 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:13,480 Now start looking out the window. 353 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:14,840 Am I going to knock it over now? 354 00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:17,760 If I try and do a grab now... A bit lower maybe? 355 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:21,920 Oh! Now I've knocked it over. I'm doomed! 356 00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:26,280 Oh, yes! Got it! Bingo. 357 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:29,240 Gently lift her up. Gently lift her up. 358 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:32,000 Well done. NICK LAUGHS 359 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,760 You're the first person I've ever taught to grab a cone before. 360 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:37,840 That's so difficult! 361 00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:40,680 But could you do that for eight hours a day? I'd be drained. 362 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:42,600 I'd be absolutely drained. 363 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:46,800 I think I'll leave the heavy lifting to the professionals! 364 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:53,520 That was great fun. I've always wanted to drive a crane. 365 00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:57,200 It's amazing what a hands-on business our sea trade still is. 366 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:08,720 Our great cities weren't only built on the back of trade. 367 00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:21,600 On the south coast, major cities owed their existence to the Navy. 368 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:28,360 As the Royal fleet grew up, 369 00:27:28,360 --> 00:27:31,000 so did a vast and varied population. 370 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:40,680 As they know in Portsmouth. 371 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:57,680 This is our oldest naval base. 372 00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:05,920 In its docks, the city proudly displays ships that brought 373 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:07,880 victory to our isles. 374 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:12,720 But there's a less-celebrated story here, too. 375 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:16,240 In the 19th century, 376 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:20,640 naval ships and their sailors carried disease from overseas. 377 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:26,120 Ruth is exploring how the port put the city in peril. 378 00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:30,640 # The captain's daughter, I suppose 379 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:32,800 # Could be called an English rose 380 00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:35,240 # What would you think if I propose? 381 00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:38,320 # The pox she gave to me a dose... # 382 00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:39,960 It's February 1856, 383 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:42,640 and the Crimean War has just ended. 384 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:46,080 The Royal Navy is heading back into Portsmouth, 385 00:28:46,080 --> 00:28:48,880 but as the sailors flood into the city, 386 00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:51,480 a silent danger looms. 387 00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:58,080 The Royal Navy was plagued with a sexually transmitted disease - 388 00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:01,680 over a third of the men admitted to hospital had syphilis. 389 00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:06,320 The statistics were staggering. 390 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:08,200 In one year alone, 391 00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:11,600 the Royal Navy lost 77,000 working days 392 00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:14,080 to sickness from syphilis. 393 00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:19,280 The Government saw syphilis 394 00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:21,400 as a threat to national security. 395 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:25,000 Our naval cities were on the front line of a war. 396 00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:31,440 So, what exactly is syphilis? 397 00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:35,400 The disease scandalised Victorian Britain, 398 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:38,320 and it still has the power to shock. 399 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:42,440 Medical historian Pauline Price has some disturbing images. 