-We live on an island of more than 1,000 beaches.

[ Poignant tune plays ] For many of us, they've been bringing fresh air, freedom, and fun for as long as we can remember.

But our beaches are also where Britain meets the outside world.

They're full of extraordinary stories and big events that have shaped our nation and helped to make us who we are.

I'll be uncovering those stories, meeting people with deep local knowledge... -She was saying a woman can beat a man's record.

-Is this her?!

She looks like a superhero.

...enjoying pleasures on the beach... Oh!

I'll see you later.

I'm going to swim the channel now.

...diving into the world of work...

So, these are for me to take to the hatchery.

-Yes.

-Are they going to bite me?

...and culture.

-They've come into this space and it must've just felt otherworldly.

-I'll find historical gems... [ Blast ] -We've got a 24-pounder cannon, which is going to be absolutely devastating.

-...and reveal how those stories still resonate.

-Owain Glyndwr lived within these walls and around these mountains.

His name reverberates to this day.

-From the remote beaches of Cornwall to the white cliffs of Kent, from the wildness of Wales to the bustling resorts around Blackpool in the northwest, this is the secret history of Britain's beaches.

♪ [ Suspenseful music plays ] Today I'm in the southwest corner of the British mainland, in a region famous for its dramatic shoreline and glorious sands.

Every year, five million of us make the long schlep down to Cornwall.

And you can see why.

The stunning coastline, the secluded beaches, that feeling of remoteness and isolation.

But when you dig beneath the surface, the history of Cornwall reveals anything but isolation.

In fact, this part of Britain has an unexpected and extraordinary global connection, from India to North America, Australia to Latin America.

This is a coastline with a history that's been forged by its people, products, and ideas, that have arrived and left from its stunning beaches.

Globetrotters and game changers have enabled Cornwall to be the gateway to the world.

I'll reveal the secrets hidden beneath these sands.

-This is one of the main points of the UK's communications with the rest of the world.

-From here?

-From here.

-"Its success is thus matter of imperial interest."

Wow!

Discover how a centuries-old industry is embracing the future... We got a lobster!

Whoo!

-You might be able to see the odd little black spot in these eggs, which is their little eyes staring at us.

-No!

...hear the stories of local people who traveled the world... -It's always said, "Wherever there's a hole in the ground, you'll find a Cornish miner."

-[ Laughs ] ...uncover how a small village became a hotbed of smuggling.

-Everyone in Polperro is either involved or they've been told to keep silent.

-Ultimately, he became known as the Smugglers' Banker.

-...and go flat-out to enjoy a sport imported to these shores from across the world.

-What can go wrong?

-What could possibly go wrong?

Welcome to the spectacular beaches of Cornwall.

I'm starting my journey on the far West Coast of Cornwall, where the splendor of Porthcurno Beach is a huge draw for visitors.

Soft white sands, turquoise waters -- it is a piece of heaven.

But Porthcurno Beach also has a hidden history.

For over 150 years, this little bit of paradise played a crucial role in Britain's global communication and defense.

It's a story which lies buried under the shoreline here, a story which brought together Victorian innovation and Britain's desire for tighter control over its vast empire.

To help me discover how Cornwall has connected Britain to the world, I'm meeting Charlotte Todd from PK Porthcurno, otherwise known as the Museum of Global Communications.

Charlotte, are we in the Caribbean?

-[ Laughs ] -I mean, it's absolutely stunning.

Why are we here?

What makes this place so special?

-The importance of this beach is, basically, this is one of the main points of the UK's communications with the rest of the world.

-From here?

-From here.

-From Porthcurno.

-Yeah.

This little beach towards the end of Cornwall.

Back in 1870, there was literally nothing here in Porthcurno.

There was no fishermen working from here, so, it was the perfect place to lay a cable that would be undisturbed.

So, then in 1870, the line was laid that would go, then, 5,000 miles to connect up to Bombay, in India.

-All the way there, 5,000 miles, that was the first place they took the cable?

-Yes.

-The laying of the telegraph cable beneath the ocean, connecting Western India and Southwest England for the very first time, was a feat of Victorian ingenuity and ambition.

A relay of ships transported the copper cable, including Isambard Kingdom Brunel's famous steamship the Great Eastern, the largest vessel in the world.

Such was the distance, they even ran out of cable.

But after four months, this mammoth engineering task was nearly complete.

And, on the 7th of June 1870, the first international telegraph cable was brought ashore at Porthcurno and joined the line that had already been dug in anticipation, two feet under the sand.

This huge achievement was national news.

London magazines reported that...

So, this would've been at the height of empire, 1870.

-Yes, very much so.

India was the jewel in the crown of the British Empire and Britain wanted to control its empire, its colonies, and one of the best ways to do that is knowing what's going on and being able to communicate quickly.

