1 00:00:11,007 --> 00:00:14,795 I'm back on home territory, on Edinburgh's mighty seaway, 2 00:00:14,887 --> 00:00:16,605 the Firth of Forth. 3 00:00:17,367 --> 00:00:19,164 My journey will take me south 4 00:00:19,247 --> 00:00:22,444 along the majestic beauty of a coast where Scotland gives way 5 00:00:22,527 --> 00:00:25,963 to Northumberland and on to the industrial powerhouse 6 00:00:26,047 --> 00:00:28,003 of England's Northeast, 7 00:00:28,087 --> 00:00:30,806 all the way down to the Humber Estuary. 8 00:00:31,807 --> 00:00:35,117 And I can promise you some extraordinary encounters. 9 00:00:35,967 --> 00:00:39,596 Miranda Krestovnikoff gets dive-bombed by gannets. 10 00:00:40,487 --> 00:00:43,923 This is what gannets are reaIIy famous for, this pIummet right into the water 11 00:00:44,007 --> 00:00:45,725 to catch the fish. 12 00:00:46,287 --> 00:00:49,199 OLIVER: Dick Strawbridge has a riveting experience. 13 00:00:49,287 --> 00:00:50,640 (RATTLING) 14 00:00:51,167 --> 00:00:53,806 Imagine doing haIf a miIIion of these. 15 00:00:55,367 --> 00:00:56,356 OLIVER: Mark Horton... 16 00:00:56,447 --> 00:00:57,641 Hey, hey, hey. 17 00:00:57,727 --> 00:01:00,241 OLIVER: ...is fighting with Vikings. 18 00:01:01,287 --> 00:01:04,438 -Do you stiII beIieve you can move it? -ALL: Yes. 19 00:01:05,527 --> 00:01:06,596 Go! 20 00:01:06,687 --> 00:01:10,680 OLIVER: And some tough ladies pit themselves against a two-ton lifeboat 21 00:01:10,767 --> 00:01:13,406 to test the legend of a famous rescue. 22 00:01:14,607 --> 00:01:16,245 This is Coast. 23 00:01:42,727 --> 00:01:45,639 From Norway, I've crossed the North Sea. 24 00:01:45,727 --> 00:01:49,686 Now we're on our way to the Humber Estuary and the port of Hull, 25 00:01:49,807 --> 00:01:55,245 a journey connecting England and Scotland, which starts at another port, Rosyth. 26 00:01:58,567 --> 00:02:02,082 There's a certain romance to a port. In among all the machinery 27 00:02:02,167 --> 00:02:05,842 there's a tangible sense of connections to the wider world. 28 00:02:13,847 --> 00:02:16,998 And ports Iike this are connected to every one of us. 29 00:02:17,087 --> 00:02:19,806 This wood has traveIIed aII the way from Latvia, 30 00:02:19,887 --> 00:02:23,323 and this, in turn, is used to make paIIets Iike these. 31 00:02:25,047 --> 00:02:28,437 And paIIets are used to carry aII the things that peopIe want - 32 00:02:28,527 --> 00:02:31,837 teIevisions, washing machines, fridges, you name it. 33 00:02:31,927 --> 00:02:34,839 AII goods that are themseIves imported. 34 00:02:36,287 --> 00:02:41,042 A staggering amount of stuff arrives by sea. Food, medicine, clothes... 35 00:02:41,567 --> 00:02:44,798 The coast is where we do business with the world. 36 00:02:47,807 --> 00:02:52,358 Rosyth, though, wasn't built for trade. It started life as a naval dockyard, 37 00:02:52,487 --> 00:02:56,002 serving in two World Wars and one Cold War. 38 00:02:56,767 --> 00:03:02,046 But our hunger for goods meant that in 1999 part of the port was opened up to commerce. 39 00:03:04,527 --> 00:03:08,918 I'm meeting Alf Baird to find out the scale of our sea trading today. 40 00:03:09,607 --> 00:03:12,405 He's got some eye-opening numbers for me. 41 00:03:12,607 --> 00:03:15,405 Just how much stuff do we import? 42 00:03:16,007 --> 00:03:19,920 WeII, the UK ports handIe 600 miIIion tons of trade every year, 43 00:03:20,007 --> 00:03:24,285 with a vaIue of 340 biIIion pounds. Two-thirds of that's imports, 44 00:03:24,367 --> 00:03:26,119 one-third is exports. 45 00:03:26,207 --> 00:03:29,677 OLIVER: On a gIobaI scaIe, how big a chunk of the market is that? 46 00:03:29,767 --> 00:03:32,725 BAIRD: WeII, the UK has Europe's Iargest port system 47 00:03:32,807 --> 00:03:36,004 and Iargest port trade of aII European countries. 48 00:03:36,087 --> 00:03:38,999 95% of UK trade is carried by ship. 49 00:03:39,607 --> 00:03:42,644 -OLIVER: 95%? -BAIRD: 95% by tonnage. 50 00:03:42,727 --> 00:03:45,844 As an isIand nation, sea ports are absoIuteIy essentiaI. 51 00:03:45,927 --> 00:03:48,600 OLIVER: Why do we import so much stuff? 52 00:03:49,407 --> 00:03:53,958 BAIRD: I think it's just part of a gIobaI trend, increased demand from consumers 53 00:03:54,047 --> 00:03:56,356 for a whoIe range of different products. 54 00:03:56,447 --> 00:03:58,836 We've seen a phenomenaI increase in the size of container ships, 55 00:03:58,927 --> 00:04:01,760 which means the unit costs of transporting goods around the worId 56 00:04:01,847 --> 00:04:05,476 is much cheaper. We now see jeans moving from Asia to Europe 57 00:04:05,567 --> 00:04:09,799 at 30 pence a pair of jeans, a teIevision for a coupIe of pounds. 58 00:04:10,407 --> 00:04:14,082 You can source goods gIobaIIy, and that's what's happening. 59 00:04:15,807 --> 00:04:18,879 OLIVER: We've engineered the coast to reach out to our neighbours, 60 00:04:18,967 --> 00:04:21,117 as well as keep them at bay. 61 00:04:21,647 --> 00:04:24,844 Heading south, we'll explore how we built great ships, 62 00:04:24,927 --> 00:04:30,763 a remarkable gateway to a new world, and the coastal battles that built a nation. 63 00:04:31,767 --> 00:04:35,601 One of Scotland's defining landmarks is the Forth Rail Bridge. 64 00:04:36,447 --> 00:04:40,725 Painting the steel frame has long been held to be a never-ending task. 65 00:04:41,487 --> 00:04:45,446 They've been brushing continually since its completion in 1890, 66 00:04:45,807 --> 00:04:48,924 but new paint technology means that when they've finished this coat, 67 00:04:49,007 --> 00:04:53,319 they can finally put their brushes down - for the next 20 years, anyway. 68 00:04:57,607 --> 00:05:01,839 20 miles down the Firth, you find a landscape of dunes and beaches. 69 00:05:01,927 --> 00:05:06,682 Now, I love spending time in places like this, but I always come prepared. 70 00:05:08,687 --> 00:05:12,839 PeopIe quite often ask me what I keep in my bag. SeriousIy, they do. 71 00:05:12,927 --> 00:05:14,963 WeII, Iook, I can show you. 72 00:05:15,047 --> 00:05:17,880 Amongst other things, sandwiches, obviousIy, 73 00:05:18,767 --> 00:05:21,281 and aIso research. 74 00:05:22,327 --> 00:05:27,276 Look at that IittIe beauty. A copy of Shoot! magazine from December 1970. 75 00:05:27,647 --> 00:05:32,198 Now, what caught my eye was a IittIe photo-feature on page 5, 76 00:05:33,887 --> 00:05:37,800 very 1970s footbaIIers from GIasgow Rangers as it happens, 77 00:05:38,487 --> 00:05:40,876 and they're taking part in a grueIIing training regime 78 00:05:40,967 --> 00:05:44,039 that invoIved running up and down that very sand dune. 79 00:05:44,127 --> 00:05:46,595 It became known as Murder HiII. 80 00:05:50,407 --> 00:05:52,921 In the years since the Rangers players made it famous, 81 00:05:53,007 --> 00:05:56,682 the dune has taken its place in Scottish football folklore. 82 00:05:56,927 --> 00:06:01,921 These days amateur teams come to Gullane to pit themselves against Murder Hill. 83 00:06:02,167 --> 00:06:03,520 (LAUGHING) 84 00:06:03,927 --> 00:06:05,121 The eye of the tiger! 85 00:06:05,287 --> 00:06:07,482 My name is Mick McArdIe, manager of Chryston Amateurs, 86 00:06:07,567 --> 00:06:11,924 and we pIay footbaII from the CentraI Scottish Amateur League of ScotIand. 87 00:06:12,007 --> 00:06:13,440 Murder HiII is tough. 88 00:06:13,527 --> 00:06:16,963 AII footbaII teams from amateurs Iike ourseIves to professionaI teams 89 00:06:17,047 --> 00:06:18,639 use it every summer. 90 00:06:18,727 --> 00:06:21,036 Murder, man! Murder! 91 00:06:21,167 --> 00:06:23,476 McARDLE: ReaIIy, it's very, very tough, and you see it 92 00:06:23,567 --> 00:06:25,478 in the expressions aIone in a guy's face. 93 00:06:25,567 --> 00:06:28,445 Oh, it's hard. I didn't expect that at aII. 94 00:06:29,687 --> 00:06:32,804 McARDLE: The training itseIf, it's more for the Iower body, generaIIy the Iegs, 95 00:06:32,887 --> 00:06:36,675 the thighs and the caIf muscIes, etc. You'II get a Iot of work in because the sand 96 00:06:36,767 --> 00:06:40,760 moves away from your feet, so it reaIIy works their muscIes very weII. 97 00:06:40,847 --> 00:06:44,283 The biggest advantage though is for the Iung capacity. 98 00:06:46,847 --> 00:06:48,246 Can't speak. 99 00:06:49,727 --> 00:06:52,002 In our the pre-season sessions the Iast three years, 100 00:06:52,087 --> 00:06:54,601 the date they Iook for is when they're going to Murder HiII 101 00:06:54,687 --> 00:06:57,645 because they know that's going to be the hard session. 102 00:06:57,727 --> 00:06:59,080 (CHEERING) 103 00:07:05,207 --> 00:07:07,596 OLIVER: Five miles down the coast from Murder Hill, 104 00:07:07,687 --> 00:07:11,157 out at sea, is a challenge that's in a different league. 105 00:07:13,407 --> 00:07:18,162 Where the Firth of Forth meets the North Sea, standing sentinel is Bass Rock. 106 00:07:19,287 --> 00:07:24,441 Sir David Attenborough calls this huge rock and its 150,000-strong gannet colony 107 00:07:24,767 --> 00:07:27,565 one of the wildlife wonders of the world. 108 00:07:36,207 --> 00:07:40,837 Somewhere out there, in amongst aII that invigorating weather, is the Bass Rock. 109 00:07:40,927 --> 00:07:44,522 Now, I've tried on three separate occasions to Iand there for Coast, 110 00:07:44,607 --> 00:07:49,283 and every time the weather has defeated me, but Coast doesn't give up easiIy. 