400 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:49,240 The primary symptoms would be hard lumps called chancres, 401 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:52,480 and then you would end up 402 00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:56,040 perhaps coming onto this stage, this is the secondary syphilis, 403 00:29:56,040 --> 00:30:00,440 and you've got a lot of pustules around the chest, on the face, 404 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:04,680 and that would make you feel very tired, very ill. 405 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:07,680 That might disappear after about six weeks, 406 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:09,480 and then you might have 407 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:12,440 a period of 5 to 20 years where it was latent - 408 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:14,920 hadn't gone away, but you had no symptoms. 409 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:19,040 And then you would start developing the tertiary symptoms, 410 00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:20,920 and these are even worse, 411 00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:24,200 and you can imagine the results of these is usually death. 412 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:26,200 So, what could people do to treat it? 413 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:30,040 They would have various forms of mercury treatment - 414 00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:32,480 they might make it into pills, 415 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:33,880 a lotion. 416 00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:36,360 Mercury's a really poisonous substance, isn't it? 417 00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:38,800 The effects on the body are truly vile. 418 00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:40,400 Well, that was the Victorian idea, 419 00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:43,080 that you were purging your system, so if you salivated, 420 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:45,520 if you vomited, then you're getting out of the system 421 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:47,520 the things that are making you ill. 422 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:49,440 And if you did go through with the treatment, 423 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:51,400 would it actually cure the syphilis? 424 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:54,600 No, it wouldn't. They just didn't have the science. 425 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:57,880 So you used this because it was the best they had. 426 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:03,320 With no cure in sight, 427 00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:05,600 the silent killer spread. 428 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:09,040 Our cities were soon a breeding ground for the pox. 429 00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:15,120 This is a copy of a caricature from the early 1800s 430 00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:19,080 showing a typical Portsmouth dockside scene - 431 00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:22,720 lewd goings-on, sailors rollicking with prostitutes, 432 00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:26,120 an inebriated woman being carried off. 433 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:29,160 And it was these loose women, rather than the sailors, 434 00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:32,600 that were to be the focus of the Government crackdown. 435 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:37,760 As the Government sought ways to control the epidemic, 436 00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:41,120 a shadowy underworld came under the spotlight. 437 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:44,000 I'm with historian Fern Riddell. 438 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:46,440 We know that in Portsmouth in this period 439 00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:49,360 there were about 2,000 prostitutes working. 440 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:51,800 There's a real strong link, it seems, 441 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:54,560 between sailors and prostitutes, isn't there? 442 00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:56,840 They'd be somewhere the men could come and stay, 443 00:31:56,840 --> 00:31:59,480 they'd look after their money, give them a social life. 444 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:02,680 And it really was very much a companionable relationship. 445 00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:05,880 Because there were no barracks for the sailors, at all, in town? No. 446 00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:08,800 When they arrived off the ships there was nowhere for them to stay? 447 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:12,080 None at all. You wanted somewhere you could actually lay your head, 448 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:15,360 and some company different from the men that you'd stayed with 449 00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:17,720 the entire time you were at sea. 450 00:32:17,720 --> 00:32:23,480 # Get six of me, comrade To carry my coffin...