It was taking six weeks for a message to be delivered by packet ship from Bombay to the UK.

With the laying of the cable, you can actually send a message in nine minutes.

-Incredible.

And to think that it's under this perfect bit of paradise.

The cables laid under the beach at Porthcurno transformed communication across the British Empire.

In 1871, the telegraph line was connected to Australia and Britain's African colonies soon followed.

The man behind these enterprises was the Scottish telegraph pioneer John Pender, who became known as the Cable King.

In the archives of the museum here, there's evidence of how he celebrated his first great success in 1870, that telegraph connection to India.

So, what is this?

-So, when they finally completed the cable that went out to Bombay, John Pender had a big party in London to celebrate the opening of the cable, where he invited lots of dignitaries, including the Prince of Wales, and they were invited to come there and start sending messages using the cable.

So, here we have a message sent by the Prince of Wales to the viceroy of India.

"I feel assured this grand achievement will prove of immense benefit to the welfare of the Empire."

That's what it was all about.

"Its success is thus matter of imperial interest."

Wow!

This is actually making me feel really quite peculiar, actually, because, obviously, you know, it's so connected to my own history.

This is how they controlled the world, these elite white men having a party with all their wealth.

What a phenomenal, fascinating bit of history.

In the decades after 1870, as more and more lines were laid here, Porthcurno played an increasingly vital role in Britain's imperial ventures and international communications.

So, where are we now, Charlotte?

-Behind me, you'll notice this rather imposing-looking structure and this is the tunnels that were built during World War II to protect the very important telegraph station.

It was the biggest, busiest, and largest telegraph station in the world at this time.

[ Explosions ] -By the time the Second World War broke out, 70% [ Explosion ] of all messages carried in and out of Britain via cable were flowing through the station here.

[ Bombs whistling ] [ Explosion ] The critical importance of the base [ Explosion ] also made it a potential enemy target.

Just weeks after the Nazis launched their assault on Western Europe, [ Explosion ] in May 1940, the War Office took action in Porthcurno.

They decided that they needed to protect the station and the best way to do that was to put it underneath granite.

But that involved actually using explosives to blast through the granite rock and they actually ended up moving 15,000 tons of rock, in order to create the tunnels.

-Wow!

Shall we go in?

-Let us go in.

No!

Is this it?!

-This is the tunnels.

-It's a building!

-Yeah, it's a building under granite.

-Is this what it would've looked like?

-Yeah, yeah.

We've tried to get it back to exactly what it would've looked like, in the colors and the light fittings.

-This is incredible!

Beginning in June 1942, miners spent ten months digging out this new space, roughly the size of two tennis courts, to house Porthcurno's communications equipment, equipment which handled a huge increase in government wartime messages -- from 12 million words in 1939 to 266 million by 1944.

This is not what I was expecting.

But how protected were they in here?

-They were under all this granite, so, they thought that was protected.

But if they got attacked by troops actually coming up the beach, they had blastproof doors.

You had people guarding the actual entrances.

They were doing as much as they could to protect this place from attack from any direction.

-To make this crucial location even more secure, 300 soldiers installed no-nonsense defenses, in case the Nazis landed troops from the sea.

-So, this video is actually taken at the time when they put in the barbed wire and the flamethrowers that were to prevent any kind of German attack that might've come up the beach.

-So, is this actually from the time, then?

This is the mother of all barbecues.

-So, if you imagine, if you were trying to attack from the beach, that would've been what you would've been met with.

-And all because of the importance of this beach... -Yes, yes.

-...and what it meant to connect Britain to the rest of the world.

-Exactly.

-And is Porthcurno still important to communication?

-It is, yes.

Britain's communications going out all over the world, most of it comes out from Cornish beaches, and a quarter of that is here at Porthcurno.

-A quarter of all communication coming out of the UK still runs through this beach?

-Yes, so, that's all emails, Internet, telephone.

It's all going through cables under our feet right now, which people aren't aware of.

-[Indistinct] No, they're just having a nice time.

-Having a nice time on the beach.

-[ Chuckles ] Porthcurno's international credentials are firmly rooted here.

And, for decades, Cable and Wireless, a business founded by Scottish Cable King John Pender, had a training center here for employees from Britain and the company's bases in the Commonwealth.

The idea was that those international students would take their newly acquired knowledge back home, to enhance the company's operations across the globe.

Those overseas visitors changed the makeup of this part of Cornwall and some decided to put down roots here.

That's true of Rudy Topsey, a native of Belize who first arrived in Porthcurno in the early '70s.

Rudy, I want you to take me back in time.

Can you remember what it was like in that year, 1972, when you first arrived in Porthcurno from Belize?

What did you think of this place?

-Completely different.

It was a bit out of the way.

[ Laughter ] -Yeah.

So, what were you here to learn?

