Wild France with Ray Mears (2016): Season 1, Episode 6 - Brittany - full transcript

[accordion music]

[Ray Mears] France... for many of us,
we picture city sights,

bustling streets, and café culture.

But if you head deeper into the country,

there's another side
that's wild and untamed.

I really love France.

It's a naturalist's dream.

And the reason for that

is all the different habitats
that you find here.

In this series,
I'm going to explore them

in search of the many hidden wonders



that there are to be found
in Wild France.

I'll be traveling to some
of the most spectacular regions of France,

from the snow-capped mountains

to the rolling plains.

From deep forest

to rugged coastline.

Hello!

[laughs]

I'll be exploring
the unique plants and wildlife

that thrive in this unspoilt wilderness,

and the secrets that are hidden
deep within it...

That's amazing.

On my adventure through Wild France.

[Ray] This is the spectacular coastline
of Brittany.



Brittany forms
the northwest peninsula of France,

bordered by the English Channel
and the Atlantic Ocean.

I'll be starting my journey
on the most westerly point,

exploring the many different habitats
on offer, from the top of the cliffs

to the rocky beaches
and out into the vast sea,

searching for the huge array of wildlife
that makes this rugged landscape its home.

And the best way to see it
is from the water.

It's a fascinating place.

You get the warm currents
of the Gulf Stream

mixing here with the cold currents
from the English Channel.

That makes for several things.

Treacherous water...
This area is littered with shipwrecks...

But it's also really good for wildlife.

And that's what I'm hoping to see today.

It's really quite exciting.

This is the Iroise Marine Park,

France's first-ever nature reserve
in the sea.

Not only rich in wildlife,

this sea is one of the most dangerous
in the whole of Europe.

Because of its location,
extremely strong currents collide

and create huge waves
and vicious whirlpools.

More than one third of all lighthouses
in France are located here

and have been warning sailors
of the dangers since the 18th century.

See that lighthouse there?

That marks a place called
the black rocks, Pierres Noires.

It's an ominous name for good reason.

In this part of the world, lighthouse
keepers classify their lighthouses

as either paradise, purgatory, or hell.

Guess which this is?

These rocks are so treacherous
and that lighthouse so isolated

that this place has an awesome reputation.

In fact, just last year,
it claimed yet another ship.

Let's get out of here, shall we? OK.

Despite the perils of the sea,

many marine mammals thrive
in the warm currents

that are rich in food and nutrients.

And it's not long
before we pass a colony of seals.

Some gray seals here.

They're the seals that have
the dog-like face.

And this, though, is really
the southern edge of their range.

They are much more common
in colder waters,

which we find further north from here.

You know, most of the mammals
that we see on land,

we have a very good understanding
for all the aspects of their life,

but there's still so much to be
uncovered about marine mammals.

I imagine they've spent the morning
fishing and hunting there in the water,

and they've pulled out now
to have a little nap.

[laughs]

Nice to see.

The seals are attracted here
by the large shoals of fish

found in these warm waters.

And they're not the only ones.

I'm hoping to see the most magical
of marine mammals... the dolphin.

I've been told there is a family
of them living here,

but their movements
are very unpredictable.

So we head even further out

into the ocean
looking for any sign of them.

Hello!

[laughs]

After a few hours on the water,

we're lucky enough
to find the whole dolphin pod.

Look at this. Wonderful.

Hey!

Its great. One minute, they're here,
the next minute, they're there,

they're there, they're here.

[laughs]

There are few things in nature

that beat being at the front
of a small boat with bottlenose dolphins.

It's just wonderful!

You can sense the intelligence
in the animal, I think.

They come to, uh... to play.

You just wish at moments like this
that you could talk to them,

because it's amazing, this closeness,

and, uh, it's just so exciting.

They don't have to come
and spend any time with us,

but they choose to.

[laughing]

Isn't that fantastic?

Dolphins are sociable animals and use
whistles to communicate with each other.

Biologists say that they can recognize

the individual voices
of different dolphins.

Each have a different voice
just like human beings.

They're very clever animals.

Bottlenose dolphins hunt for food using
a clever technique called echolocation.

Hello. Come on.

They make clicking noises
which travel through the water

until they hit an object.

They then use the returning echoes

to reveal the size
and location of their prey.

Sometimes they come if you whistle
or you clap your hands.

Here.

Hello.

Hello!

Look at that. Isn't that magical?

[laughing]

[clapping]

They're so playful.

Ha!

[laughing]

Bottlenose dolphins have been clocked
doing thirty knots.

They can only do it for short distances,
but that's impressive.

This is the equivalent
of fifty-five kilometers an hour.