# 451 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:28,840 As syphilis spread, popular songs made clear who was held to blame. 452 00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:34,600 # ..Bad luck to the girl that gived him the pox... # 453 00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:38,440 "Bad luck to the girl that gived him the pox." 454 00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:41,480 The sailors blamed the prostitutes for their sickness, 455 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:43,480 and the Government did, too. 456 00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:51,200 In July 1864, Parliament passed the first Contagious Diseases Act - 457 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:52,960 this is it here. 458 00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:57,320 Its purpose? To control prostitution and venereal disease 459 00:32:57,320 --> 00:33:00,320 in order to increase the efficiency of the Navy. 460 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:04,640 The Act introduced draconian new measures 461 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:08,640 to control sexually transmitted disease... 462 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:10,760 aimed squarely at women. 463 00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:14,320 Under the Act, any woman who was suspected of being a prostitute 464 00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:16,600 could be examined - forcibly - 465 00:33:16,600 --> 00:33:18,760 in the most intimate way. 466 00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:22,640 While sailors walked free, 467 00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:25,760 women suspected of having the disease 468 00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:28,480 were sent to aptly named lock hospitals. 469 00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:32,240 The shame of the city, 470 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:35,680 these prison-like wards have long since disappeared. 471 00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:38,480 But Fern can paint a picture. 472 00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:42,440 They were really stark and depressing places to go, 473 00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:45,880 and each woman was responsible for their own treatment. 474 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:50,360 So they'd go from having a horrible, really horrible, internal exam 475 00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:53,160 when they were proved to have a contagious disease, 476 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:55,280 to then treating themselves, 477 00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:57,440 to then being examined by a doctor 478 00:33:57,440 --> 00:33:59,440 to see if the treatment was working. 479 00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:01,360 And that was for their entire time 480 00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:03,880 that they were incarcerated in the lock hospitals, 481 00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:07,240 which could be from three to six to even nine months. 482 00:34:12,480 --> 00:34:15,520 One woman was especially outraged by the law. 483 00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:20,520 Josephine Butler was a Christian from a middle-class background. 484 00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:23,280 Heedless of potential embarrassment, 485 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:26,120 she attacked the Contagious Diseases Act. 486 00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:30,240 She toured the country to argue the prostitutes' cause. 487 00:34:30,240 --> 00:34:32,600 I'm following in Josephine Butler's footsteps. 488 00:34:35,240 --> 00:34:37,800 Despite the odds stacked against her, 489 00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:42,200 Josephine set up a campaign group to repeal the Act targeted at women. 490 00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:45,760 She took to the stage to voice her dissent. 491 00:34:47,440 --> 00:34:52,320 "Women turn to prostitution out of starvation, hunger. 492 00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:55,840 "Two pence is the price in England of a young girl's honour." 493 00:34:57,640 --> 00:34:59,800 What were her main arguments? 494 00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:01,640 Well, she has three main points. 495 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:05,560 So, firstly, she manages to inspire compassion for a class of women 496 00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:07,320 that most people would have ignored. 497 00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:10,440 Secondly, she exposes this horrific double standard 498 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:14,440 of the fact that you would treat women, but you wouldn't treat men. 499 00:35:14,440 --> 00:35:18,120 And that, I think, really grabbed a lot of people's attention. 