-Telecommunications.

Telegraph, mostly; then, telex.

-What I find interesting is that they still have that global connection that they were bringing young men over from ex-colonies to come and train at Cable and Wireless.

-Yeah, well, Cable and Wireless had branches all over the world.

-So, there's lots of people all over the world who were trained right here.

-Trained right here, yeah.

Uh-huh, yeah.

-How long were you here for?

-I was here for two years.

-But you're still here, Rudy.

-My problem is I married a Cornish girl.

-[ Laughs ] Is that a problem?

[ Laughter ] So, Porthcurno must be doing something right.

-I suppose I got to love Porthcurno, yeah?

-It's that important to you, that you're still here, connected to this valley, to the Cable and Wireless company, to telecommunications?

That you're part of the story of telecommunications and Porthcurno.

-I think that was the best thing I've done, yeah.

-And you've got some good memories of this place?

-I enjoyed it here, the best part of my life here.

-Sounds like it.

Rudy's very personal story is just more evidence that this beautiful location at the end of Cornwall is only deceptively remote.

This place's history ties it to a world far beyond this coastline and, for centuries, the sea along this coast has not been a barrier, but a bridge, transporting people and ideas across the globe, in ways which changed Cornwall forever.

♪ Cornwall's coastline connects it to the rest of the world, stretching for over 420 miles and featuring one amazing beach after another.

Here at Botallack, in the west of Cornwall, the shoreline offers a different kind of beauty and tells its own story of this area's global connections, forged by a major local industry which was also truly international.

You can see Cornwall's mining heritage scattered along this dramatic, scarred coastline and tin mining has been part of the Cornish economy for thousands of years.

There's evidence that it was traded with places as far as Northern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean.

In its 19th-century heyday, Botallack was a huge operation.

Its main shaft was over 360 meters deep.

And tunnels took miners more than half a mile out, below the Atlantic.

[ Gulls crying ] Between 1815 and 1895, Botallack produced over 14,000 tons of tin for markets at home and overseas.

But it wasn't only the metal which made its way around the world, according to Dr. Lesley Trotter.

Just how important was tin mining to Cornwall?

-Absolutely crucial.

Most of the population were engaged in mining and all the support industries -- the blacksmiths, the carpenters, all that sort of thing as well.

-Just the men?

-It would've been the men underground, but aboveground, the surface workers would've included a lot of women and they were called bal maidens -- bal being the Cornish for "mine" -- and they would be processing the ore. -What does that mean?

What would their job have entailed?

-Literally breaking up the rock that came up from below the ground into sort of walnut-sized pieces.

-So, proper hard graft?

-Oh, yeah.

-And I'm imagining them wearing big dresses in heavy cotton.

-Standard dress of the day.

In fact, I can show you in a photograph we've got here.

Thick skirts, big aprons.

And they wore gooks, which were a special type of bonnet, which had wide brims.

And that was partly to keep their faces out of the sun, but also to protect them from flying shards of stone because they were breaking up granite.

-My God, I'm just taking it in.

When is this from?

-That's about 1861.

-1861.

And we are standing, probably, where the photograph was taken.

-More or less.

-Isn't that incredible!

One mining engineer who visited in 1864 recorded that Botallack employed 521 people -- men, women, and children.

But barely 30 years later, Botallack had closed down.

So, what happened to the economy?

How did it start changing?

-Well, it all depended on international markets for tin and copper and so, mines became less profitable as they went on, as there was more competition from other parts of the world.

-So, what happened?

What happened to the people who lived here?

-A lot of them went abroad.

-Where to?

-All over the world.

Wherever there was skilled mining work to be had, the miners went.

It's always said, "Wherever there's a hole in the ground, you'll find a Cornish miner."

-[ Laughs ] Love that.

The workers who left mines, like Botallack, behind and went abroad were part of what's known as Cornwall's Great Migration.

[ Train whistle blows ] Between 1841 and 1901, a quarter of a million people traveled to Cornwall's ports and headed overseas, in search of work which had disappeared at home.

And, while the population of England almost doubled in the second half of the 19th century, in much of Cornwall, it fell -- by 20%.

1 in 5 Cornishmen, most of them miners, left for other destinations, from Mexico to Australia.

But I want to know about the experiences of the thousands of women and children left behind in Cornwall.

Lesley's brought me to St Just, to tell me about a wife and mother from this town whose story is both extraordinary and typical of the Great Migration years.

-So, there's one woman I must tell you about called Mary Grenfell.

In fact, I've got a photograph of her here.

That's Mary.

And this was taken around about 1878.

-So, what happened to Mary?

-Well, her husband, William, went to Colorado and he sent money home for about four months or so, and then the money stopped.

So, Mary was left with these three young children.

So, she got a job in Penzance, as a live-in maid and cook.