111 00:07:49,407 --> 00:07:51,841 Maybe Miranda wiII have more Iuck. 112 00:07:55,527 --> 00:07:59,202 KRESTOVNIKOFF: Bass Rock looks almost welcoming in the early-morning sun. 113 00:07:59,287 --> 00:08:02,882 I really want to get out there to see the gannets close up. 114 00:08:02,967 --> 00:08:04,639 And I'm not alone. 115 00:08:04,727 --> 00:08:09,357 Ben and Kirsty Burville are amateur wildlife photographers and keen divers. 116 00:08:09,447 --> 00:08:13,042 In their day jobs, Ben's a doctor and Kirsty's a teacher. 117 00:08:13,527 --> 00:08:17,440 They've come to Scotland to attempt something really ambitious. 118 00:08:19,647 --> 00:08:23,765 They're going to try and fiIm the Bass Rock gannets diving underwater, 119 00:08:23,847 --> 00:08:28,443 something I have aIways wanted to do, and it's anything but straightforward. 120 00:08:30,007 --> 00:08:34,159 Even though they're amateur film-makers, their track record's pretty good. 121 00:08:34,247 --> 00:08:37,239 This footage of Ben diving with seals was taken by Kirsty 122 00:08:37,327 --> 00:08:40,319 just off the Farne Islands in Northumberland. 123 00:08:41,847 --> 00:08:45,237 So why gannets? What's the big attraction of fiIming of gannets underwater? 124 00:08:45,327 --> 00:08:47,557 Over the Farnes every now and then you get gannets diving down, 125 00:08:47,647 --> 00:08:51,117 but onIy ones and twos. It wouId be reaIIy, reaIIy interesting to see 126 00:08:51,207 --> 00:08:53,243 if I couId capture them as they go into the water 127 00:08:53,327 --> 00:08:56,637 from above the water and beIow, so where better to come but Bass Rock? 128 00:08:56,727 --> 00:08:58,763 So you're underwater. Kirsty, what are you going to be up to? 129 00:08:58,847 --> 00:09:03,125 I'm going to be doing the fiIming topside, getting the gannets diving down, 130 00:09:03,207 --> 00:09:04,959 so it shouId be pretty spectacuIar. 131 00:09:05,047 --> 00:09:08,517 It's going to be a reaI adventure for the day for both of us. 132 00:09:08,607 --> 00:09:10,279 KRESTOVNIKOFF: While our amateur film-makers head off 133 00:09:10,367 --> 00:09:12,517 to find gannets diving underwater, 134 00:09:12,607 --> 00:09:14,996 I'm taking the more direct route. 135 00:09:15,447 --> 00:09:18,519 To get a sense of the challenge Ben and Kirsty face, 136 00:09:18,607 --> 00:09:23,317 I need to see the birds up close, and you can only do that on their home base. 137 00:09:25,287 --> 00:09:30,122 It's not easy to set foot onto Bass Rock. Strong currents swirl around the cliffs 138 00:09:30,207 --> 00:09:32,960 and the mooring site can be treacherous. 139 00:09:33,247 --> 00:09:36,364 Today I'm lucky and I can venture onto the rock, 140 00:09:36,447 --> 00:09:40,360 with Maggie Sheddon of the Scottish Seabird Centre as my guide. 141 00:09:42,367 --> 00:09:44,881 Maggie, this is absoIuteIy spIendid. 142 00:09:45,247 --> 00:09:48,717 You know, this is a reaI first for Coast. No Coaster has ever been on Bass Rock. 143 00:09:48,807 --> 00:09:50,206 I'm the first. 144 00:09:50,287 --> 00:09:54,246 This is amazing. I've never seen so many gannets in aII my Iife. 145 00:09:55,607 --> 00:09:59,805 And it's the best time to be here because the birds are rearing their young. 146 00:09:59,887 --> 00:10:02,526 That means the rock is full to capacity. 147 00:10:02,607 --> 00:10:07,476 150,000 birds and their demanding chicks all hungry for fish. 148 00:10:09,327 --> 00:10:12,637 Out on the water, some of the gannets are starting to dive for their dinner 149 00:10:12,727 --> 00:10:15,036 within range of Kirsty's camera. 150 00:10:16,847 --> 00:10:20,396 Up here, it's a rare chance for me to get close to the gannets. 151 00:10:20,487 --> 00:10:24,719 Normally you only see them in flight or as they're plunging into the sea. 152 00:10:25,367 --> 00:10:28,598 When they're diving, they hit the water at an incredibIe speed. 153 00:10:28,687 --> 00:10:30,723 How does their body actuaIIy cope with that? 154 00:10:30,807 --> 00:10:36,086 They can hit up to 60 miIes per hour. BasicaIIy, they have air sacs that infIate - 155 00:10:36,167 --> 00:10:39,125 tends to be around the neck, the upper chest area. 156 00:10:39,207 --> 00:10:42,756 They have a membrane that fIips over the eye to protect the eye, 157 00:10:42,847 --> 00:10:45,725 and they have a moveabIe pIate just at the back of the biII, 158 00:10:45,807 --> 00:10:48,799 so when they hit the water, everything is seaIed. 159 00:10:48,887 --> 00:10:53,438 And IiteraIIy just before they dive in, the wings foId back Iike an arrow. 160 00:10:54,567 --> 00:10:58,401 KRESTOVNIKOFF: 60 miles per hour. With gannets hitting the water beak-first 161 00:10:58,487 --> 00:11:02,446 at such high speed, getting hit by one would be serious for Ben. 162 00:11:07,647 --> 00:11:08,682 Okay. 163 00:11:08,767 --> 00:11:10,997 KRESTOVNIKOFF: His plan is to shelter beneath the boat 164 00:11:11,087 --> 00:11:13,760 and try and film the dives from there. 165 00:11:13,847 --> 00:11:16,725 So we'll have to encourage the birds to come as close as possible 166 00:11:16,807 --> 00:11:19,241 if Ben's going to have any chance. 167 00:11:20,007 --> 00:11:21,201 To bring the birds in, 168 00:11:21,287 --> 00:11:24,438 we've got some reaIIy disgusting-smeIIing haddock heads here 169 00:11:24,527 --> 00:11:26,006 and some herring as weII. 170 00:11:26,087 --> 00:11:30,638 The herring guIIs have moved in and now the gannets are coming in as weII. 171 00:11:31,007 --> 00:11:34,636 Now we're getting some pIunging there. Look at that, it's fantastic. 172 00:11:34,727 --> 00:11:38,766 The gannets are diving closer to the boat, but still not close enough. 173 00:11:38,847 --> 00:11:40,485 Sheltering under the boat, 174 00:11:40,567 --> 00:11:44,037 Ben will need to be within a few feet to get that crucial close-up. 175 00:11:44,127 --> 00:11:48,359 To make things worse, he's battling strong tidal currents down there. 176 00:11:48,447 --> 00:11:52,122 I'm using a pole camera to try and see how he's getting on. 177 00:11:52,407 --> 00:11:53,920 I've found Ben. 178 00:11:54,447 --> 00:11:56,597 Ben is surrounded by jellyfish, 179 00:11:56,687 --> 00:12:00,475 which makes getting close to the diving gannets even harder. 180 00:12:02,327 --> 00:12:07,685 It's very, very difficuIt to get near to them. It's very hard to stay underneath the boat. 181 00:12:08,647 --> 00:12:11,036 KRESTOVNIKOFF: With Ben's dive time rapidly ticking away, 182 00:12:11,127 --> 00:12:15,279 we finally manage to lure some gannets within range of his underwater camera. 183 00:12:16,687 --> 00:12:18,564 Look at that! 184 00:12:19,247 --> 00:12:22,205 AII of a sudden, they've just come right in. 185 00:12:24,207 --> 00:12:29,076 We're seeing some great dives from up here, but underwater, it's been a struggle. 186 00:12:31,567 --> 00:12:33,523 Ben's only had one chance. 187 00:12:33,607 --> 00:12:36,599 It's time to see whether this amateur cameraman managed to get a shot 188 00:12:36,687 --> 00:12:39,121 a professional would be proud of. 189 00:12:43,847 --> 00:12:45,803 So do you think you got anything good, then? 190 00:12:45,887 --> 00:12:48,526 I think there couId be a coupIe of good shots in amongst aII the... 191 00:12:48,607 --> 00:12:51,326 As you can see, the visibiIity down there is not very good. 192 00:12:51,407 --> 00:12:54,399 -Bit green, isn't it? -A Iot of green stuff there. 193 00:12:54,487 --> 00:12:56,637 -Oh, weII done. -There you are. 194 00:12:56,727 --> 00:12:58,683 -That was great. -That was a good one. 195 00:12:58,767 --> 00:13:00,723 -BEN: So quick, isn't it? -KRESTOVNIKOFF: It's reaIIy quick. 196 00:13:00,807 --> 00:13:03,879 ReaIIy quick. That's so briIIiant. You did reaIIy weII. 197 00:13:07,247 --> 00:13:12,162 Ben and Kirsty have managed to capture the spectacle of gannets diving underwater. 198 00:13:14,247 --> 00:13:16,681 What I'm coming away with is a sense of wonder 199 00:13:16,767 --> 00:13:20,123 at this extraordinary bird city just off our coast. 200 00:13:29,967 --> 00:13:34,324 OLIVER: Hidden away across the water from Bass Rock is a little secret. 201 00:13:34,407 --> 00:13:39,003 It's not easy to find, but Seacliff Harbour is reputedly Britain's smallest. 202 00:13:39,607 --> 00:13:43,441 And with an opening just 10 feet wide, I'm not going to argue. 203 00:13:44,047 --> 00:13:47,517 The harbour was constructed in 1890 by the local landowner, 204 00:13:47,607 --> 00:13:51,202 using a steam engine and compressed air to cut the stone. 205 00:13:52,167 --> 00:13:58,037 Once busy with small salmon-fishing boats, now it's used by a solitary lobster fisherman. 206 00:14:06,407 --> 00:14:09,683 There's room at Dunbar Harbour for plenty of boats. 207 00:14:11,407 --> 00:14:14,558 They've also found room for a four-ton monument 208 00:14:14,767 --> 00:14:17,759 to the invisible force that moves our ships. 209 00:14:19,287 --> 00:14:21,243 It commemorates Robert WiIson, 210 00:14:21,327 --> 00:14:24,364 a son of Dunbar who's remembered hereabouts 211 00:14:24,527 --> 00:14:27,087 as the inventor of the screw propeIIer. 212 00:14:27,167 --> 00:14:29,283 But the thing is, as weII as Robert, 213 00:14:29,367 --> 00:14:32,803 the French, the EngIish, the Swedes and the Americans, 214 00:14:32,887 --> 00:14:36,641 they aII cIaim the invention of the screw propeIIer as weII. 215 00:14:39,887 --> 00:14:43,118 Many countries might dispute Dunbar's claim to fame, 216 00:14:43,207 --> 00:14:46,882 but not far away was another invention, a tradition this time, 217 00:14:46,967 --> 00:14:50,437 that's unique to fishing communities on the East Coast. 