500 00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:21,120 "We must protest against the purchase 501 00:35:21,120 --> 00:35:23,840 "of physical health of soldiers, 502 00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:29,960 "at the cost of introducing so much darkness and immortality." 503 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:33,320 This is what really grabs the whole community together - 504 00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:35,920 the fact that she exposes the Government as really being 505 00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:37,520 incredibly immoral. 506 00:35:37,520 --> 00:35:41,080 And they're basically legalising and regulating prostitution, 507 00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:45,120 which to the Victorians was absolutely unthinkable. 508 00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:49,200 # Come, my good friends and a story I'll relate 509 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:53,680 # I spied a brave comrade all dressed in white flannel 510 00:35:53,680 --> 00:35:57,120 # Dressed in white flannel and cruel was his fate... # 511 00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:01,560 It was this final argument that struck home. 512 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:04,000 By regulating prostitution, 513 00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:06,440 the Government appeared to be condoning it. 514 00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:09,840 A groundswell of popular opinion 515 00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:12,480 backed Josephine Butler's cause, 516 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:16,440 but it took 19 years' hard campaigning 517 00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:22,360 until Josephine finally received a telegram 518 00:36:22,360 --> 00:36:25,160 It's dated 1886, and simply read, 519 00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:28,000 "Repeal received royal ascent." 520 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:31,040 No longer could a women be forcibly examined 521 00:36:31,040 --> 00:36:34,280 or locked up in a hospital without her consent. 522 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:37,480 # There's a hole in his boots... 523 00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:39,960 # Bad luck to the girl... # 524 00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:44,840 In 1905, the real enemy to our cities was identified - not women, 525 00:36:44,840 --> 00:36:49,120 not the sailors that visited them, but this - 526 00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:52,440 Treponema pallidum, the spiral-shaped bacterium 527 00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:55,680 responsible for syphilis. 528 00:36:55,680 --> 00:36:57,840 But only after the Second World War, 529 00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:00,280 when penicillin became widely available, 530 00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:05,920 did the threat to our cities finally subside. 531 00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:07,320 # I might have been cured 532 00:37:07,320 --> 00:37:09,400 # By those pills of white mercury 533 00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:14,840 # Now I'm a young man cut down in my prime... # 534 00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:32,160 We're exploring the sea and the city. 535 00:37:34,240 --> 00:37:37,200 A journey that's brought me to the Humber. 536 00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:45,920 Just 13 miles from the port of Immingham, 537 00:37:45,920 --> 00:37:49,000 a finger of land reaches into the sea. 538 00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:53,480 This is Spurn Head. 539 00:37:56,480 --> 00:37:58,760 At its tip is a control centre... 540 00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:06,240 ..directing cargo ships safely into Immingham's busy port. 541 00:38:16,840 --> 00:38:19,840 Now, I'm following this flow of traffic, 542 00:38:19,840 --> 00:38:22,080 and it holds some surprises. 543 00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:34,800 This is a gateway for global commerce. 544 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:37,560 But it isn't only cargo that washes up here - 545 00:38:37,560 --> 00:38:41,600 these huge ships are also homes. 546 00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:51,400 Seafarers are forever in transit between destinations, 547 00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:55,000 so ports like this become temporary cities for the stateless. 548 00:38:57,200 --> 00:39:00,320 Yesterday, the Greek-owned Elena Ve, 549 00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:03,040 with its Filipino crew arrived from Russia. 550 00:39:05,800 --> 00:39:08,640 These globe-trotting ships spend months at sea. 551 00:39:09,920 --> 00:39:11,800 Far from their own cities, 552 00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:15,120 what do the crew do when they arrive on our shores? 553 00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:18,680 I'm meeting Colum Kelly. 554 00:39:18,680 --> 00:39:21,640 We're going on board the Elena which has come from Russia 555 00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:23,160 bringing some coal. 556 00:39:24,200 --> 00:39:27,360 Colum is Immingham's very own chaplain. 