But that meant she had to leave the children with her parents in St Just.

And, on a Sunday, the only time she could see the children, she would walk those seven miles from Penzance to this area, see the children for tea, and then have to walk back again, in order to cook the food for the family she lived with.

-So, her husband had done a runner?

-No, I think, he, like so many cases, had run into the problems.

-He just couldn't send money home.

-He just, for whatever reason, he couldn't send money home.

And that wasn't the end of the story.

Sadly, the eldest daughter died as well... -Ah.

-...so, she's now left with the two young children.

So, she decides that she's definitely going to go to Colorado.

Eventually gets there.

Her husband isn't at the station.

Instead, her own brother is waiting for her and tells her that her husband had died of typhoid fever the week before.

-Oh!

That's heartbreaking.

-It is heartbreaking.

-So, what happened to Mary?

-I mean, she was lucky, in some respects, that there were other miners from St Just in the local area, so, they set her up with a little boarding house.

-So, the community protected her, did they?

-Yes.

And one of her boarders was one of her cousins and she married him.

-She married her cousin?

-Yes.

So, she married Andrew Stevens and they had another daughter, Lily.

And, eventually, Mary bought Lily back home to Cornwall.

In fact, we've got a photograph of the other daughter here.

This is Lily.

-Is that unusual, that she came back?

-No, no, it was very common.

-And what did it do for this community, then?

You've got all these people who've traveled the world and then they came back.

Did it change the community?

-I think it must've done because you had so many people who were born abroad, who'd been exposed to different environments, different cultures, and coming back into Cornwall.

So, a street like this would've had children playing who, one who, perhaps, had been born in Australia; another one born in America, telling each other about what life was there.

-Well, yeah, Mary's just one story in how many?

-Tens of thousands over that long period of the 19th century.

-Cornwall's Great Migration is a story of hardship, resilience, new experiences... ...and, in the case of one of the women of St Just, a return home.

-We're in Pendeen churchyard and this is where Mary's buried.

-This is Mary?!

-With her second husband, Andrew.

-"Andrews Stevens... Also of Mary, the beloved wife of the above... 12th October 1926," she died, aged 85 years" old!

What a journey she had.

-Yeah, absolutely, and so much to go through in one lifetime.

-I feel like it's the perfect place to conclude Mary's story, isn't it?

-Yes.

We're at the far end of Cornwall and yet, this place is connected to places all round the world, through the mining story.

Still, most Cornish people will have distant cousins in these various places around the world now.

-Mm, Cornish globetrotters, yeah?

And those globetrotters mean that, from the Pacific Coast, via the heartland of America, to South Australia, there are 6 million people alive today with Cornish ancestry.

I've loved hearing Mary's story and the story of the Great Migration.

This tiny corner of Britain, Cornwall, went around the world, bringing culture back with them and taking Cornwall with them wherever they went.

I can relate to it.

These villages and coasts have been transformed by the miners and their families, exchanging experiences and lifestyles.

And now, I'm heading around 30 miles north, up the coast to Perranporth, to find out how an idea that arrived from overseas made its mark on Cornwall.

Perranporth's a magnet for tourists from home and abroad, and no wonder -- the waves of the Atlantic wash onto three miles of golden sand.

I mean, it's spectacular.

And it was here on Perranporth, 100 years ago, that an international craze was brought to these shores that got people off this stunning beach and into the water.

This is belly boarding and today's enthusiasts of the sport owe a debt to two men who returned from the First World War, inspired to try a new experience.

Veterans George Tamblyn and Mike Saunders had heard about riding the waves from soldiers they'd met abroad when they decided to bring belly boarding home in the early 1920s.

A local undertaker supplied the first boards, for two shillings each, by adapting coffin lids.

Belly boarding had crossed the world and found a home in Cornwall.

To find out how the sport introduced to Perranporth thrives here today, I'm meeting champion belly boarder Dr. Ellie Woodward.

Well, Ellie, this isn't bad, is it, this place?

-Oh, it's all about the beach.

It's a great place to live, great place to work.

-And you love this beach, particularly, don't you?

Because world champion belly boarder, hello.

-[ Laughing ] Yeah.

-So, how does it differ from surfing?

-So, you're lying down prone on, essentially, a four-foot bit of plywood.

And, when you get a really big swell, you're going to be skimmed along the water and so much joy.

So, hopefully, we'll get you laughing and hollering and smiling later.

-We'll see about that.

-[ Laughs ] -We'll see about that.

After it was brought here to Perranporth in the early 1920s, belly boarding caught on in a major way and, in the years before the Second World War, this new fad gained more and more enthusiasts across the generations and right along the South Coast of England and Wales, but after 100 years, Perranporth remains Britain's spiritual home of riding waves while flat on your tummy.