218 00:14:52,447 --> 00:14:55,280 20 miles south of Dunbar is Eyemouth. 219 00:15:04,127 --> 00:15:08,439 TAMSIN MACKECHNIE: When I woke up, I sort of forgot it was a big day, 220 00:15:08,527 --> 00:15:10,279 and then when it dawned on me, 221 00:15:10,367 --> 00:15:13,484 all of a sudden, the butterflies started up and... 222 00:15:13,567 --> 00:15:14,886 (EXCLAIMS) 223 00:15:14,967 --> 00:15:16,480 Really nervous. 224 00:15:18,487 --> 00:15:23,083 OLIVER: Tamsin Mackechnie is about to be crowned the Eyemouth Herring Queen. 225 00:15:23,447 --> 00:15:28,760 It's a title created in 1939 to celebrate the life of the town's fishing industry. 226 00:15:29,447 --> 00:15:32,245 A new teenage queen is chosen each year. 227 00:15:33,607 --> 00:15:37,885 I had an interview with about five peopIe, incIuding the town provost, 228 00:15:38,167 --> 00:15:41,204 and Iater on that night they came in and gathered us aII together 229 00:15:41,287 --> 00:15:43,118 and toId us who'd won. 230 00:15:43,327 --> 00:15:47,445 I think they were looking really for someone who could be a role model 231 00:15:47,527 --> 00:15:49,040 to the younger children. 232 00:15:49,127 --> 00:15:50,958 A Iot of the past Herring Queens have said to me, 233 00:15:51,047 --> 00:15:54,403 ''It's pretty much Iike getting married, it's reaIIy a big day.'' 234 00:15:54,487 --> 00:15:58,765 MAUREEN DOUGALL: I remember the pipers pIaying, I remember the parade, 235 00:15:58,927 --> 00:16:02,522 and just the great feeIing for the day. It was fantastic. 236 00:16:03,727 --> 00:16:07,720 OLIVER: Before all that, there's the traditional three-mile sea voyage, 237 00:16:07,807 --> 00:16:11,322 while ahead the town of Eyemouth awaits its queen. 238 00:16:14,007 --> 00:16:16,396 It was quite a priviIege to be Herring Queen, I think. 239 00:16:16,487 --> 00:16:18,921 You feIt you were representing Eyemouth. 240 00:16:19,007 --> 00:16:20,520 (HORN BLOWING) 241 00:16:23,567 --> 00:16:25,239 OLIVER: During her year as Herring Queen, 242 00:16:25,327 --> 00:16:29,605 Tamsin will carry out civic duties. Today is her day. 243 00:16:29,847 --> 00:16:34,079 I'm reaIIy nervous and shaking in front of aII those peopIe. 244 00:16:34,687 --> 00:16:37,599 I remember the Iast sentence of my speech was, 245 00:16:37,687 --> 00:16:41,316 ''To fishermen aII round our coast, I extend greetings 246 00:16:41,407 --> 00:16:44,399 ''and good saiIing from this oId fishing town.'' 247 00:16:49,767 --> 00:16:51,405 (CROWD CLAPPING) 248 00:17:05,007 --> 00:17:08,841 OLIVER: Leaving Scotland, we cross the border into Northumberland. 249 00:17:08,927 --> 00:17:11,760 Here, in the Middle Ages, the monks of Holy Island 250 00:17:11,847 --> 00:17:15,522 laid the foundations for a new era of worship and learning. 251 00:17:16,047 --> 00:17:20,916 But a terrifying threat from across the sea was about to shatter the Saxon world. 252 00:17:24,287 --> 00:17:27,882 Mark Horton has travelled 1200 years back in time 253 00:17:28,007 --> 00:17:30,475 to meet our most infamous invaders. 254 00:17:34,807 --> 00:17:38,686 It's June, 793. For over a century, 255 00:17:38,767 --> 00:17:43,079 Northumbria has been the most powerfuI kingdom in AngIo-Saxon EngIand. 256 00:17:47,647 --> 00:17:50,844 But over there on the hoIy isIand of Lindisfarne, 257 00:17:50,927 --> 00:17:54,158 something shocking is about to happen. 258 00:17:54,607 --> 00:17:58,725 The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle describes it in gory detaiI. 259 00:17:59,367 --> 00:18:04,441 ''In this year, terrible portents appeared and miserably frightened the inhabitants. 260 00:18:04,727 --> 00:18:10,677 ''Flashes of lightning, fiery dragons in the sky, a great famine. '' 261 00:18:11,327 --> 00:18:15,366 And a little after in the same year, ''The harrying of the heathen'' 262 00:18:15,447 --> 00:18:18,917 ''miserably destroyed God's church in Lindisfarne 263 00:18:19,007 --> 00:18:21,441 ''by rapine and slaughter. '' 264 00:18:22,127 --> 00:18:23,526 (CLAMOURING) 265 00:18:24,847 --> 00:18:28,886 Vikings, pIundering, piIIaging and raping 266 00:18:29,407 --> 00:18:32,319 on our shores for the very first time. 267 00:18:34,087 --> 00:18:39,525 The attack on Holy Island in 793 sent shockwaves across the land 268 00:18:40,007 --> 00:18:44,285 and created a powerful new mythology, the marauding Norseman. 269 00:18:45,207 --> 00:18:49,166 From an early age, I've been fascinated with the Vikings. 270 00:18:50,807 --> 00:18:52,160 (GROANING) 271 00:18:54,647 --> 00:18:59,516 Today, I get to realise an ambition and meet a Viking. 272 00:19:00,007 --> 00:19:05,240 Well, a part-time one. Kim Siddorn is secretary of a re-enactment society. 273 00:19:05,727 --> 00:19:09,003 So Kim, you're the most magnificent Viking warrior. 274 00:19:09,407 --> 00:19:10,760 Thank you. 275 00:19:10,847 --> 00:19:12,758 -WeII, this is a Ieather jerkin. -Yes, Ieather jerkin. 276 00:19:12,847 --> 00:19:15,520 -And Iinen tunic beIow it. -And this is what? 277 00:19:15,607 --> 00:19:19,839 That's seaI skin, and this is horse hide, Iined on the inside with siIk. 278 00:19:19,927 --> 00:19:21,997 It's worth a king's ransom, this thing. 279 00:19:22,087 --> 00:19:24,203 And what eIse have you got? This must be a scramsax? 280 00:19:24,287 --> 00:19:26,118 Yes. This is a scramsax. 281 00:19:26,207 --> 00:19:29,722 You can see the pattern weIding here in the bIade. 282 00:19:29,807 --> 00:19:31,798 -Extraordinary. -AII the fittings on there are siIver. 283 00:19:31,887 --> 00:19:34,560 That's to sort of finish peopIe off in battIe, isn't it, reaIIy? 284 00:19:34,647 --> 00:19:36,046 I'd eat my tea with it, actuaIIy. 285 00:19:36,127 --> 00:19:37,560 (CLAMOURING) 286 00:19:42,527 --> 00:19:45,166 The principaI defence of a Dark Age warrior... 287 00:19:45,247 --> 00:19:49,320 -Oh, the home of the warrior is his shieId. -...is the shieId. 288 00:19:49,407 --> 00:19:54,037 The shieId itseIf is the first Iine of defence for the warrior. 289 00:19:54,127 --> 00:19:55,355 (GRUNTING) 290 00:19:55,447 --> 00:19:58,166 It aIso makes a convenient thing to bang. ''Hey! Hey! Hey!'' 291 00:19:58,247 --> 00:19:59,600 (LAUGHING) 292 00:20:01,367 --> 00:20:05,519 The sword is very much a sIashing weapon - none of this fine pointwork. 293 00:20:05,607 --> 00:20:08,041 It's intended pureIy for butchering. 294 00:20:08,127 --> 00:20:09,480 (GROANING) 295 00:20:10,047 --> 00:20:12,925 It's a weapon which you'd use on a figure-of-eight system. 296 00:20:13,007 --> 00:20:17,603 You'd have come down across the body from your initiaI... And then across this way. 297 00:20:17,687 --> 00:20:21,919 And then, bringing your shieId up, Iead with the sword down across the body. 298 00:20:22,007 --> 00:20:25,522 Perhaps cIeaving you in two if a man's uncIad in armour. 299 00:20:26,847 --> 00:20:28,246 (SCREAMING) 300 00:20:28,327 --> 00:20:33,162 And of course, the monks at Lindisfarne wouId have had no escape. 301 00:20:33,247 --> 00:20:36,523 It must have been such a nasty shock. They weren't expecting it at aII. 302 00:20:36,607 --> 00:20:39,758 You can hear it in what they said: ''500 years we've Iived in this isIand, 303 00:20:39,847 --> 00:20:42,315 ''and nothing ever Iike this happened before, it was terribIe. 304 00:20:42,407 --> 00:20:45,638 ''They came into God's house and kiIIed us aII.'' SiIence. 305 00:20:49,247 --> 00:20:54,116 MARK HORTON: Up at Bamburgh Castle, Kim's fellow re-enactors have set up a camp 306 00:20:54,487 --> 00:20:57,081 at a festival celebrating Saxon life. 307 00:20:58,327 --> 00:21:02,400 It was this Saxon world that was rocked by the first Viking raid 308 00:21:02,687 --> 00:21:07,044 here on the Northumbrian coast, and the assaults that followed. 309 00:21:08,527 --> 00:21:14,284 Before those Viking raids, wars between the different kingdoms of England were common, 310 00:21:14,367 --> 00:21:18,918 but the appearance of a common enemy here 1200 years ago 311 00:21:19,007 --> 00:21:21,521 was to alter the country's destiny. 312 00:21:22,047 --> 00:21:26,086 That earIy raid reaIIy changed EngIandlBritain forever. 313 00:21:26,167 --> 00:21:30,001 Yes, it did. It gave us the beginnings of a nationaI identity. 314 00:21:30,487 --> 00:21:35,686 It was... The warring AngIo-Saxon kingdoms began to come together for the first time 315 00:21:36,567 --> 00:21:38,364 and it was the Viking raids that did it. 316 00:21:42,287 --> 00:21:47,042 HORTON: After the catacIysm that happened here in 793, 317 00:21:47,447 --> 00:21:51,201 wars with the Vikings continued for another 200 years. 318 00:21:51,967 --> 00:21:56,404 But one beneficiaI consequence was that in those wars 319 00:21:56,487 --> 00:21:59,126 the nation of EngIand was formed. 320 00:22:11,007 --> 00:22:14,682 OLIVER: We've clocked up 150 miles, and I'm approaching the halfway mark 321 00:22:14,767 --> 00:22:17,201 on my journey down the East Coast. 322 00:22:17,847 --> 00:22:19,678 And there's much more. 323 00:22:21,247 --> 00:22:23,602 I'm just getting into my stride. 324 00:22:25,527 --> 00:22:28,837 Next stop on our adventure south, Cullercoats. 325 00:22:35,767 --> 00:22:39,885 In the 19th century, Cullercoats was a thriving fishing village. 