557 00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:30,960 He helps throw an anchor to a restless flow of visitors. 558 00:39:34,240 --> 00:39:37,440 As the Elena's vast hold gives up its cargo... 559 00:39:38,520 --> 00:39:40,960 ..the crew are getting a break in the mess room. 560 00:39:43,200 --> 00:39:45,400 Hi, guys. ALL: Hey. 561 00:39:45,400 --> 00:39:46,600 What's for dinner tonight? 562 00:39:46,600 --> 00:39:49,480 Pork. Pork. Yes. 563 00:39:49,480 --> 00:39:52,320 Who's been longest on this ship? Contract? 564 00:39:52,320 --> 00:39:55,320 These guys. These guys? How many months? 565 00:39:55,320 --> 00:39:57,440 About nine months. Nine months. 566 00:39:57,440 --> 00:39:59,960 So you must miss your families dreadfully in that time? 567 00:39:59,960 --> 00:40:02,640 Yes, that's what we do when we are in port. 568 00:40:02,640 --> 00:40:05,120 We try to find internet access 569 00:40:05,120 --> 00:40:07,920 just to have contact with our families. 570 00:40:07,920 --> 00:40:09,440 Well, tonight's your lucky night 571 00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:11,600 because I've brought you some internet access - 572 00:40:11,600 --> 00:40:13,600 and the good news is, it's free! 573 00:40:13,600 --> 00:40:15,280 ALL: Yay! 574 00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:19,920 It's not often an internet connection gets a round of applause, 575 00:40:19,920 --> 00:40:22,880 but this ship and its 20-strong Filipino crew 576 00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:25,520 have been at sea for weeks. 577 00:40:27,240 --> 00:40:30,960 Column's Wi-Fi is a long-awaited lifeline home. 578 00:40:32,760 --> 00:40:35,120 This is my daughter. Your daughter? 579 00:40:35,120 --> 00:40:37,360 Yes, sir. I miss her so much. 580 00:40:37,360 --> 00:40:39,040 I bet. How old is she? 581 00:40:39,040 --> 00:40:40,400 Er, eight years old, sir. 582 00:40:40,400 --> 00:40:42,280 Well, you're a very lucky man. Thank you, sir. 583 00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:45,120 Is it difficult for you to stay in touch with your family 584 00:40:45,120 --> 00:40:47,760 when you're on the ship? Yes, of course, sir. 585 00:40:47,760 --> 00:40:51,600 The longest voyage I have ever experienced in a vessel is 42 days. 586 00:40:51,600 --> 00:40:54,280 42 days on one voyage? Yes. 587 00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:56,360 Where were you going from? From America to China. 588 00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:04,240 In port, they only get six hours off at a time. 589 00:41:04,240 --> 00:41:08,280 Even so, the chaplain tries to give them a good taste of Britain. 590 00:41:11,960 --> 00:41:14,560 You must have had some strange requests over the years? 591 00:41:14,560 --> 00:41:16,200 There was an Indian crew, and I said, 592 00:41:16,200 --> 00:41:18,640 "Well, do you want to go to the cinema, to a supermarket, 593 00:41:18,640 --> 00:41:21,360 "or want to go into the city and do a big shopping?" 594 00:41:21,360 --> 00:41:22,720 And the captain says, 595 00:41:22,720 --> 00:41:26,880 "They'd like to be taken somewhere where they could walk on grass." 596 00:41:26,880 --> 00:41:28,560 Oh. Heartbreaking. 597 00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:30,280 How simple a request is that? 598 00:41:31,320 --> 00:41:35,280 With the coal disgorged, this crew is ready to sail again. 599 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:39,960 But where in the world, 600 00:41:39,960 --> 00:41:41,880 they won't know until word comes 601 00:41:41,880 --> 00:41:44,040 from the owner in Athens. 602 00:42:02,360 --> 00:42:04,640 For centuries, the coming and going of boats 603 00:42:04,640 --> 00:42:06,280 has brought opportunities 604 00:42:06,280 --> 00:42:07,640 for city folk... 605 00:42:09,080 --> 00:42:12,200 ..giving them freedom to travel the world. 606 00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:17,000 To find a city that's been shaped 607 00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:18,920 by that spirit of adventure, 608 00:42:18,920 --> 00:42:22,120 there's nowhere better to look 609 00:42:22,120 --> 00:42:24,000 than Liverpool. 610 00:42:31,960 --> 00:42:35,280 This city not only transported goods across the sea, 611 00:42:35,280 --> 00:42:37,160 but also people. 612 00:42:39,320 --> 00:42:41,600 The quayside once bustled with liners, 613 00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:46,160 offering Liverpool's youth a route to adventure. 614 00:42:48,440 --> 00:42:51,480 Transatlantic trade has long dried up, 615 00:42:51,480 --> 00:42:55,720 but the sea still inspires the young to run free. 616 00:43:04,880 --> 00:43:08,240 Today, their routes are just a little bit more imaginative. 617 00:43:12,400 --> 00:43:15,640 I'm Ryan Doyle, and this is my city - Liverpool. 618 00:43:20,120 --> 00:43:23,000 Liverpool is just one of the coolest cities - 619 00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:25,000 every major road runs to the coast. 620 00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:29,760 It's like a city that's had half of it opened up to the ocean, 621 00:43:29,760 --> 00:43:32,920 so you don't have that inner-city claustrophobia. 