There isn't a car made on the planet
that impresses me more than a dolphin.

You only have to see them in the water,

the speed and power
that they can move at.

It's incredible.
They're wonderful.

I mean, that really is
the best seat in the house.

What a treat to see so much wildlife
in the middle of the sea.

Brittany's coastline
is a popular holiday destination,

but it's not just people who flock
here for the warmth and good food.

Hundreds of islands off the coast
provide the perfect haven

for a variety of seabirds
on their annual migration.

Quemenes is a pebbled island
just 400 meters wide,

and I'm on the trail
of some true masters of disguise.

One of the really neat things
about this part of Brittany

is that there are lots of islands
with hardly any occupation at all.

And that makes them
natural nature reserves.

And a shingle beach like this
is a perfect nesting ground

for all sorts of... of seabirds.

There are thousands of birds
on this tiny island,

all setting up camp
for the breeding season.

Now, it's very important this time
of year when they have their young

not to cause them any disturbance,

and this literally is the limit
of where I can go,

and I'm just going to sit here quietly
and take a look and see what's going on.

One of the things, of course, about
the chicks of many of these birds here

is that they'll blend perfectly
with the stones,

so it takes a little while
to spot them and get your eye in.

[birds calling]

Although not ideal for a bird-watcher,
it's a good thing the chicks are hidden,

because their predators, the seagull,
are circling in the skies above.

Just over here is
a beautiful ringed plover.

And there are
a few others throughout.

Their camouflage is so good.

They blend in absolutely wonderfully.

But for me, the most exciting thing
is watching these little terns.

And there are common terns here.

I like terns.

They're very beautiful,
very beautiful birds.

It's like they were designed by an artist.

They are so pretty.

It's... It's compact,

it's beautiful, streamlined,

and it has this absolutely lemon...
Vivid lemon yellow bill

that looks like it's just gone up
to a pot of ink

and just tapped the very tip into it.

It's a dark black tip.

That's a lovely sight.

The richness of the sea
provides the terns

with a constant supply of food,

from small fish and sand eels
to crabs and squid.

Adult birds returning with sand eels,

their bills absolutely full of them.

As is always the case
in situations like this,

the longer you watch,
the more you see.

And the chicks
are really well-camouflaged.

[chirping]

As I'm lying here,

I'm starting to recognize more chicks
from rocks across that landscape.

It's wonderful.

There's never a boring moment
in a tern colony.

The chicks will start to hunt
for themselves in just one month,

and then, as the summer ends,
most of this colony

will fly thousands of kilometers south
for the winter.

The weather here is changeable,

and as we head inland,

the skies darken and an odd-looking
vision appears on the horizon.

These look like fishing vessels,
but they're actually collecting seaweed.

Well, I think it this has to be
one of the strangest things

I've ever come across offshore.

It really is a hidden part of France,
if you like.

These men are harvesting seaweed.

They're using this device called
a Scoubidou

that they lower down
into the kelp beds here.

They spin it round and then pull it up
and then un-spin it.

Beneath these waters lies the largest
seaweed field in the whole of Europe.

Seaweed is not a plant,
but a type of algae,

that loves to live in turbulent waters

because it feeds
off of the ever-changing nutrients.

Eighty percent of France's seaweed
is harvested here.

It's got a lot of uses.

It's used in all sorts of things,
fertilizer.

It's surprising to think that seaweed is
used in many of our everyday products.

It's even used in toothpaste
and to thicken milkshakes.

It's a weird thing to see,
all these strange little vessels,

but, actually, people
have been harvesting seaweed here

since Neolithic times.

It's just a continuum.

In fact, Napoleon set up factories
here to produce iodine from seaweed.

It would take 25 tons of seaweed
to produce 15 kilograms of iodine.

Doesn't seem very much,
but actually 15 kilograms of iodine

goes a long way to solve
the sores and injuries of your army

when you're fighting overseas.

But seaweed plays an even more vital role
than medicine.

It actually produces
most of the oxygen we breathe,

more than trees and plants.

Isn't that fantastic?

It's an incredibly productive
bit of sea, this.

As the tide starts to turn, it's time
for me to continue my journey on foot.

The tides here are extremely strong.

And it's in the bays and coves
where this is most apparent.

Brittany has
the highest tidal range in Europe,

and today is a full moon,
which means we've got spring tides.

The tide is dropping,
and it will go out to its fullest extent.

This is something to be wary of.

The sea can move
sixteen meters in just half a day.

But these tides also bring benefits.

They carry vast amounts of shellfish
and seaweed onto the beach every day.

As you'd expect, being France,

there's a keen interest
in the shellfish and other foods

that can be gathered from the shoreline.