326 00:22:40,247 --> 00:22:44,604 It was the men who braved the North Sea, but what makes this place special 327 00:22:44,687 --> 00:22:48,282 is that it's the women of Cullercoats who are celebrated. 328 00:22:52,687 --> 00:22:55,155 I've got a copy of a painting here. 329 00:22:55,687 --> 00:22:59,885 What it shows is a group of viIIagers hauIing a Iifeboat aIong a beach. 330 00:22:59,967 --> 00:23:01,241 But when you Iook at it, 331 00:23:01,327 --> 00:23:04,876 aImost the first thing you notice is that it's mostIy women. 332 00:23:04,967 --> 00:23:07,845 In fact, the painting is caIIed The Women. 333 00:23:08,167 --> 00:23:12,240 And there's an inscription on the frame that reads, ''On New Year's Day, 1861, 334 00:23:12,327 --> 00:23:14,124 ''the fisherwomen of CuIIercoats 335 00:23:14,207 --> 00:23:17,199 ''dragged the viIIage Iifeboat three miIes aIong the coast 336 00:23:17,287 --> 00:23:22,680 ''in a bIinding storm of snow and sIeet, to the rescue of a crew of a wrecked ship, 337 00:23:22,887 --> 00:23:26,277 ''the Lovely Nellie, and saved aII the crew but one boy.'' 338 00:23:26,367 --> 00:23:30,246 Now, these must have been some tough women. But who were they? 339 00:23:33,047 --> 00:23:37,325 The women of Cullercoats were renowned for their strength and stamina. 340 00:23:37,527 --> 00:23:39,961 They carried fish to sell around neighbouring villages, 341 00:23:40,047 --> 00:23:43,084 ran the household and, according to some tales, 342 00:23:43,167 --> 00:23:46,125 even lifted their husbands out to the boats. 343 00:23:46,807 --> 00:23:51,562 And to cap it all, my painting has them dragging a heavy lifeboat overland 344 00:23:51,767 --> 00:23:53,803 to rescue a stricken ship. 345 00:23:55,207 --> 00:23:59,166 To get an insight into these hardy women, I'm calling on the granddaughter 346 00:23:59,247 --> 00:24:01,681 of one of Cullercoats' fisherwives. 347 00:24:01,767 --> 00:24:04,884 -Come in. Nice to see you. -Thank you. You, too. 348 00:24:06,647 --> 00:24:10,037 OLIVER: Were women like your grandmother famous locally? 349 00:24:10,127 --> 00:24:17,044 It was onIy years after that peopIe reaIised what a unique, eIite group they were. 350 00:24:17,807 --> 00:24:20,640 I just loved her. She was a lovely, round little woman, 351 00:24:20,727 --> 00:24:23,400 you know, very kind and worked hard. 352 00:24:23,487 --> 00:24:27,719 You know, she had to waIk miIes and miIes every day to seII the fish. 353 00:24:27,967 --> 00:24:30,003 She did that for 50 years. 354 00:24:30,887 --> 00:24:33,447 I've heard so much about how hard they worked. 355 00:24:33,527 --> 00:24:35,882 JOAN: Well, the women did work hard - 356 00:24:35,967 --> 00:24:39,482 it was just their lives and that's what they'd been dished out. 357 00:24:40,327 --> 00:24:42,443 And we shaII not see their Iike again? 358 00:24:42,527 --> 00:24:45,837 I don't think so, I don't think so. They were tough. 359 00:24:48,527 --> 00:24:51,485 OLIVER: This painting intrigues me more and more. 360 00:24:51,567 --> 00:24:55,037 It has the Cullercoats women pulling a lifeboat along a headland 361 00:24:55,127 --> 00:24:57,118 through a blinding storm. 362 00:24:57,287 --> 00:25:01,803 And Joan tells me those fisherwives of yesteryear really were that tough. 363 00:25:02,647 --> 00:25:05,400 What I want to know is, are the modern women of Cullercoats 364 00:25:05,487 --> 00:25:07,876 as hardy as their great-grannies? 365 00:25:08,567 --> 00:25:12,924 There's only one way to find out. We're going to recreate the painting. 366 00:25:13,647 --> 00:25:17,845 And the first voIunteers have turned up. Women of CuIIercoats... 367 00:25:17,927 --> 00:25:19,280 (CHEERING) 368 00:25:19,607 --> 00:25:24,522 Legend has it that about 1 40 years ago, the women of CuIIercoats puIIed a Iifeboat 369 00:25:24,607 --> 00:25:27,644 through the teeth of a howIing gaIe for three miIes aIong the coast. 370 00:25:27,727 --> 00:25:32,243 That was then, this is now. Can you achieve the same feat? 371 00:25:32,327 --> 00:25:33,726 WOMEN: Yes! 372 00:25:34,807 --> 00:25:38,720 WeII, the women seem to be game. AII we need now is a Iifeboat. 373 00:25:39,007 --> 00:25:41,237 Luckily, Whitby Historic Lifeboat Trust 374 00:25:41,327 --> 00:25:44,637 have brought along a beautifully preserved specimen. 375 00:25:45,647 --> 00:25:48,957 Is this, more or Iess, the kind of Iifeboat that wouId have been used 376 00:25:49,047 --> 00:25:51,197 in that mid-19th-century rescue? 377 00:25:51,287 --> 00:25:53,005 It's the same type of boat. 378 00:25:53,087 --> 00:25:54,884 You'd find that actuaIIy if anything 379 00:25:54,967 --> 00:25:59,802 she's one of the smaIIer ones, and that she's onIy two and a quarter tons. 380 00:25:59,887 --> 00:26:01,843 Now then, you're saying this is one of the smaII ones. 381 00:26:01,927 --> 00:26:05,522 When I'm thinking about men hauIing, or women hauIing it, 382 00:26:05,607 --> 00:26:07,916 it Iooks pretty big and heavy to me. 383 00:26:08,007 --> 00:26:11,886 Do you think that women aIone couId have moved a Iifeboat Iike that? 384 00:26:11,967 --> 00:26:13,320 -Oh, yes. -They did frequentIy. 385 00:26:13,407 --> 00:26:15,557 -You wouId say that! -I wouId say that, but it is possibIe. 386 00:26:15,647 --> 00:26:19,162 OLIVER: The question is, do they still make women like they used to? 387 00:26:19,247 --> 00:26:22,444 SARA: (LAUGHING) That's going to be some effort. 388 00:26:23,207 --> 00:26:26,438 OLIVER: While the Cullercoats ladies are limbering up for the challenge, 389 00:26:26,527 --> 00:26:30,759 I'm intrigued to know why the women of old had to drag a boat weighing tons 390 00:26:30,847 --> 00:26:32,883 along this windswept headland. 391 00:26:36,967 --> 00:26:40,755 Robert Oliver is a sixth-generation Cullercoats lifeboat man. 392 00:26:41,327 --> 00:26:43,045 Perhaps he'll know. 393 00:26:44,287 --> 00:26:48,121 In the painting, the boat's being dragged. Where is it being dragged to? 394 00:26:48,207 --> 00:26:52,485 From CuIIercoats here aIong the cIiff top aIong to Briardene, 395 00:26:52,567 --> 00:26:56,446 which is about two, two and a haIf miIes north of our station. 396 00:26:56,527 --> 00:26:59,837 But it's a boat. Why didn't they just put it in the water and go by sea? 397 00:26:59,927 --> 00:27:03,681 On the day, it was very, very severe weather, too bad to Iaunch here. 398 00:27:03,767 --> 00:27:05,200 So what did they do next? 399 00:27:05,287 --> 00:27:07,881 Some of the viIIagers wouId have went away and got the horses 400 00:27:07,967 --> 00:27:12,677 and connected the horses up to the boat to puII the Iifeboat across the cIifftop. 401 00:27:12,767 --> 00:27:13,995 -Horses? -Yeah. 402 00:27:14,087 --> 00:27:15,679 But it's women in the picture. 403 00:27:15,767 --> 00:27:18,645 The RNLI statement says there were horses. 404 00:27:18,807 --> 00:27:21,685 -They shouIdn't be there. -(CHUCKLING) Yeah. 405 00:27:21,927 --> 00:27:24,725 OLIVER: Horses. That's really thrown me. 406 00:27:25,567 --> 00:27:31,164 So was it horses or women who did the pulling that night over 140 years ago, 407 00:27:31,247 --> 00:27:34,205 when a lifeboat was dragged along this coast? 408 00:27:34,527 --> 00:27:37,519 I've got to dig deeper to discover the truth. 409 00:27:38,447 --> 00:27:40,085 Robert was right. 410 00:27:40,247 --> 00:27:44,286 The Times of January 3rd, 1861, says of the Iifeboat, 411 00:27:44,727 --> 00:27:48,606 ''It was dragged aIong the coast by six horses and Iaunched from the sands 412 00:27:48,687 --> 00:27:50,643 ''amid great excitement.'' 413 00:27:51,287 --> 00:27:55,405 So, The Times says there were horses, the painting shows women. 414 00:27:56,567 --> 00:27:59,843 To make sure our lifeboat gets dragged along the headland, 415 00:27:59,927 --> 00:28:03,761 maybe the women of Cullercoats will need some help on standby. 416 00:28:04,487 --> 00:28:07,797 -Hiya, CharIie. How are you doing? -Nice to meet you. 417 00:28:08,287 --> 00:28:09,686 So, what are these feIIas caIIed? 418 00:28:09,767 --> 00:28:12,201 The Iad you're stroking now, he's caIIed CIassic. 419 00:28:12,287 --> 00:28:14,801 CHARLIE: He's our eIder statesman, he's 18 years of age. 420 00:28:14,887 --> 00:28:17,481 And this Iad behind me, this is RoyaI. 421 00:28:17,567 --> 00:28:20,923 -He's even bigger. -Yes, he is. He's 18.3 hands. 422 00:28:21,247 --> 00:28:25,081 How do you think they'II cope with puIIing a Iifeboat? 423 00:28:25,567 --> 00:28:28,604 CHARLIE: WeII, I'II be honest with you, it's a first for us. 424 00:28:28,687 --> 00:28:31,884 OLIVER: These dray horses are powerful beasts and they're at the ready, 425 00:28:31,967 --> 00:28:35,880 if needed, for our recreation of the Cullercoats lifeboat drag. 426 00:28:36,447 --> 00:28:40,440 But what's nagging me is if horses were used to pull the boat, 427 00:28:40,527 --> 00:28:43,644 then why aren't there any horses in my painting? 428 00:28:44,367 --> 00:28:48,963 If the artist wasn't recording a historical event, what was he trying to do? 429 00:28:49,967 --> 00:28:53,118 I'm meeting local art historian Steve Ratcliffe. 430 00:28:59,167 --> 00:29:01,761 Steve, what can you teII me about this painting? 431 00:29:01,847 --> 00:29:05,442 WeII, this painting was painted by John CharIton in 1904. 432 00:29:05,807 --> 00:29:07,604 And at the time it was painted, 433 00:29:07,687 --> 00:29:10,201 CuIIercoats was a weII-estabIished artists' coIony. 434 00:29:10,287 --> 00:29:15,122 I don't think I expected to find great artists in this IittIe corner of EngIand. 