622 00:43:37,800 --> 00:43:41,040 Free-running is expressing yourself through movement 623 00:43:41,040 --> 00:43:43,480 so you can set yourself a destination 624 00:43:43,480 --> 00:43:46,040 and try and get there as creatively as you can. 625 00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:50,080 It's just exploring what the body's capable of. 626 00:43:52,400 --> 00:43:54,040 The sea... It's in my blood. 627 00:43:54,040 --> 00:43:56,680 My father was half Irish, my mother is half Irish. 628 00:43:56,680 --> 00:43:59,160 I don't know why, just something about the Irish Sea. 629 00:43:59,160 --> 00:44:00,880 I'm connected to it. 630 00:44:08,280 --> 00:44:11,160 The Liverpool docks - it's a maze of architecture, 631 00:44:11,160 --> 00:44:15,120 unexplored architecture, that we need to use to our advantage. 632 00:44:15,120 --> 00:44:18,280 You know, you don't really get to know an environment 633 00:44:18,280 --> 00:44:20,040 until you've jumped all over it! 634 00:44:39,520 --> 00:44:41,360 A lot of these kids like to play Spider-Man 635 00:44:41,360 --> 00:44:43,400 and play all the PlayStation games, 636 00:44:43,400 --> 00:44:46,640 but I like to go out and actually physically be Spider-Man. 637 00:44:52,960 --> 00:44:55,800 The River Mersey flowing right through Liverpool. 638 00:44:55,800 --> 00:44:59,200 If we want, we can go on a boat and just hit the open seas 639 00:44:59,200 --> 00:45:00,920 because a lot of free-runners 640 00:45:00,920 --> 00:45:02,640 are always up for the adventure, 641 00:45:02,640 --> 00:45:04,720 and there's nothing more that says 642 00:45:04,720 --> 00:45:06,320 adventure than the open sea. 643 00:45:18,120 --> 00:45:21,360 We're on a metropolitan maritime journey. 644 00:45:21,360 --> 00:45:24,800 A story of profit... 645 00:45:24,800 --> 00:45:26,640 and loss. 646 00:45:31,960 --> 00:45:36,160 For centuries, the sea has provided for our cities. 647 00:45:36,160 --> 00:45:38,080 But when the tide turns, 648 00:45:38,080 --> 00:45:41,680 our greatest ally can become our worst enemy. 649 00:45:50,200 --> 00:45:52,520 Head down our east coast, 650 00:45:52,520 --> 00:45:57,200 and chunks of land have been eaten by ferocious waves. 651 00:46:02,400 --> 00:46:05,560 We've witnessed the devastating impact of the sea 652 00:46:05,560 --> 00:46:08,040 on small coastal settlements, 653 00:46:08,040 --> 00:46:13,040 making it clear what catastrophe the water could wreak on our cities. 654 00:46:21,640 --> 00:46:25,160 They must defend themselves from the sea in London. 655 00:46:35,520 --> 00:46:40,160 People and property are protected by the Thames Barrier 656 00:46:40,160 --> 00:46:43,000 and the city's stone embankments. 657 00:46:46,080 --> 00:46:50,320 But go back 75 years, and there was a storm brewing in Europe. 658 00:46:52,200 --> 00:46:55,840 Hitler wanted to bring the city to its knees. 659 00:46:55,840 --> 00:46:58,880 Would the power of the tide be London's Achilles heel? 660 00:47:02,120 --> 00:47:06,000 Tessa is uncovering a hidden chapter in the story 661 00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:07,880 of the Second World War. 662 00:47:13,760 --> 00:47:16,960 I've got with me a top-secret wartime document. 663 00:47:18,320 --> 00:47:21,960 It says here, "Warning. This publication must not leave 664 00:47:21,960 --> 00:47:25,280 "the custody of the person to whom it has been supplied, 665 00:47:25,280 --> 00:47:28,760 "nor may it be taken or sent abroad 666 00:47:28,760 --> 00:47:32,200 "without the authority of the Hydrographer of the Navy." 667 00:47:32,200 --> 00:47:35,760 What's in this secret document? 668 00:47:35,760 --> 00:47:38,160 London's tidal bible. 669 00:47:40,120 --> 00:47:43,720 The surging tide raises the level of the Thames 670 00:47:43,720 --> 00:47:45,600 by up to eight metres. 671 00:47:49,440 --> 00:47:51,280 During the Second World War, 672 00:47:51,280 --> 00:47:54,440 one man saw this twice daily deluge 673 00:47:54,440 --> 00:47:57,120 as a threat to Britain itself. 674 00:47:59,000 --> 00:48:02,080 The document has been written by this person, Peirson Frank, 675 00:48:02,080 --> 00:48:04,080 and here he is, 676 00:48:04,080 --> 00:48:06,880 London County Council's chief engineer. 677 00:48:08,920 --> 00:48:11,760 Frank's fear of the high tide 678 00:48:11,760 --> 00:48:14,520 sprang from bitter experience. 679 00:48:14,520 --> 00:48:19,000 In 1928, the Thames had poured into the city, 680 00:48:19,000 --> 00:48:21,840 a storm overwhelmed the Embankment, 681 00:48:21,840 --> 00:48:23,960 the Underground flooded, 682 00:48:23,960 --> 00:48:27,720 people in basement flats drowned. 683 00:48:27,720 --> 00:48:30,280 Then Peirson Frank had been powerless. 684 00:48:31,720 --> 00:48:34,760 12 years later, as the Blitz rained down, 685 00:48:34,760 --> 00:48:37,600 Frank knew that if Hitler had the tidal bible, 686 00:48:37,600 --> 00:48:39,560 accurately placed bombs 687 00:48:39,560 --> 00:48:44,280 could demolish London's flood defences at high water, 688 00:48:44,280 --> 00:48:46,760 unleashing the sea on the city. 689 00:48:52,840 --> 00:48:55,560 London had nearly drowned by accident, 690 00:48:55,560 --> 00:48:58,320 could Hitler now drown it by design? 691 00:49:01,360 --> 00:49:05,400 If so, Peirson Frank knew where the Nazi bombers would strike. 