So, it's no wonder that today's fans flock to this beach for the World Belly Boarding Championships, an event full of the sense of fun and adventure which inspired those pioneers on their coffin lids a century ago.

You know, you're continuing this legacy.

-Well, I just love riding waves on anything and, actually, I still surf my grandpa's board.

-Your grandpa was out there?

-Yeah, and he taught me and my brother to belly board.

And that's what belly boarding's all about.

It's just so simple and it's really fun and accessible and they've just sort of introduced a new 100th anniversary belly board, different shape.

So, slightly wider, slightly squatter.

-Are they easy?

-Yes.

-Oh, Ellie, I mean, I'm completely petrified, but here's the thing -- I've got this habit of just trying things for the first time on TV.

-You will not regret it.

You're going to have such a great time.

-And I've got the best teacher, so.

-Well.

-Board, first?

-Board, first.

-Shall we go and do it?

-Yeah, let's go.

-Come on.

Look at this belly board gallery.

Which is the oldest?

-The original coffin lid, with the two slats with the cross braces on the underside.

-Right, so which one am I going to give a ride or try and ride?

-Well, I think I'll let you use my grandpa's.

Stuart Taylor.

-What an honor!

-Yeah.

-Shall we?

-And we'll give you that one.

-Come on, then.

-And let's go get togged up.

-Before I add to 100 years of belly boarding tradition on this beach, I could do with a lesson.

-You want to have your hands on the front, like this, and then you just want to kind of go for it, like that, yeah?

-I mean... -What can go wrong?

-What could possibly go wrong?

-You'll be fine.

-It looks really choppy out there, though.

-It is choppy, but it's got some good energy in it.

-Well, let's try this.

-Let's get the crew together.

-3, 2... -Go, go!

-Go!

Aaaah!

[ Surf music plays ] ♪ Aaaaah!

-Aaaah!

-That was totally awesome!

Whoo!

First wave!

-First wave!

-First wave!

-First wave!

Waaah!

No wonder humans have been doing this for centuries.

It is so much fun!

And to do it with Ellie, double world champion, on her grandfather Stuart's board, I mean, this is living history, isn't it?

Also, what joy!

I'm never leaving.

[ Upbeat tune plays ] Today, on beaches like this one, visitors can enjoy a tradition successfully imported from overseas.

But Cornwall's also proud of its homegrown heritage and, in particular, a prize catch from the ocean that, historically, has been in high demand.

♪ I'm in Padstow, on Cornwall's North Coast.

Sitting on the estuary of the River Camel, Padstow faces out to the Atlantic Ocean, and the world.

Its history as a fishing port stretches back to the Middle Ages.

I'm here to find out how a long-term plan is keeping Padstow's great fishing heritage alive.

And this is what it's all about -- Cornish lobster, which has traditionally been exported to the continent, but we can't get enough of it, either.

Can see why.

Mmm!

The most recent annual figures put Cornwall's lobster catch at 278 tons, with a value to fishermen of almost £4 million.

So, this historic industry remains a serious business, but in the 21st century, it needs help.

Key support comes from The National Lobster Hatchery here in Padstow.

The hatchery collaborates with the fishing industry to maintain lobster stocks and, to follow that partnership through, I'm starting at sea, joining local skipper Buck Beckett and his son Freddie as they put out into the Atlantic.

How is it, earning a living as a lobster fisherman in Cornwall?

How's business?

-It can be tough.

We've been lucky, the last couple of years, the lobster prices.

-What, they've gone up?

-They've gone up.

-Mm.

-And the demand's been sky high.

-Is it for you, Freddie?

Are you going to take over?

-I hope so, yeah, because it's the only thing I really know.

So, I just want to take it over as soon as I'm out of school.

-Shall we go and catch some?

-Yes.

-What are we going to do today, will you tell me?

-We'll just pull up.

We've got a string of pots here that's been soaking for about four days, so, we'll see what we've got in there.

-Come on, then, let's give it a go.

-Alright, let's do it.

-Let's go get some lobster.

Lobster fishermen have been catching lobsters in pots like these for over 200 years and I'm hoping Buck's had some luck today.

Here we go.

Have we got anything?

We've got a crab.

-Yes, we got lobster.

-We got a lobster!

Look at that.

Whoo!

Trying to escape.

And here's where the partnership with the Lobster Hatchery comes into action.

The idea is that the hatchery gives the eggs a better chance of becoming adults, adults which will be returned to these waters for future generations of fishermen, like Freddie, to catch.

-This one's in season, full of eggs... -Mm-hmm.

-...what we call berries.

Now, there is a total, in the UK, ban on landing these while they're carrying their eggs.

-So, you can't keep this?

-We can.

We supply the lobster hatchery.

-Right.