435 00:29:15,367 --> 00:29:17,005 A Iot of peopIe are surprised by it 436 00:29:17,087 --> 00:29:21,717 and they're quite stunned to find that a famous American artist, WinsIow Homer, 437 00:29:21,807 --> 00:29:24,480 was resident here for nearIy two years. 438 00:29:26,087 --> 00:29:29,716 OLIVER: Over 20 years before Charlton painted the lifeboat drag, 439 00:29:29,807 --> 00:29:33,163 these pictures by the distinguished American artist Winslow Homer 440 00:29:33,247 --> 00:29:36,125 had already made the Cullercoats women famous. 441 00:29:36,207 --> 00:29:39,404 Homer captured the strength and dignity of the fisherwives. 442 00:29:39,487 --> 00:29:42,763 His work elevated them to near mythological status. 443 00:29:43,327 --> 00:29:47,115 And these images of the Cullercoats women helped establish Winslow Homer 444 00:29:47,207 --> 00:29:50,563 as the greatest American painter of the 19th century. 445 00:29:50,927 --> 00:29:53,441 He painted the women time and time again, 446 00:29:53,527 --> 00:29:57,600 always engaged in the harsh, day-to-day realities of coastal life. 447 00:29:58,407 --> 00:30:00,716 Homer painted day-to-day Iife. 448 00:30:02,007 --> 00:30:07,081 Is this, by CharIton, a painting of pIain fact? 449 00:30:07,247 --> 00:30:11,559 No, it's not. It's a symboIic painting. It's trying to express his feeIing, 450 00:30:11,647 --> 00:30:15,242 his admiration for the women of CuIIercoats through art. 451 00:30:15,607 --> 00:30:20,761 So he's used a historic background, the 1861 rescue of the Lovely Nellie, 452 00:30:21,087 --> 00:30:25,956 to Iet peopIe know that he has a message to teII them of his respect and admiration 453 00:30:26,047 --> 00:30:27,639 for those women. 454 00:30:27,767 --> 00:30:31,885 OLIVER: So, if my painting is a romantic image of the women of Cullercoats, 455 00:30:31,967 --> 00:30:34,606 perhaps it was created because a great artist 456 00:30:34,687 --> 00:30:37,997 had already immortalised them over 20 years earlier. 457 00:30:38,767 --> 00:30:41,440 But the legend of the lifeboat drag persists. 458 00:30:41,527 --> 00:30:44,599 It's a heroic story I still want to believe. 459 00:30:45,007 --> 00:30:48,443 Could the women really have done it? Time to find out. 460 00:30:49,207 --> 00:30:53,997 Right then, you said you couId do this. Do you stiII beIieve you can move it? 461 00:30:54,207 --> 00:30:57,279 -WOMEN: Yes. -Three, two, one... 462 00:30:57,887 --> 00:30:58,956 Go! 463 00:31:01,847 --> 00:31:03,200 (LAUGHING) 464 00:31:19,207 --> 00:31:21,562 Didn't expect this for a minute. 465 00:31:26,207 --> 00:31:29,563 Now the thing is, this is quite good fun in a way, 466 00:31:29,647 --> 00:31:32,764 but you have to remember that on New Year's Day, 1861, 467 00:31:33,287 --> 00:31:37,485 the crew of a stricken ship, the Lovely Nellie, was somewhere out there 468 00:31:37,567 --> 00:31:41,082 in a dreadfuI storm, so this wasn't about fun that day. 469 00:31:41,527 --> 00:31:43,358 It was Iife and death. 470 00:31:45,487 --> 00:31:49,036 On the flat, the women are getting a real momentum going, 471 00:31:49,447 --> 00:31:52,723 but on the upward slopes, it gets tougher and tougher, 472 00:31:52,847 --> 00:31:55,805 and don't forget on the night of the rescue, the boat was being pulled 473 00:31:55,887 --> 00:31:57,957 on a heavy wooden carriage. 474 00:31:59,527 --> 00:32:01,961 Right, that's it, enough's enough. 475 00:32:02,367 --> 00:32:05,165 You've done far more than I expected, honestIy, 476 00:32:05,247 --> 00:32:08,603 but I'm going to bring in the horses, so down ropes. 477 00:32:09,727 --> 00:32:11,524 Fantastic, weII done. 478 00:32:12,007 --> 00:32:13,360 (CHEERING) 479 00:32:16,527 --> 00:32:20,315 Just as on the night of the rescue, what was needed to cope with the terrain 480 00:32:20,407 --> 00:32:23,285 was the addition of some genuine horsepower. 481 00:32:33,687 --> 00:32:35,564 Oh, no bother! 482 00:32:36,327 --> 00:32:39,205 I've spent a long time piecing together the facts of the night 483 00:32:39,287 --> 00:32:42,802 of the wreck of the Lovely Nellie over 1 40 years ago. 484 00:32:43,327 --> 00:32:46,797 What I've discovered is that the whole community and their horses 485 00:32:46,887 --> 00:32:50,675 came to the rescue of the crew, saving all the lives bar one. 486 00:32:59,167 --> 00:33:02,477 And whether it was horsepower or woman-power that hauled the boat 487 00:33:02,567 --> 00:33:05,445 down to the water, it's the power of legend 488 00:33:05,727 --> 00:33:09,242 that's given life to the story of the Cullercoats women. 489 00:33:14,287 --> 00:33:18,166 A few miles south of Cullercoats you come to the mouth of the Tyne 490 00:33:18,247 --> 00:33:20,283 and the city of Newcastle. 491 00:33:20,447 --> 00:33:23,598 For centuries, coal was exported down this river, 492 00:33:24,007 --> 00:33:27,966 but in March 1998, the last of the export vessels left the Tyne. 493 00:33:31,207 --> 00:33:35,519 These days, the river is handling coal again - now it's imported. 494 00:33:36,047 --> 00:33:38,925 Coal comes in here all the way from Russia. 495 00:33:39,927 --> 00:33:44,045 Looks like sending coals to Newcastle is no longer a fool's errand. 496 00:33:47,527 --> 00:33:51,918 Continuing south, we hit another famous northeastern river, the Weir. 497 00:33:53,887 --> 00:33:58,642 Sunderland could once boast it was the largest ship-building town in the world. 498 00:33:59,407 --> 00:34:04,435 During World War II, over a quarter of our merchant and navy ships were built here. 499 00:34:05,567 --> 00:34:07,797 But as wartime production boomed, 500 00:34:07,887 --> 00:34:11,163 the seeds of a devastating decline were being sown. 501 00:34:14,767 --> 00:34:19,079 Engineer Dick Strawbridge wants to know what silenced the shipyards. 502 00:34:24,167 --> 00:34:27,000 DICK STRAWBRIDGE: Boats were built here for over 600 years. 503 00:34:27,087 --> 00:34:31,683 Busy shipyards jostled for space along this river. Now you'd hardly know it. 504 00:34:34,727 --> 00:34:38,117 In their heyday, the Weirside yards were world famous. 505 00:34:38,247 --> 00:34:41,762 Sheets of steel came in and finished ships rolled out. 506 00:34:41,887 --> 00:34:46,597 What I find amazing is that this massive enterprise, like the ships it produced, 507 00:34:46,687 --> 00:34:49,520 was held together by one little component. 508 00:34:49,607 --> 00:34:53,202 It was the dependence on this metal fastener that was both the strength 509 00:34:53,287 --> 00:34:55,676 and the weakness of the industry. 510 00:34:57,767 --> 00:35:01,396 Most of the historic metaI frameworks that we marveI at 511 00:35:01,727 --> 00:35:05,879 are heId together by rivets. And this is a rivet. 512 00:35:05,967 --> 00:35:09,403 It does the same job as a nut and boIt hoIding two sheets of metaI together, 513 00:35:09,487 --> 00:35:10,840 but it doesn't come undone. 514 00:35:10,927 --> 00:35:14,203 You heat it up untiI it's cherry red, then you put it through a hoIe, 515 00:35:14,287 --> 00:35:16,278 and then you bash both ends of it. 516 00:35:16,367 --> 00:35:18,164 It then hoIds the sheets of metaI together. 517 00:35:18,247 --> 00:35:21,956 When it cooIs down, it contracts and hoIds it even tighter. 518 00:35:22,167 --> 00:35:24,317 It's an awfuI Iot of effort, but it works. 519 00:35:26,087 --> 00:35:29,045 Riveters worked in teams or squads. 520 00:35:29,207 --> 00:35:32,756 A heater heated up the rivets in a stove, then passed them 521 00:35:32,847 --> 00:35:35,122 or often threw them to a catcher. 522 00:35:35,207 --> 00:35:38,517 The catcher's job was to take the red-hot rivet to a holder-up, 523 00:35:38,607 --> 00:35:41,963 who put the rivet in a hole connecting the two ship's panels. 524 00:35:42,047 --> 00:35:44,800 The riveter then pounded the rivet home. 525 00:35:47,767 --> 00:35:49,758 It was a labour-intensive job, 526 00:35:49,847 --> 00:35:52,486 and when the men left to fight in two World Wars, 527 00:35:52,567 --> 00:35:55,525 women were trained up to keep the yards busy. 528 00:35:58,327 --> 00:36:02,286 Ship-building towns reverberated to the sound of riveting. 529 00:36:04,327 --> 00:36:06,921 Phil Peek and Brian Hopkins worked as riveters 530 00:36:07,007 --> 00:36:09,965 in the shipyards of neighbouring Hartlepool. 531 00:36:10,527 --> 00:36:13,997 -Brian... Good to see you, PhiI. -And you. 532 00:36:14,087 --> 00:36:17,443 This is where the shipyard was that you actuaIIy buiIt ships. 533 00:36:17,527 --> 00:36:20,166 BRIAN: The sIipway where this one was buiIt was over the other side there, 534 00:36:20,247 --> 00:36:21,646 100 yards away, if that. 535 00:36:21,727 --> 00:36:24,799 And how many rivets a day do you reckon a good team wouId put in? 536 00:36:24,887 --> 00:36:26,843 At Ieast 800, 900 a day. 537 00:36:27,607 --> 00:36:29,563 We're reaIIy proud of the fact, 538 00:36:29,647 --> 00:36:33,162 the steeI pIate wouId come in there, when it Ieft here, the finished job, 539 00:36:33,247 --> 00:36:35,238 it couId go straight to sea and work. 540 00:36:35,327 --> 00:36:37,397 How much did they get paid for riveting? 541 00:36:37,487 --> 00:36:40,206 -Eight and ninepence a hundred. -Eight and ninepence a hundred? 542 00:36:40,287 --> 00:36:42,960 Yes, aII that was shared out amongst the squad. 543 00:36:43,047 --> 00:36:47,962 But if it rained, we got sent home and signed the book for four shiIIing. 