692 00:49:07,360 --> 00:49:10,920 The Embankment protects the heart of the city from the sea. 693 00:49:13,480 --> 00:49:17,200 Archaeologist Gustav Milne has pieced together evidence 694 00:49:17,200 --> 00:49:20,880 of a secret that's been kept for over 70 years. 695 00:49:22,880 --> 00:49:24,520 This is the scar of a bomb 696 00:49:24,520 --> 00:49:28,800 that struck here on 16th March 1941, 697 00:49:28,800 --> 00:49:31,480 and the hole was very rapidly filled. 698 00:49:31,480 --> 00:49:34,840 What makes you sure this is the site of a bomb? 699 00:49:34,840 --> 00:49:38,240 Well, we know it's a bomb simply because all the granite facing 700 00:49:38,240 --> 00:49:40,120 that was there is now spread out 701 00:49:40,120 --> 00:49:42,560 over a great 18-metre arc, 702 00:49:42,560 --> 00:49:44,240 right the way round here. 703 00:49:44,240 --> 00:49:47,280 So, 70 years on, it's still lying on the riverbed? 704 00:49:47,280 --> 00:49:48,760 Still on the riverbed. 705 00:49:51,000 --> 00:49:54,960 A co-ordinated bomb attack on several targets at high tide 706 00:49:54,960 --> 00:49:56,680 could have crippled the city. 707 00:50:00,640 --> 00:50:02,760 Power and phone lines would be cut, 708 00:50:02,760 --> 00:50:05,400 the water supply contaminated - 709 00:50:05,400 --> 00:50:09,000 losing London might have meant losing the war. 710 00:50:10,560 --> 00:50:14,080 Gustav has found scars from 122 bomb strikes 711 00:50:14,080 --> 00:50:16,280 to London's flood wall. 712 00:50:19,040 --> 00:50:22,320 Attacks that worried the Government so much 713 00:50:22,320 --> 00:50:24,480 they took action to cover them up. 714 00:50:26,920 --> 00:50:31,720 What I've got in here is the logbook of the snappily named 715 00:50:31,720 --> 00:50:36,480 Thames Flood Prevention Emergency Repairs Service. 716 00:50:36,480 --> 00:50:39,000 The team was led by Peirson Frank, 717 00:50:39,000 --> 00:50:40,680 and it was so secret 718 00:50:40,680 --> 00:50:43,200 no-one even knew it existed. 719 00:50:47,000 --> 00:50:51,160 Gustav has spent years researching this covert team of workers. 720 00:50:52,240 --> 00:50:54,040 If you look at this photograph, 721 00:50:54,040 --> 00:50:56,120 it shows the team in action. 722 00:50:56,120 --> 00:51:01,040 What you can see here is this great line of 5,000 sandbags, 723 00:51:01,040 --> 00:51:05,240 and they are blocking up a gap in the riverside wall. 724 00:51:05,240 --> 00:51:07,920 And why was this unit such a secret? 725 00:51:07,920 --> 00:51:10,480 Because they didn't want to alert the Luftwaffe 726 00:51:10,480 --> 00:51:13,320 to the extreme vulnerability of low-lying London, 727 00:51:13,320 --> 00:51:16,560 and they didn't want to affect the morale of Londoners, 728 00:51:16,560 --> 00:51:19,560 who had already been faced with being exploded to death, 729 00:51:19,560 --> 00:51:23,040 so they didn't want to make them fear drowning, as well. 730 00:51:26,400 --> 00:51:28,480 People's worst nightmare 731 00:51:28,480 --> 00:51:30,640 was a flood underground, 732 00:51:30,640 --> 00:51:33,280 below the Thames in the Tube. 733 00:51:34,760 --> 00:51:39,000 During airstrikes, stations became makeshift bomb shelters. 734 00:51:39,000 --> 00:51:41,720 But what if a tunnel was hit 735 00:51:41,720 --> 00:51:44,520 and the river above poured in? 736 00:51:45,960 --> 00:51:47,600 The horror was unimaginable, 737 00:51:47,600 --> 00:51:49,520 but the fear very real. 738 00:51:51,600 --> 00:51:55,200 How could those helpless underground be protected? 739 00:51:56,880 --> 00:51:59,520 Thousands of people use this Tube every day, 740 00:51:59,520 --> 00:52:03,360 but I wonder how many notice the remnants of a metal door. 741 00:52:06,800 --> 00:52:09,080 When the air-raid siren sounded, 742 00:52:09,080 --> 00:52:12,080 heavy steel floodgates slid into place... 743 00:52:14,320 --> 00:52:17,160 ..to seal off tunnels running under the Thames. 744 00:52:20,840 --> 00:52:23,640 This is one of the actual flood-proof doors 745 00:52:23,640 --> 00:52:25,680 fitted during the Blitz. 746 00:52:25,680 --> 00:52:27,880 It's now out of use, 747 00:52:27,880 --> 00:52:29,760 but during the war, every tunnel 748 00:52:29,760 --> 00:52:32,440 that ran under the Thames had one of these. 749 00:52:34,440 --> 00:52:37,040 If the tunnel behind was breached, 750 00:52:37,040 --> 00:52:39,280 the Tube network SHOULD stay safe. 751 00:52:41,240 --> 00:52:43,800 But at night, in the chaos of war, 752 00:52:43,800 --> 00:52:47,040 it was hard to tell if bombs were falling in the river. 753 00:52:48,680 --> 00:52:51,960 If a bomb hit the Thames and flooded one of those tunnels, 754 00:52:51,960 --> 00:52:56,600 how would they know without literally opening the floodgates? 755 00:52:56,600 --> 00:53:02,040 Once again, the city's engineers devised a remarkable counter measure. 756 00:53:04,080 --> 00:53:06,200 Hydrophones. 757 00:53:06,200 --> 00:53:08,560 Basically, underwater microphones - 758 00:53:08,560 --> 00:53:11,560 and they were placed on the bed of the Thames, 759 00:53:11,560 --> 00:53:14,840 close to every one of the Tube tunnels under the water. 760 00:53:14,840 --> 00:53:17,720 LOUD EXPLOSION 761 00:53:20,320 --> 00:53:22,920 It was an astonishing scheme. 762 00:53:22,920 --> 00:53:26,960 Sound waves would detect where the bombs were landing. 