Local forager Joel Le Guirriec
and his family

have been combing
these beaches for many years,

passing the secrets of the sea
from one generation to the next.

So people have always historically
collected shellfish here?

[Joel] Yes. My parents was farmers,
and they never take holidays.

Only work, work, and at each tide,

they come to pick up shellfish.

[Ray]
And is that still the case today?

- Is it still popular for people to come?
- Yes, more and more.

If there is 100 people
on a beach like that,

we only hear the noise of, uh...

- People collecting shellfish?
- Yes. Yes, yes.

[Ray] Marine plants and animals prefer
different sections of the beach,

depending on the tide level.

Some need to be constantly covered
with water,

such as mussels and seaweed,
so inhabit the lower parts of the shore.

Crabs prefer the middle,

whereas oysters can survive
up to a week out of the water.

[Joel] It's a good one.

- There we go.
- An oyster?

- Yep.
- Yes.

[Ray] It shows
how much nutrients there are here

that you find them
this high up on the beach.

So how do you manage
the sustainability of the shellfish,

because it's easy for people
who don't understand to pick too much.

It's not possible
to continue like that,

because some shellfish
are going to disappear,

so now only one kilo per people
and per day,

three kilos for oyster.

Now, for example, scallops is
forbidden because there are not enough.

[Ray] What a shame.
It's one of my favorites.

- [laughing]
- Of course

[Ray] People here have lived
off the fruits of the sea

for thousands of years,

and, hopefully, will continue to do so,
keeping in balance with nature.

This region's coastline stretches
for over 1,000 kilometers,

and I've saved one of my favorite parts
until last... the cliffs.

These cliffs have been shaped
by the constant battering of the sea.

At seventy meters above sea level,
this landscape is at its most impressive.

I can really see why Brittany
is so popular with tourists.

It's a very special place.

There's a lovely atmosphere here,
the je ne sais quoi.

It's uncluttered.
There's a gentle pace of life,

and for the naturalist
who's prepared to work for it,

there are some really
wonderful things to be discovered here.

I've been told that the fastest bird
in the sky inhabits these cliffs,

so I set up my scope to try
to catch sight of the peregrine falcon.

Wow, that bird's beautiful.

To be able to look down like this
onto a peregrine is amazing,

and they're basking there in the sunlight.

I've got the most amazing view.

You can see the very distinct
chrome yellow around the eyes and bill,

and, of course, the feet.

Lovely. The barred chest.

What a wonderful view,

and being a young bird as well,
it's just in such lovely condition.

Wonderful.

The young are feeding there.

They're doing very well,
the chicks, by the looks of it.

One of the first things you notice
in France in general

is how much habitat
there is here for peregrines.

There is a lot of steep ground
with ledges, good nesting sites.

But also an abundance of prey.

The peregrine falcons eats
a wide range of animals,

from wild pigeons to grey herons,

and even small mammals and lizards.

This varied diet ensures that the birds
can exist alongside other populations

without competition for food.

If you look carefully
across this rocky outcrop,

you can also see the nest sites
there of fulmars and gulls with chicks,

and, uh, it's rather like a high-rise
tenement with lots of occupants,

one of whom is going to prey potentially
on some of the other residents.

I don't know what the residents
association will have to say about it,

but it's all part
of the natural order of things,

and what we know today, of course,

is that when you have
an ecosystem that's healthy,

you have the top predators.

And if you lose your top predators,

it's a sign of something wrong
in that ecosystem in general.

I could sit and watch that bird
all evening.

It's just the most amazing light.

But with the light fading fast,
I move further around the peninsula

to catch the sun
as it sets beneath the sea.

Well, it's an idyllic place to sit
as the sun goes down.

Behind me there, that's Pointe du Raz,

which is
the most westerly point in France.

The last place to see the sun each day.

And that island out there,
that's lie de Sein,

and that has rather a macabre history.

May look idyllic now,
but back in the past,

there was a time when France deported
many of their prisoners to that island,

and they were desperate men, starving.

The way they made their living
was luring unwary mariners to their doom

by putting up lights and causing them
to wreck on the rocks there,

then they'd rob them.

And any of the sailors
who made it ashore alive,

well, they cut their throats.

And legend has it that when their bodies
were thrown into the ocean,

they'd wash in here to Trespassers' Bay.

The word to trespass, or trépasser
in French, means death,

so Bay of the Dead.

It's true that there were prisoners
on the island and that they wrecked ships,

but it's not necessarily true
that the bodies washed in here,

but it's a great legend.

It's one of those places, Brittany.

A place where the sea meets the land
and fact meets fiction.

It's wonderful.

There's nowhere better in France
to watch the sun go down.

[music playing]