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This programme was designed to highlight the gateway to France, an area only usually seen as you either push on down towards the south, as a supermarket for day trippers, or a beach by the occasional Channel Swimmer! The fact is most Brit's don't tend to stop here for any longer than it takes to fill a petrol tank and that's a shame because it's packed with history.
Take the Channel alone. In 55 BC Julius Caesar and some of his fellow Romans crossed from Boulogne to invade England, and after a brief break they stayed for around 400 years. The Vikings liked nothing more than hoping across from France to England and back again whilst at the same time terrorizing the sea. In 1066 William The Conqueror and a few of his boys changed the shape of the world by crossing the Channel and even Henry VIII was quite partial to a visit to France.
In the 17th century the water was alive with Algerian pirates and of course in the 20th century it witnessed the bravery of men in their little boats during the evacuation of Dunkerque and the D-Day landings. Today the strait is one of the busiest maritime routes in the world.
We took the Stena Linx across the 21 mile wide stretch of water and not only was it totally smooth it only took 45 minutes from dock to dock! However the slightly more energetic are forever trying to swim across. Here are just a couple of the daft swimming facts. Captain Matthew Webb was the first in 1875. Alison Streeter is the 'Queen of the Channel' she's swum it 34 times. The youngest was 11 year old Thomas Gregory. Lots of people with one arm, no legs! have completed it. People from 42 different countries have done it and the biggest dangers are jellyfish, tiredness and pollution.
The shortest point is from Dover to Cap Gris-Nez which is where we started our French journey. Then on to Bleriot Plage which is a stretch of beach just outside Calais. It was from here, on the 25th of July 1909, Louis Bleriot took off in his monoplane to become the first man to cross the Channel in a powered aircraft. Not a bad little publicity stunt really because during WW1 Bleriot's factory made over 10,000 planes for the French and allied forces.
Next Tour De Guet, the watch tower. Situated in the main square Place D'Armes, it is the only building in the quarter to have survived the wartime bombardment. It was a 13th century watchtower, later used as a signalling post and now a home for pigeons.
Nearby is the beautiful town hall outside of which is a famous sculpture by Rodin, "The Burghers of Calais". It is a tribute to six local dignitaries who offered their lives to Edward III of England after an eight month siege of the city, if he would spare the other starving townsfolk. Edward was persuaded by his Flemish Queen Philippa to spare the six as well. A swift journey down the motorway and we get to Boulogne Sur Mer. Boulogne was originally the Roman port of Gesoriacum later called Bononia. It is from here that Julius Caesar set off to show us how to build roads. In 1477 the city passed to the French crown. Napoleon waited with his 'Grande Armee' while 2000 flat bottomed boats were being built so that he could invade England. Nelson put an end to that little idea.
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