-And we've basically got permission to keep them, tag them, and then these go up to Padstow, where they're kept in tanks, all hatched, babies brought on to a sort of better survival size.

And then, once she's released all of her eggs, the hatchery give them back to us and we can then legally sell them because they've got no eggs on them.

-So, these are for me to take to the hatchery.

Alright.

-Yes.

Yeah.

-Are they going to bite me?

-No, they won't now, not unless one of them bands comes off.

-Alright, well, I'll keep my fingers -- -You're safe as houses.

-Maybe I'll just keep the bucket.

On to the next bit of the process.

So that you can catch some of these in the future.

-Yeah.

Yeah.

Fingers crossed.

-Alright.

I'll just take that, then, shall I?

-You carry on.

-See you later.

[ Laughter ] Back in Padstow, with an expectant lobster safely in my bucket and ready for the next stage of the plan.

The National Lobster Hatchery, in response to a fall in numbers, has been growing the local lobster population since the year 2000.

Annually, the hatchery puts up to 50,000 baby lobsters, known as juveniles, back into the sea.

To discover more about this groundbreaking work, I'm meeting hatchery supervisor Ben Marshall.

Hi, Ben.

-Hi, Anita.

How are you?

-I'm good.

I brought my bucket.

-Fantastic.

-I have a gift in there.

-Fabulous.

Thank you very much.

Yeah, lovely.

So, you can see there, the eggs are getting ready to hatch, now.

-How do you know?

-When they start to really ramp up to that end of development stage, they start to go red and then we know they're ready to hatch.

But you might be able to see the odd little black spot in these eggs, which is their little eyes staring at us.

-No!

-Yeah.

-That's incredible!

-Yeah.

-A female lobster, like this, known as a hen, can carry up to 20,000 eggs and will be moved to the suitably named tank until those eggs hatch.

The lobster, tagged on its claws by skipper Buck Beckett, will be returned to him for sale.

As for the eggs, when they hatch, they're just plankton, which, in the sea, would drift with the tide... ...but at the hatchery, they're collected and monitored and, when the lobster larvae form, these are moved to honeycombed containers called aqua hives.

So, what stage of the process are we at here?

-So, what we're doing now is transferring the final stage of the larvae into these trays.

We have to separate them at this point in their life because they're super aggressive and they will start to eat each other, so we -- -Really?

-Yeah.

-They're not very helpful for their own species, then, are they?

-Not really, not really.

I mean, in the wild, they would grab any particle... -Ooh!

-...that goes past.

You got one?

-I got one.

Hang on, I got two.

-And then pop them in these cells.

There you go.

There you go.

Brilliant.

-Alright!

And how old are these?

-These ones are now about two weeks old.

So, naturally, anything, from a jellyfish to a basking shark, will be eating these.

Statistically speaking, 1 in 20,000 of these larvae will become a lobster in the wild.

-Hang on.

Let's just think about that.

1 in 20,000?

-Yeah.

-So the odds aren't great, then.

-Not great.

-However, the work at the hatchery improves those odds massively, so, 1 in 20 of the larvae in this tray could become an adult lobster.

-So, we're just helping them through that stage at the beginning, where they move down to the seabed and help recruit to the local lobster population.

-So, in a couple of weeks, these will be released.

-Yeah.

-And then how long before it's -- What is a full lobster, anyway?

-Well, full grown -- Minimum landing size is the smallest lobster you're allowed to commercially land and, for the ones that we release to get to that size is about seven years.

-So that's proper intensive.

You know, it's a long time.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's a very long-sighted project, which is super important and it's why I love this project, because it's a conservation project, but it's so well-engaged... -Yeah.

-...with the fishing industry.

-After a few months of nurturing, the larvae reach a size where the hatchery returns them to the ocean -- the final stage of the plan to support lobster numbers.

And here, on the North Cornwall Coast, I'm joining research manager Dr. Carly Daniels as she looks for the perfect spot to place 138 baby lobsters back in the Atlantic.

So, this is the place.

-Yep.

We just give them a couple of minutes floating in the water before we let them off into the wild.

-What would happen to lobsters, if you weren't doing this?

-I mean, that's really difficult to tell, but we were brought in, in the first place, because there was declining stocks seen around Cornwall in the late '80s and early '90s.

And, since then, we've, obviously, released 280,000 lobsters into the world.

The stocks are sustainable.

-And so this is about sustaining, say, the fisheries, the local economy, and making sure the next generation have something to fish.

-Yes, definitely.

-And we have lobster to enjoy.

-Yeah.

Exactly.

-Alright, let's not talk about eating them too much.

They might get a bit nervous.

-[ Laughs ] -Shall we do it, Carly?

-Let's, let's.

-Shall we release these little baby lobsters?

-Let you put that in, if you want.

-Shall we just put it in?

-Put it in the water.

-Do they come up?

