The Channel Islands to Dover The last journey in the series starts in the Channel Islands as the team make their way back to Dover, where their epic adventure around the shore began.
Jersey: Honeymoon Island!
Evidence of the bleakest period in Jersey's history is everywhere - German gun emplacements scarring the landscape. With liberation in 1945, the islanders had to reinvent themselves. Within ten years, they'd achieved the unthinkable - Jersey was associated not with concrete but with confetti. Alice Roberts investigates the 'Honeymoon Island' and discovers why the island had a unique appeal to 1950's newlyweds. Les Ecrehous
Les Ecrehous is little more than a granite reef but it looks like a toy town by the sea. These dolls' houses were originally fishermen's huts. The accommodation might be Spartan but the setting is idyllic. Neil Oliver discovers why on earth French fishermen and a small group of militants mounted an invasion of Les Ecrehous in 1994. Diving around the Channel Islands Sue Daly is an underwater photographer. She's been diving around the Channel Islands for the past 18 years.
The waters around the islands attract species you're unlikely to see off the mainland like the black faced blenney and ormers. Guernsey
For such a tranquil place the Channel Islands have an awful lot of fortifications. This is Neighbourhood Watch for big boys. Mark Horton travels to Guernsey to meet the island archaeologist Heather Sebire to find the landmarks that reveal why the Channel Islands became so heavily fortified. Sark
Joining the main island of Sark to Little Sark is a razor-edged isthmus known as La Coupee. It's a spectacular sight with a sheer drop of 300ft! In the old days, there weren't any protective railings. The present narrow concrete road was added by German POWs in 1945. Gouliot Caves
Gouliot Caves on Sark are a magical place. The huge tidal range in the Channel Islands, the third largest in the world at 30 feet, means that for most of the year the cave system is under water. But on an exceptionally low tide a secret world is exposed, Miranda Krestovnikoff and Ann Allen take advantage of the rare chance to explore Gouliot Caves on foot. Alderney
Neil Oliver takes a trip on the only railway line in the Channel Islands. It's run by volunteers and takes just twelve minutes to cross the island. The Alderney Express uses two London underground carriages which were introduced in the late 1980s. The line dates back to the 1840s when it was used to transport stone to build the breakwater. Elizabethan Wreck Neil Oliver meets archaeologist Jason Monaghan to discover the story behind an Elizabethan wreck.
The wreck lies in 30 metres of water in an unforgiving stretch of sea to the north of Alderney. Working at Sea - Container ships Alex Kalebic has always lived by the sea and now he works on it. Cadet, Alex, provides an insight into his daily work onboard a container ship.
Dover Castle
In July 1940, the twenty-one miles between Dover and Northern France was the frontline of Britain's war in Europe. The stretch of water beside Dover Castle became known as Hellfire Corner. Nick Crane discovers why British merchant ships had to run the gauntlet of what for a while was the most dangerous waterway in the world. Channel Swim
Finally Neil Oliver gets a small taste of the monumental achievement of Captain Matthew Webb. In 1875 Captain Webb toiled for 21 hours and 45 minutes to complete the first Channel Swim. A few minutes of the swim are enough to almost sink Neil. Would you like to know what music was used in this programme? The Channel Islands to Dover: Tuesday 7 August, 8pm on BBC TWO |