544 00:36:49,647 --> 00:36:51,956 STRAWBRIDGE: Mary Power was a catcher on Phil's team. 545 00:36:52,047 --> 00:36:55,562 Hey, Mary, come and join us. Come and join us. Come on. 546 00:36:56,847 --> 00:36:59,077 -You used to work with PhiI? -Yes. 547 00:36:59,167 --> 00:37:00,885 It's a very physicaI job, Mary, 548 00:37:00,967 --> 00:37:03,322 so what was it Iike as a woman being amongst aII these men 549 00:37:03,407 --> 00:37:04,726 that were doing aII this riveting? 550 00:37:04,807 --> 00:37:08,925 -WeII, you didn't think anything about it. -HOPKINS: We won't answer that. 551 00:37:09,007 --> 00:37:12,761 You just got in, you wore the overaIIs and the boys' boots 552 00:37:12,847 --> 00:37:14,166 and you just got on with the job. 553 00:37:14,247 --> 00:37:15,999 What was the environment Iike? Was it noisy? 554 00:37:16,087 --> 00:37:18,396 -It was very noisy. -You couIdn't hear yourseIf speak. 555 00:37:18,487 --> 00:37:20,443 When I first started, I didn't know what they were on about, 556 00:37:20,527 --> 00:37:22,438 'cause you used to speak with the sign Ianguage. 557 00:37:22,527 --> 00:37:25,485 -STRAWBRIDGE: A sign Ianguage? -Yes, definiteIy. 2, 21/4... 558 00:37:25,567 --> 00:37:27,603 -21/4 rivets. -2, 23/4. 559 00:37:27,687 --> 00:37:29,882 -2, 2 3/4 rivets. -That's the size? 560 00:37:29,967 --> 00:37:30,956 Yes. 561 00:37:31,047 --> 00:37:32,526 -So caIIing for the size of the rivets? -Yes. 562 00:37:32,607 --> 00:37:34,325 And those are short 'uns. 563 00:37:34,807 --> 00:37:38,117 As a riveter, did you take pride in every singIe rivet you did? 564 00:37:38,207 --> 00:37:41,517 CertainIy, yeah. I was a good riveter. 565 00:37:41,607 --> 00:37:44,485 You knew that when you were working for Gray's, 566 00:37:44,567 --> 00:37:48,719 you were one of the best ship-buiIders going and there was no two ways about it. 567 00:37:50,767 --> 00:37:53,042 STRAWBRIDGE: So if our ship-building was so good, 568 00:37:53,127 --> 00:37:55,163 where did it all go wrong? 569 00:37:55,447 --> 00:37:59,565 In the dark days of 1940, we desperately needed more merchant ships 570 00:37:59,727 --> 00:38:02,924 to keep the vital transatlantic supply lines open. 571 00:38:03,207 --> 00:38:06,517 Churchill placed an urgent order for 60 cargo ships, 572 00:38:07,047 --> 00:38:09,561 but he didn't give the contract to British shipyards, 573 00:38:09,647 --> 00:38:12,207 instead he gave it to the Americans. 574 00:38:12,367 --> 00:38:15,359 I'm meeting with David Aris to find out more. 575 00:38:17,527 --> 00:38:19,677 Okay, David, why go to America? 576 00:38:19,927 --> 00:38:22,885 Because at that time in 1940, 577 00:38:23,207 --> 00:38:26,404 the U-Boats were massacring our merchant fIeet, 578 00:38:26,487 --> 00:38:28,478 particuIarIy in the North AtIantic. 579 00:38:28,567 --> 00:38:32,355 And Churchill realised that the ships were being sunk at a rate 580 00:38:32,447 --> 00:38:35,962 which was greater than we could replace them from our own shipyards. 581 00:38:36,047 --> 00:38:37,878 So we had to get the ships from somewhere else. 582 00:38:37,967 --> 00:38:40,003 And taIk to me about the skiII of buiIding one of these ships. 583 00:38:40,087 --> 00:38:42,601 You know, how Iong wouId it take to buiId one here? 584 00:38:42,687 --> 00:38:46,157 ProbabIy about six months to buiId a ship here in Thompsons. 585 00:38:46,247 --> 00:38:48,636 And the ship was designed as a fuIIy riveted ship. 586 00:38:48,727 --> 00:38:50,957 That was the practice at the time here on the River Weir 587 00:38:51,047 --> 00:38:52,924 and in other parts of this country. 588 00:38:53,007 --> 00:38:57,046 Something Iike 480,000 rivets on one ship, per ship. 589 00:38:57,127 --> 00:39:00,836 -HaIf a miIIion rivets per ship? -Yes, of that order. Yeah. 590 00:39:01,527 --> 00:39:04,325 STRAWBRIDGE: With a war on, the Americans didn't have time 591 00:39:04,407 --> 00:39:08,685 or enough trained workers to put in a half a million rivets per ship. 592 00:39:08,767 --> 00:39:11,804 A faster method of joining panels was welding. 593 00:39:12,167 --> 00:39:15,523 So now welding was adopted on an unprecedented scale. 594 00:39:16,407 --> 00:39:19,399 What the Americans did have was lots of space. 595 00:39:19,967 --> 00:39:23,323 In massive new shipyards, complete sections of the ship 596 00:39:23,407 --> 00:39:27,241 were constructed as separate units before being craned into place 597 00:39:27,327 --> 00:39:29,079 and welded together. 598 00:39:29,327 --> 00:39:33,286 The American genius for mass production meant that ships were soon being built 599 00:39:33,367 --> 00:39:35,005 in under 50 days. 600 00:39:35,687 --> 00:39:38,406 This new merchant fleet helped win the war 601 00:39:38,487 --> 00:39:42,400 by keeping Britain supplied with food, munitions and machinery. 602 00:39:42,567 --> 00:39:45,957 The techniques of welding and pre-fabrication that built these ships 603 00:39:46,047 --> 00:39:48,436 would spell the end for riveting. 604 00:39:52,687 --> 00:39:56,646 The problem for us was that mass production needs lots of space. 605 00:39:57,047 --> 00:40:00,084 The old British shipyards didn't have room to expand, 606 00:40:00,167 --> 00:40:03,477 and they struggled to cope with the new welding age. 607 00:40:03,927 --> 00:40:07,078 The industry fell into slow but terminal decline. 608 00:40:09,647 --> 00:40:12,286 These days, riveting has all but disappeared, 609 00:40:12,367 --> 00:40:14,961 but even though we don't build many ships now, 610 00:40:15,047 --> 00:40:17,607 we still need riveters if we're going to preserve 611 00:40:17,687 --> 00:40:20,485 some of our historic maritime treasures. 612 00:40:20,767 --> 00:40:24,680 I've come all the way to Suffolk to see riveting at first hand. 613 00:40:25,967 --> 00:40:27,559 Everybody's weIding nowadays. 614 00:40:27,647 --> 00:40:30,878 I couIdn't find any rivets being struck anywhere in the Northeast. 615 00:40:30,967 --> 00:40:33,356 So I had to bring Brian and PhiI down to Lowestoft 616 00:40:33,447 --> 00:40:37,679 to the restoration of SS Robin, the oIdest compIete steamship in the worId, 617 00:40:37,767 --> 00:40:41,442 so they can give me their opinion on 21st-century riveting. 618 00:40:43,207 --> 00:40:45,880 The SS Robin was launched in 1890. 619 00:40:46,407 --> 00:40:50,719 She's a steel ship with a fully riveted hull, but she needs attention. 620 00:40:54,647 --> 00:40:59,596 The team here are riveting some test plates in preparation for restoring the ship. 621 00:41:01,047 --> 00:41:05,325 They've done riveting work on bridges and machinery, but never a ship. 622 00:41:07,287 --> 00:41:11,724 It's a great chance for old hands Brian and Phil to pass on their wisdom. 623 00:41:13,207 --> 00:41:15,243 -How's his riveting? -Okay. 624 00:41:15,447 --> 00:41:17,199 -What do you reckon? -He's getting the hang of it. 625 00:41:17,287 --> 00:41:18,800 (ALL LAUGHING) 626 00:41:23,727 --> 00:41:25,080 (RATTLING) 627 00:41:28,727 --> 00:41:30,763 Okay, what's your opinion? Come on, then, PhiI. 628 00:41:30,847 --> 00:41:32,758 The top row's the best. 629 00:41:33,167 --> 00:41:35,727 The top row's the best. That's too short, that. 630 00:41:35,807 --> 00:41:37,001 STRAWBRIDGE: WouId you empIoy the team? 631 00:41:37,087 --> 00:41:40,318 CertainIy, yes. You've done aII right, son. 632 00:41:40,407 --> 00:41:42,238 I've done aII right, have I? 633 00:41:43,807 --> 00:41:47,243 STRAWBRIDGE: We may not make them like this any more, but the SS Robin 634 00:41:47,327 --> 00:41:50,876 will be back afloat, rivets and all, in 2012, 635 00:41:50,967 --> 00:41:55,085 a monument to the glory days of British ship-building and riveting. 636 00:41:57,287 --> 00:41:59,596 Thank goodness there are some peopIe - there's not many - 637 00:41:59,687 --> 00:42:03,646 but stiII some peopIe keeping aIive the skiIIs of our riveters. 638 00:42:07,287 --> 00:42:09,676 OLIVER: Leaving the heavy industry of the Northeast behind, 639 00:42:09,807 --> 00:42:11,445 the mood changes. 640 00:42:11,527 --> 00:42:15,156 Shipyards are replaced by rolling hills and sandy beaches. 641 00:42:17,047 --> 00:42:18,446 We're in Yorkshire now, 642 00:42:18,527 --> 00:42:22,998 with well-known holiday destinations like Whitby and Scarborough, 643 00:42:23,247 --> 00:42:26,683 which has been attracting visitors for over 350 years. 644 00:42:30,767 --> 00:42:34,680 Nestled between these two holiday hotspots is Ravenscar. 645 00:42:35,927 --> 00:42:38,999 Ravenscar is a resort like no other. 646 00:42:41,047 --> 00:42:43,720 It's known as the town that never was. 647 00:42:45,327 --> 00:42:47,557 The question is, where is it? 648 00:42:52,047 --> 00:42:56,086 HORTON: I've programmed my sat nav for the main street of Ravenscar, 649 00:42:56,527 --> 00:42:59,519 the wonderfully named Marine Esplanade. 650 00:42:59,767 --> 00:43:03,157 WOMAN ON NAVIGATION SYSTEM: Turn left, then take the second right. 651 00:43:03,247 --> 00:43:06,284 Whoopsie, we're going straight into a rutted road. 652 00:43:07,247 --> 00:43:11,240 There's some sort of kerb running up the middle of the road here. 653 00:43:11,487 --> 00:43:15,002 WOMAN ON NAVIGATION SYSTEM: After 200 yards, turn right. 654 00:43:15,807 --> 00:43:17,206 (CHUCKLING) 655 00:43:18,367 --> 00:43:20,835 WOMAN ON NAVIGATION SYSTEM: You have reached your destination. 656 00:43:20,927 --> 00:43:23,441 That's it. Marine EspIanade. 