763 00:53:26,960 --> 00:53:29,240 So, how did it work? 764 00:53:29,240 --> 00:53:33,960 Thames hydrographer John Dillon-Leetch can demonstrate. 765 00:53:33,960 --> 00:53:36,360 What we have here is two hydrophones, 766 00:53:36,360 --> 00:53:38,520 and if we take this target 767 00:53:38,520 --> 00:53:41,440 and we say this might be a bomb during the Second World War 768 00:53:41,440 --> 00:53:43,640 and we drop it into the water, 769 00:53:43,640 --> 00:53:47,440 like so, the ripples there would represent sound waves. 770 00:53:47,440 --> 00:53:51,240 And they would be timed from the time they're received here and here, 771 00:53:51,240 --> 00:53:53,480 and by looking at the difference between the two times 772 00:53:53,480 --> 00:53:55,520 we should be able to calculate 773 00:53:55,520 --> 00:53:58,320 the approximate position of the bomb. 774 00:53:59,560 --> 00:54:03,720 The wartime hydrophone signals were interpreted by skilled analysts 775 00:54:03,720 --> 00:54:06,040 at South Kensington Tube station. 776 00:54:08,480 --> 00:54:12,200 Test recordings show sound waves from a Thames tug boat. 777 00:54:12,200 --> 00:54:15,160 ENGINE HUM, SPLASHING WATER 778 00:54:15,160 --> 00:54:19,040 And even the sensitivity to a single rifle shot. 779 00:54:19,040 --> 00:54:20,480 RIFLE SHOT 780 00:54:23,320 --> 00:54:26,720 Then, on 9th September 1940, 781 00:54:26,720 --> 00:54:30,680 the Luftwaffe loomed over London. 782 00:54:30,680 --> 00:54:32,400 Sirens sounded. 783 00:54:32,400 --> 00:54:35,040 SIRENS WAIL 784 00:54:35,040 --> 00:54:37,560 The electronic ears under the Thames were made ready, 785 00:54:37,560 --> 00:54:39,720 floodgates slammed shut. 786 00:54:41,800 --> 00:54:45,440 Then analysts received the signal they'd been dreading. 787 00:54:47,320 --> 00:54:51,720 Beneath the river, a section of the Northern Line had been hit. 788 00:54:58,480 --> 00:55:01,680 Thanks to the hydrophones the flood gates were kept shut, 789 00:55:01,680 --> 00:55:03,520 the water contained. 790 00:55:05,560 --> 00:55:10,240 Families sheltering in the Tube escaped...none the wiser. 791 00:55:14,960 --> 00:55:19,520 So, what of London's guardian angel, Peirson Frank? 792 00:55:19,520 --> 00:55:23,560 It turns out his fear of Hitler using the tidal Thames 793 00:55:23,560 --> 00:55:26,680 to destroy the city was well founded. 794 00:55:28,120 --> 00:55:30,720 Just not in the way he had imagined. 795 00:55:32,160 --> 00:55:34,840 Hitler didn't flood London, 796 00:55:34,840 --> 00:55:37,400 but his air force did turn the tide against us. 797 00:55:40,280 --> 00:55:42,720 Instead of hitting at high water, 798 00:55:42,720 --> 00:55:46,200 on the night of 29th December 1940, 799 00:55:46,200 --> 00:55:50,680 Hitler struck the city with incendiary bombs at low tide. 800 00:55:52,560 --> 00:55:56,720 Firefighters struggled to get enough water from the Thames 801 00:55:56,720 --> 00:55:59,240 to extinguish the blazes. 802 00:55:59,240 --> 00:56:00,800 The city burned. 803 00:56:02,920 --> 00:56:05,520 It was a tragic night for London, 804 00:56:05,520 --> 00:56:08,320 but had Hitler turned the sea against the city, 805 00:56:08,320 --> 00:56:11,920 then the story of the Blitz and even the outcome of the war 806 00:56:11,920 --> 00:56:14,400 could have been very different. 807 00:56:31,280 --> 00:56:34,080 We've been exploring the sea and the city. 808 00:56:37,240 --> 00:56:39,360 An urban coastal landscape 809 00:56:39,360 --> 00:56:42,720 continually transforming with the times. 810 00:56:45,080 --> 00:56:48,120 Old city trade routes welcome 811 00:56:48,120 --> 00:56:50,160 a flow of new ideas. 812 00:56:51,360 --> 00:56:53,800 And in the mega port of Immingham, 813 00:56:53,800 --> 00:56:56,040 a new opportunity awaits. 814 00:56:57,280 --> 00:57:00,880 For 100 years, coal has been the kingpin of Immingham, 815 00:57:00,880 --> 00:57:04,480 but this port is building its future on a new fuel. 816 00:57:10,880 --> 00:57:14,840 Wow, this is absolutely enormous! 817 00:57:16,320 --> 00:57:21,800 This soaring tower is being built to store a new generation of energy. 818 00:57:21,800 --> 00:57:27,320 This is biomass - mainly wood pulp from sustainable forests. 819 00:57:28,960 --> 00:57:33,040 Such biomass may provide up to a tenth of our electricity - 820 00:57:33,040 --> 00:57:36,760 the pellets stored in these huge silos. 821 00:57:39,960 --> 00:57:43,680 Our small isle would struggle to grow enough trees, 822 00:57:43,680 --> 00:57:46,960 so we rely on the sea for imports. 823 00:57:48,840 --> 00:57:52,320 Biomass could cement an exciting future for this port, 824 00:57:52,320 --> 00:57:54,920 harnessing the coast 825 00:57:54,920 --> 00:57:57,360 to the changing needs of our country. 826 00:58:04,520 --> 00:58:08,360 Life around our shores continues to transform... 827 00:58:09,840 --> 00:58:13,880 ..but the precious links between sea and city endure. 828 00:58:20,120 --> 00:58:22,880 For thousands of years, we've built settlements 829 00:58:22,880 --> 00:58:24,800 along the edge of the sea - 830 00:58:24,800 --> 00:58:26,280 the great provider, 831 00:58:26,280 --> 00:58:28,360 the global highway. 832 00:58:28,360 --> 00:58:29,960 Now, as ever before, 833 00:58:29,960 --> 00:58:33,760 the coast lies at the centre of our national life.