-It's positively buoyant, so, we'll just -- -Here we go.

-Literally stick it on the surface of the water and then we'll let it acclimatize for a few minutes.

-Oh, I see.

-Well, the lobsters acclimatize, not the tray.

-Where are they?

You can't see them.

-You can't see them yet, but you will be able to.

We'll just leave them in there.

-We don't want that to go too far away.

And lift.

There they are!

-Ahhh!

-Now, go, be free!

-This seaweed's kind of perfect, really.

-Yeah, go and hide.

-Imagine -- they just kind of hide in there.

-It's really important, the work that the hatchery are doing, not just so that the lobsters can remain in these waters.

It's so that the next generation -- Freddie, Buck's son -- can also have a livelihood and that fishing can remain in Cornwall for years to come.

Today these waters support Cornwall's fishing industry, but not much more than 200 years ago, this coastline was home to a very different line of international business, one that made an impact right across Britain -- smuggling.

I'm in Polperro, a small, beautiful port located here, on Cornwall's South Coast.

Today visitors come here for tourism, to take in its winding streets, its secluded harbor, and deep coves.

A little more than 200 years ago, those same features served a very different purpose.

The extensive and isolated Cornish coastline meant it was the perfect place to bring contraband ashore to isolated villages.

And this picture perfect harbor of Polperro was once the center of an international smuggling operation.

So, how did this little corner of Cornwall become the hub of a network which saw everything from French brandy to China tea smuggled into England?

I'm meeting a historian with an in-depth knowledge of life in 18th-century Britain -- Professor Kate Williams.

What was happening in Britain that puts Cornwall into this smuggling zone?

Where were we?

-Really, this is the golden age of smuggling, from the mid-18th century through to the middle of the 19th century.

Everyone wants silks, laces, wine, brandy, tea, and the government, who is fighting against America, fighting against France, the government thinks, "Ah, this is a good way of getting money," so, they put a good tax on tea, on lace, on silk, and these taxes are massive.

-Mm.

-The tax on tea is 129% and that's a massive tax.

And so what happens is grows this incredible contraband industry.

[ Indistinct conversations ] -Parliament was alarmed by the impact of smuggling on government revenues and, in the 1740s, launched official inquiries into the scale of illegal trade.

One witness said tea weighing 3 million pounds was being smuggled into Britain annually.

Another claimed just one gang was illegally landing 10,000 gallons of brandy on England's South Coast every week.

And the reason why smuggling succeeds is because there were so many people invested in it and Polperro is really the ultimate smuggling place.

-Why's that?

-Well, this is because it's got these coves, so you can hide the stuff in the coves, and it's perfectly situated on the coast -- not far to France, not far to Guernsey.

Small community.

So, Polperro is really this incredibly effective place.

-You can see it, can't you?

You can imagine them coming in -- in the dead of night, obviously.

So, what would've happened?

Because this was a small fishing port, right?

It's a little fishing village, so, they knew the waters really well.

-Yes.

These are Cornish men born and bred.

They know the area.

-Yes!

-They outpace the king's men.

And on land, you know, there are so many people involved that the king's men really are bamboozled at every turn.

You know, they even embed a customs officer here, Thomas Pinsent, and even he can't find out what's going on.

-Why was Thomas Pinsent not able to get a handle of it, then?

You've got the Cornish fishermen who are able to outwit them on the water.

-Outwit.

-But what about here, what about on land?

-Well, the simple fact is, by this point, everyone in Polperro is either involved or they agree with the trade or they've been told to keep silent because this is a place in which smuggling is the big business and people see a huge benefit for them and the community.

-And to think that it all came through this harbor and up through these streets.

Smuggling was taking off here in Polperro in the 1700s, but to begin with, at least, this wasn't highly organized crime.

And then, in the mid-18th century, one man strode into town.

Not only did he organize the smuggling racket, he changed the fortunes of Polperro.

His name?

Zephaniah Job.

Perhaps understandably, given his shady activities, no pictures of Zephaniah Job exist, but this mysterious character's role in making Polperro the contraband capital of Cornwall fascinates someone who has smugglers in his own family tree -- writer Jeremy Rowett Johns.

So, Jeremy, you're the descendant of smugglers.

-I am, indeed.

The most notable one was William Johns, who was one of the more notorious smugglers back in the latter half of the 18th century.

-And is the money still in the family, Jeremy?

-Sadly, no.

It long evaporated.

[ Laughter ] No.

No sign anymore.

-And so what was was life like here, then?

Was everybody wealthy?

Was everyone having a good old time?

How did they keep it away from the authorities?

-Well, what changed the trade was the arrival of a young man called Zephaniah Job.

And so when he came, in order to make a living, he started a school for the sons of the fishermen.

-Zephaniah Job, with this great name and his education.

-Yes.