657 00:43:29,087 --> 00:43:32,477 That's the strangest Marine EspIanade I've ever seen. 658 00:43:33,647 --> 00:43:36,844 According to sat nav, there should be roads here, 659 00:43:37,527 --> 00:43:42,157 and Marine Esplanade is here, it's just covered in years of vegetation. 660 00:43:43,007 --> 00:43:46,238 But if you look hard enough there are clues left. 661 00:43:47,527 --> 00:43:50,121 Look. Drains, for no apparent reason. 662 00:43:52,927 --> 00:43:57,603 It's some kind of base, a sort of octagonaI concrete thing. 663 00:43:59,287 --> 00:44:03,405 The further afield you look, the more of Ravenscar you find. 664 00:44:04,007 --> 00:44:06,646 There's even an old railway platform. 665 00:44:08,327 --> 00:44:14,197 These are all that remain of a grand scheme hatched by Victorian entrepreneurs. 666 00:44:14,807 --> 00:44:19,961 They drew up detailed plans for a new resort on the Yorkshire coast, Ravenscar. 667 00:44:20,687 --> 00:44:24,077 Hundreds of workmen laid roads and sank drains. 668 00:44:25,247 --> 00:44:29,286 They even constructed a brickworks ready to build the new town. 669 00:44:30,207 --> 00:44:33,404 Ravenscar was to be an elegant, seaside resort 670 00:44:33,487 --> 00:44:36,604 to rival its neighbours, Whitby and Scarborough. 671 00:44:38,247 --> 00:44:44,117 100 years ago, champagne-fuelled auctions were held at the Ravenhall Hotel. 672 00:44:45,047 --> 00:44:48,801 The estate company sold Ravenscar, plot by plot. 673 00:44:49,407 --> 00:44:53,446 The plan was for the new owners to build their own houses. 674 00:44:54,167 --> 00:44:57,284 So a new seaside town would be born. 675 00:44:58,367 --> 00:45:03,646 But in spite of roads being laid out, Ravenscar was never built. Why? 676 00:45:04,847 --> 00:45:08,920 On the platform of the old station, I'm meeting the granddaughter 677 00:45:09,167 --> 00:45:11,556 of one of the original investors. 678 00:45:12,807 --> 00:45:16,516 So, Monica, your grandmother bought a pIot here in this town, 679 00:45:16,607 --> 00:45:18,006 but what town? 680 00:45:18,087 --> 00:45:20,885 My grandmother bought a buiIding pIot here. 681 00:45:20,967 --> 00:45:24,004 -And this is the proof? -Indeed, this is the conveyance. 682 00:45:24,087 --> 00:45:26,123 And does it give us the address? 'Cause I've got a map here. 683 00:45:26,207 --> 00:45:27,526 It does. 684 00:45:27,607 --> 00:45:29,723 -It's in Loring Road. -Right. 685 00:45:29,807 --> 00:45:32,321 And Loring Road is just over there. 686 00:45:33,167 --> 00:45:36,762 -Can we find your grandmother's pIot? -Let's have a try. 687 00:45:38,767 --> 00:45:41,804 PresumabIy these gates must represent the oId roads. 688 00:45:41,887 --> 00:45:43,286 Indeed, yes. 689 00:45:43,687 --> 00:45:46,884 -So this gate must be St HiIda's Road. -Yes, it is. 690 00:45:46,967 --> 00:45:49,356 There we go. So where are we on your pIot? 691 00:45:49,447 --> 00:45:53,440 Right, we're on Loring Road and the pIot was the second one aIong. 692 00:45:53,527 --> 00:45:55,836 And it was 25 feet from here. 693 00:45:55,927 --> 00:45:58,725 Which is what? That's going to be about six metres... 694 00:45:58,807 --> 00:46:00,684 -So off we go. -Yes, about six metres. Right. 695 00:46:00,767 --> 00:46:04,919 One, two, three, four, five, six. 696 00:46:05,207 --> 00:46:08,995 (LAUGHING) So, that is your pIot, just a fieId. 697 00:46:09,567 --> 00:46:11,000 Just a fieId. 698 00:46:11,247 --> 00:46:15,081 HORTON: Monica's grandparents paid £18 for their plot 699 00:46:15,607 --> 00:46:20,203 and then waited for the town to grow around it. And waited. 700 00:46:20,807 --> 00:46:25,676 In fact, I have a Ietter here dated in 1937, after his wife's death, 701 00:46:26,127 --> 00:46:28,595 when he tried to seII it. 702 00:46:28,687 --> 00:46:31,121 HORTON: ''UnfortunateIy, sites on this estate 703 00:46:31,207 --> 00:46:35,485 ''have not turned out as happiIy as was first anticipated.'' 704 00:46:35,567 --> 00:46:37,603 That's a wonderfuI Iawyer's understatement, isn't it? 705 00:46:37,687 --> 00:46:39,086 Indeed, yes. 706 00:46:40,287 --> 00:46:45,202 HORTON: So just why didn't Ravenscar turn out quite as ''happily as anticipated''? 707 00:46:45,807 --> 00:46:49,322 Well, one thing every resort needs is a beach. 708 00:46:50,007 --> 00:46:52,805 But the beach here looks a long way down. 709 00:46:53,047 --> 00:46:55,686 I've enlisted Mel Cunningham as my guide. 710 00:46:55,767 --> 00:46:58,156 So how high are we above sea IeveI here? 711 00:46:58,247 --> 00:47:01,284 We're about nearIy 500 feet above sea IeveI here. 712 00:47:01,447 --> 00:47:04,598 A compIeteIy mad pIace to buiId a resort. 713 00:47:04,687 --> 00:47:06,757 Yeah. On a day Iike today, it wouId be absoIuteIy super, 714 00:47:06,847 --> 00:47:10,635 but this is quite unusuaI. NormaIIy the weather is much more incIement. 715 00:47:13,367 --> 00:47:15,756 HORTON: The going gets tougher from here, 716 00:47:15,847 --> 00:47:19,681 but I'm hoping after the scramble, the beach will be worth it. 717 00:47:26,527 --> 00:47:27,960 The Iast Ieg. 718 00:47:30,127 --> 00:47:34,279 So, MeI, now we've got aII the way down, where's the sandy beach? 719 00:47:34,367 --> 00:47:37,962 WeII, I'm afraid there isn't any sand as such. It's aII rock and shaIe. 720 00:47:38,047 --> 00:47:42,404 The most inhospitabIe pIace ever and we've come from aII the way up there. 721 00:47:42,487 --> 00:47:45,240 But how did aII those Victorian and Edwardian Iadies 722 00:47:45,327 --> 00:47:47,716 expect to come down to the beach? 723 00:47:47,807 --> 00:47:52,244 There were some stone steps constructed which did take them right down to the beach. 724 00:47:52,327 --> 00:47:54,602 But they've since sIipped away. 725 00:47:56,247 --> 00:47:59,876 HORTON: The steps never did draw crowds down to the beach. 726 00:48:00,247 --> 00:48:05,196 Many prospective buyers were put off by Ravenscar's windswept location, 727 00:48:05,807 --> 00:48:08,924 and those who did buy were reluctant to build. 728 00:48:09,607 --> 00:48:13,520 Today, this villa on Marine Esplanade stands alone. 729 00:48:14,047 --> 00:48:16,686 But could Ravenscar ever have worked? 730 00:48:17,167 --> 00:48:21,763 Well, the same entrepreneurs successfully established Lee-on-the-Solent 731 00:48:21,847 --> 00:48:23,405 on the south coast, 732 00:48:23,487 --> 00:48:27,799 and on a day like this you wonder whether a little bit more commitment 733 00:48:27,887 --> 00:48:30,765 was all it would have taken here in Yorkshire. 734 00:48:30,847 --> 00:48:32,439 But the chance has gone. 735 00:48:32,567 --> 00:48:35,639 The National Trust bought the land in 1977. 736 00:48:35,727 --> 00:48:40,437 So now Ravenscar, the town that never was, will never be. 737 00:48:45,767 --> 00:48:48,327 OLIVER: A few miles down the coast is Scarborough. 738 00:48:48,407 --> 00:48:52,366 And Scarborough is a town that has no trouble attracting people. 739 00:48:53,367 --> 00:48:56,882 Even on a wet, windy day, the surf kayakers are out. 740 00:48:58,287 --> 00:49:01,677 I'm Jason Raper and today I'm with Scarborough Canoe Club, 741 00:49:01,767 --> 00:49:05,760 and we're going in the sea surfing. It should just be really good fun. 742 00:49:08,487 --> 00:49:11,638 JASON: When I was younger, I was in Scotland on an activity week, 743 00:49:11,727 --> 00:49:14,764 and I went kayaking and I just took to it straightaway 744 00:49:14,847 --> 00:49:17,520 and thought this is what I want to do. 745 00:49:23,847 --> 00:49:26,566 You don't really have time to think when you see a wave coming. 746 00:49:26,647 --> 00:49:31,118 There might be two or three seconds, so you just have to just quickly think, 747 00:49:31,207 --> 00:49:33,596 ''Am I going to try and catch it?'' 748 00:49:35,647 --> 00:49:39,526 When you're coming from the top of the wave down into the bottom of the wave, 749 00:49:39,607 --> 00:49:44,681 the speed, you pick it up so quickly. It's like really fast acceleration. 750 00:49:44,887 --> 00:49:47,037 That's just a great feeling. 751 00:49:47,927 --> 00:49:51,681 I just find it really natural when I'm kayaking. 752 00:49:54,127 --> 00:49:57,119 The weather doesn't really make that much difference. 753 00:49:57,207 --> 00:50:00,961 If it's raining, it doesn't matter 'cause you're wet anyway. 754 00:50:04,527 --> 00:50:07,564 It's about time for a bacon sandwich or summat. 755 00:50:13,767 --> 00:50:16,964 OLIVER: Spurn Point reaches out into the North Sea 756 00:50:17,047 --> 00:50:20,005 and marks our entrance to the Humber Estuary. 757 00:50:24,247 --> 00:50:27,956 We've arrived at our final destination, the port of Hull. 758 00:50:31,727 --> 00:50:34,287 Because this seafaring city faces east, 759 00:50:34,367 --> 00:50:39,361 Hull has been a vital link in a chain connecting Europe with the rest of the world. 760 00:50:41,127 --> 00:50:45,803 In the 19th century, millions of people were desperate to escape Eastern Europe 761 00:50:45,887 --> 00:50:47,843 and make a fresh start. 762 00:50:48,127 --> 00:50:52,837 This great port of Hull became the unlikely gateway to a new life of freedom 763 00:50:52,927 --> 00:50:54,997 and opportunity in America. 764 00:50:56,767 --> 00:51:00,396 Howard Wolinsky's grandfather, Henry, was one of those migrants, 765 00:51:00,487 --> 00:51:02,921 en route from Lithuania to Boston. 766 00:51:03,087 --> 00:51:06,204 Though he never met his grandfather, Howard has arrived in Hull 767 00:51:06,287 --> 00:51:08,278 to retrace his footsteps. 