But he used it to mastermind the contraband trade.

And what's interesting here are the sort of sums that he set his pupils because you'll see there are references to "What shall 3 gallons of rum cost at" whatever.

And they're all commodities of gin and... -Tea.

-...tobacco and tea, that their fathers were smuggling.

As a result, tens of thousands of pounds of contraband goods were shipped through Polperro, on a scale unknown anywhere else.

-So, how did he manage to do it, then?

How did he win their trust?

What was his role in all of it?

-Well, one of the problems with smuggling was making sure that the smugglers paid the people who supplied them with the goods and he made sure that the Guernsey merchants were paid and that level of trust meant that the trade was then able to flourish.

-So, he was sort of making sure that it was done -- if you can do it in a legit way -- that the smuggling was done in a legit way, so that everyone was getting their cut.

-Absolutely.

-So, how successful did Zephaniah Job become?

-I mean, ultimately, he became known as the Smugglers' Banker.

He even had his own banknotes printed.

-What?!

-There's an example of one here.

Very distinctive signature of his.

-Beautiful.

-By the time he died, in 1822, he owned most of Polperro and he'd even been able to pay for the rebuilding of the harbor here in 1817, after it had been destroyed in a storm.

But the other role that Zephaniah Job had was, when the smugglers were caught, occasionally, he was able to make sure that bribes were paid and lawyers were employed to get them off.

-Why would no courts convict a Cornish smuggler?

-Because, in Cornwall, smuggling wasn't regarded as a crime.

I mean, we have Sir Harry Trelawny, who was a prominent Cornish baronet, buying brandy from Zephaniah Job.

-So, everyone was on the take?

-Everybody was enjoying a slice of the action, if you like.

-For a view of the coastline that sailors bringing in contraband would've recognized, Kate Williams and I are heading out to sea with Polperro harbormaster Oliver Puckey.

Right, have you got space?

-We have.

Welcome onboard.

-We'd like to go and do some smuggling, please.

Oliver is Polperro born and bred and knows a smuggler's cove when he sees one.

That one there, when we have a revenue man based at Plymouth and Falmouth, he didn't have a clue where the caves were or whatever.

Unless you're right on top of it, you'd never know it was there.

You can't see it from out at sea.

You can't see it from the land.

It's well-hidden.

But in a small rowing boat, you can get right in there... -Mm!

-...top of the tide.

Two or three guys just hand it all over, store it in there, and then take it away at your leisure.

-It's designed for smuggling, isn't it?

-They hide it in there and every little parcel they've got on their boat, it's really the equivalent of thousands of pounds.

[ Suspenseful music plays ] -The rewards of smuggling on the Polperro coast were huge, but when convicted, smugglers could face the death penalty.

The risks were enormous, too.

-[ Shouting ] -So it proved one night in December 1798, when revenue officers spotted a smuggling ship called the Lottery in these waters.

-So, the king's men, the government see it and they come in their boats and there's different accounts about who starts firing first.

Is it the smugglers?

Is it the government?

But one of the king's men gets killed and then the government really put out all the stops, trying to find out who did it.

And one of the men, one of the smugglers, tells on another one of the crew -- "I heard Thomas Potter say he did it," and Thomas Potter was then hanged in 1801.

All the rest of the ship were given hard labor.

And, for the authorities, this is a real chink in the smugglers' armor.

Someone is going to tell, and they really think this is the beginning of actual betrayals, of bribes, of paying spies to really tell them what's really going on.

-The world beyond Polperro and its smugglers was changing because the government was lifting the burden of excise duties.

-In the early 19th century, things begin to change.

With the end of the wars with France, there becomes much more a case of free trade, so, by 1860, everything can come in without tariffs, without customs taxes, and therefore, there's no more demand for smuggling anymore.

But really, the smuggler, the Cornish figure of the smuggler -- independent, self-starting, brave, courageous, the little guy battling against the giant government -- that independent spirit lives on.

-Is she right?

Does it live on, Olly?

Does it live on in your veins?

-Quietly, it lives on, but we try and keep it under wraps at the moment.

[ Laughter ] -Course.

A smuggler never tells.

Oh, I've loved it.

And, you know, I'll never view this coastline in the same way again.

[ Romantic tune plays ] I have loved discovering the hidden history of this Cornish coastline -- that, through trade, emigration and communication, this bit of Britain has connected to the globe!

I've been in the ocean and experienced the joy of belly boarding.

I've loved hearing the stories of those forgotten women of St Just.

I've been out to sea to witness tradition and innovation working together to preserve Cornwall's precious natural resources for future generations.

And I've enjoyed learning about the ties which bind Cornwall to the world, in so many ways and through so many lives.

But the thing that will stay with me forever is the sheer beauty of these Cornish beaches -- some of the best in the world, I think you can agree.

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