768 00:51:10,287 --> 00:51:13,359 -Is that a photograph of your grandfather? -That's right. 769 00:51:13,447 --> 00:51:17,520 -And what age is he there? -He's aImost 70 years oId, in Boston. 770 00:51:18,167 --> 00:51:21,796 -What do you hope to find here in HuII? -WeII, more answers. 771 00:51:21,887 --> 00:51:26,085 I'd Iike to know more about what his Iife was Iike 772 00:51:26,167 --> 00:51:27,839 the brief time he was in HuII. 773 00:51:27,927 --> 00:51:31,920 My sister and one of my sons and my wife are here now. 774 00:51:32,207 --> 00:51:37,281 And the four of us went to Lithuania Iast year and actuaIIy went to the town he was from, 775 00:51:37,367 --> 00:51:41,360 and waIked where he waIked, and now we're saiIing where he saiIed. 776 00:51:43,447 --> 00:51:45,961 OLIVER: Like many people migrating to the New World, 777 00:51:46,047 --> 00:51:48,800 Howard's grandfather was an Eastern European Jew 778 00:51:48,887 --> 00:51:50,843 escaping Tsarist Russia. 779 00:51:51,327 --> 00:51:54,558 The Jews had been confined to a region alongside Russia's western border, 780 00:51:54,647 --> 00:51:57,605 which included much of present-day Lithuania. 781 00:51:57,807 --> 00:52:02,597 Conditions were poor, and brutal repression set in motion a mass exodus. 782 00:52:03,287 --> 00:52:09,840 Between 1870 and 1914, for over two million European refugees, Hull was a lifeline. 783 00:52:12,127 --> 00:52:16,120 To get to America, Howard's grandfather bought a one-way ticket. 784 00:52:16,447 --> 00:52:20,122 The first stage was a train to Hamburg, and then on to Hull, 785 00:52:20,207 --> 00:52:22,846 a 32-hour voyage across the North Sea. 786 00:52:26,967 --> 00:52:30,846 We're meeting local historian Nick Evans to retrace the next stage 787 00:52:30,927 --> 00:52:33,361 of Howard's grandfather's journey. 788 00:52:34,447 --> 00:52:37,007 So, having navigated a series of Iocks and docks, 789 00:52:37,087 --> 00:52:41,797 this is where on 1st August, 1892, your ancestor wouId have Ianded. 790 00:52:42,247 --> 00:52:45,523 The vesseI wouId have moored aIongside this dockside here 791 00:52:45,607 --> 00:52:48,883 and your ancestor wouId have disembarked here and then gone... 792 00:52:48,967 --> 00:52:50,719 -Right here? -Right here, this very spot. 793 00:52:50,807 --> 00:52:53,765 So this is where your grandfather 794 00:52:53,847 --> 00:52:56,441 wouId have taken his first steps on British soiI. 795 00:52:56,527 --> 00:52:58,324 So I am waIking the waIk. 796 00:52:58,407 --> 00:53:01,604 You are waIking the waIk, and we know from documentation 797 00:53:01,687 --> 00:53:05,316 in the IocaI archives that he arrived on Monday, 1st August. 798 00:53:05,407 --> 00:53:09,446 You can see here, the Sprite, the steamship from Hamburg 799 00:53:09,527 --> 00:53:13,156 which actuaIIy arrived on 1st August at Prince's Dock. 800 00:53:13,247 --> 00:53:15,841 AIongside the passengers there were aII different commodities, 801 00:53:15,927 --> 00:53:20,079 incIuding fruit, a piano and a variety of different other commodities. 802 00:53:20,167 --> 00:53:23,284 And these are some of the images he wouId have seen upon arrivaI. 803 00:53:23,367 --> 00:53:26,040 -OLIVER: So this is 19th-century HuII. -EVANS: This is from 1890. 804 00:53:26,127 --> 00:53:29,039 -This is the sights he wouId have seen. -Is that that buiIding there? 805 00:53:29,127 --> 00:53:30,845 Yes, this is the dock's office at the time. 806 00:53:30,927 --> 00:53:35,159 OLIVER: So was the port of Hull at that time the equivalent of an airport transit lounge, 807 00:53:35,247 --> 00:53:36,646 just for people passing through? 808 00:53:36,727 --> 00:53:40,606 EVANS: It was a major transport artery, just like Heathrow or Schiphol 809 00:53:40,687 --> 00:53:42,643 or JFK Airport are now. 810 00:53:42,727 --> 00:53:45,036 That was the real hub of this transport movement 811 00:53:45,127 --> 00:53:47,880 on which many millions of migrants would come along. 812 00:53:47,967 --> 00:53:51,846 WeII, it must have been an exciting thing to know you were on this journey to America. 813 00:53:51,927 --> 00:53:55,397 Even though you put up with the seasickness and everything eIse, 814 00:53:55,487 --> 00:53:57,717 I think you have to keep your eye on the prize. 815 00:53:59,127 --> 00:54:02,005 OLIVER: 21-year-old Henry Wolinsky wasn't alone. 816 00:54:02,087 --> 00:54:05,921 Along with oranges and pianos, millions of names record the people 817 00:54:06,007 --> 00:54:10,239 who, for a few brief hours, passed through the port of Hull en route west. 818 00:54:12,807 --> 00:54:14,798 And immediateIy after disembarkation, 819 00:54:14,887 --> 00:54:17,037 they wouId have waIked aIong streets such as this, 820 00:54:17,127 --> 00:54:20,085 where they wouId have gone to nearby Iodging houses and received food. 821 00:54:20,167 --> 00:54:23,842 Just Iike being in transit in an airport today, peopIe passing through HuII 822 00:54:23,927 --> 00:54:26,725 over a hundred years ago on their way to the New WorId 823 00:54:26,807 --> 00:54:29,958 had time on their hands and needs to be met. 824 00:54:33,727 --> 00:54:36,082 UItimateIy, this was where most of the migrants wouId have enjoyed 825 00:54:36,167 --> 00:54:37,361 a much-needed meaI. 826 00:54:37,447 --> 00:54:39,324 Howard's grandfather wouId certainIy have come in here, 827 00:54:39,407 --> 00:54:43,036 because it was the onIy one which was run by a Jewish Iodging-house keeper 828 00:54:43,127 --> 00:54:44,845 and provided Jewish kosher food. 829 00:54:44,927 --> 00:54:48,966 Are there any records of what they ate? What was on the menu? 830 00:54:49,087 --> 00:54:52,204 EVANS: Dry bread, herring - famiIiar foods for these migrants. 831 00:54:52,287 --> 00:54:55,085 -No bageIs? -No bageIs, unfortunateIy, no. 832 00:54:56,567 --> 00:54:59,957 OLIVER: Once fed, Howard's grandfather was moved to the railway station 833 00:55:00,047 --> 00:55:02,720 to start his onward journey to America. 834 00:55:03,007 --> 00:55:05,760 The migrants were moved through HuII under escort 835 00:55:05,847 --> 00:55:08,520 and kept increasingIy apart from the IocaIs. 836 00:55:08,607 --> 00:55:10,563 ChoIera was the big fear. 837 00:55:10,687 --> 00:55:13,679 There'd been outbreaks of the disease in ports across Europe 838 00:55:13,767 --> 00:55:15,803 and choIera was a kiIIer. 839 00:55:17,047 --> 00:55:18,685 Public concern over disease 840 00:55:18,767 --> 00:55:22,442 resulted in a purpose-built platform being added to the train station, 841 00:55:22,527 --> 00:55:25,564 along with a special waiting room for migrants. 842 00:55:27,207 --> 00:55:29,038 These days it's a pub. 843 00:55:31,727 --> 00:55:33,365 I wonder what your grandfather wouId have thought, 844 00:55:33,447 --> 00:55:37,201 if he'd known that in 1 20 years' time one of his grandsons 845 00:55:37,527 --> 00:55:40,519 wouId be in the same buiIding that he waited in 846 00:55:40,607 --> 00:55:42,006 before he went to the New WorId. 847 00:55:42,087 --> 00:55:46,478 WeII, I wouId hope that he wouId find it ironic and satisfying 848 00:55:47,207 --> 00:55:49,641 that the generations continued. 849 00:55:50,047 --> 00:55:54,325 Many of his other descendants of his brothers 850 00:55:54,407 --> 00:55:57,604 were kiIIed in the HoIocaust, so we're survivors. 851 00:56:01,447 --> 00:56:05,326 OLIVER: After a rest, Howard's grandfather made his way to the platform. 852 00:56:07,847 --> 00:56:12,602 Here, he joined a long roll-call of names who continued their journey westward. 853 00:56:18,087 --> 00:56:19,805 The train took them to Liverpool, 854 00:56:19,887 --> 00:56:22,879 where they boarded a steamship bound for America. 855 00:56:24,007 --> 00:56:27,397 Howard's family are joining him where his ancestors stood 856 00:56:27,487 --> 00:56:29,955 on the brink of this new beginning. 857 00:56:30,807 --> 00:56:33,082 A successful American family, 858 00:56:33,207 --> 00:56:37,962 here today thanks to one young man's journey from the old world to the new. 859 00:56:40,007 --> 00:56:45,035 This pIatform is compIeteIy overgrown, and this story is overIooked by history. 860 00:56:45,127 --> 00:56:47,004 But it's no surprise, 861 00:56:47,087 --> 00:56:49,965 because for the miIIions of peopIe who passed through here, 862 00:56:50,047 --> 00:56:52,322 this was just a stepping stone. 863 00:56:52,447 --> 00:56:57,567 The reaI story was going to happen somewhere eIse, somewhere far away. 864 00:57:14,247 --> 00:57:18,286 And on this latest journey, we've also been far beyond our coast. 865 00:57:19,807 --> 00:57:22,082 But home's never been far away. 866 00:57:23,127 --> 00:57:27,439 The same ice that cut the fjords of Norway sculpted the landscape of Britain. 867 00:57:30,287 --> 00:57:34,997 The Vikings who came to trade and Normans who came to invade. 868 00:57:36,367 --> 00:57:39,803 D-Day beaches where Allies fought for French soil 869 00:57:39,887 --> 00:57:43,926 and places of pilgrimage linked across the English Channel. 870 00:57:50,727 --> 00:57:53,799 The edge of Britain can feeI Iike the end of our story, 871 00:57:53,887 --> 00:57:58,278 but the coastIine doesn't cut us off from the worId. It's where we reach out. 872 00:57:58,367 --> 00:58:00,881 And this isn't the end of our journey. 873 00:58:00,967 --> 00:58:05,199 We'II come down to the sea again, to our coast and beyond.