then the island slowly comes into view. henry will safely navigate the ship into her own harbor with the help of the helmsmen. the island rises abruptly like a huge black castle from the ocean that sal charles darwin once described. cliffs everywhere it's only safe to land in a few spots. i was thinking when napoleon got here. must have felt well and truly exiled because it's taken us quite a while to get here it was a bit slower a nice day. you just can't. really comprehend.

sounds the ships arrival it's one of the last henry will perform on board. and new job awaits on the island the royal mail ship may not be making the journey much longer. after seventeen years i'm told she's going ashore good to. me and is trading the wide open sea for the solitude of the island. jaynestown the capital and a new pool. much

here is reminiscent of the former colonial power and not just the bobbies strolling the streets. the same telenor an isolated village in the middle of the atlantic is home to just four thousand five hundred people most are descendants of seafarers castaways and slaves from all over the world. at some point they were stranded on this rugged terrain in the middle of nowhere washed up by the weights of fate. originally the island was nothing but bleak volcanic rock like the people all of flora and fauna were imported from elsewhere brought by the by wind or by waves.

some plants and animals cannot be found anywhere else and demi tree ferns the remote mountains of sand helena are the only place this space is survives but the past has caught up with them for much of the twentieth century flax was grown on plantations here the flax industry was the engine of the island's economy the industry eventually fell into decline but the plants continued to spread over the land. ranges like denis leary oh and joshua trying to keep the flax and other plants brought by people from foreign lands in check st helena is sometimes called the galapagos of the south atlantic but without the rangers efforts many of the endemic flora and fauna would be threatened by extinction we are really europe. well i think the string history special

because it just goes to show you that five years on from discovery it's still access you know it has been destroyed so it's very important to keep going you know to keep cleaning going. to the original plans are worth fighting for but it's a tough battle perhaps even. it's much the same down in the harbor every three weeks the r.m.s. st helena brings fresh supplies to the island's inhabitants despite strict controls foreign plants and animals still manage to make it to sure. along with the usual goods today the ship has brought very special cargo crates from paris that contain historic treasure.

furniture used by napoleon during the years he spent in exile on the island after being restored in paris they'll now be back on display on st helena. you get it right here lance good news for basil he's a tour guide on st helena napoleons home might help to attract more tourists this time only two visitors have travelled with the ship. for a lot of people i think. i've been doing a long time you find is mostly elderly people who come again who can afford the time. basil george won't earn much today but that means he'll have more time for something else that's also important on a remote island. shopping the. stores are restocking nash elves with the fresh produce brought by the cargo

ship. it won't last forever so it's wise to move in quickly like basil george. finding bottled and canned goods is never a problem but fresh fruit is another story. the next morning is grey and of a cost it almost resembles rural england only headers even move wind and damp one form or kip into this stately home complained of it frequently.

longwood house which served as napoleon's home isn't by the french government the french m. pro was sent here by the british in one thousand fifteen and it's why he stayed until his death six years later his nights are said to have been sleepless restlessly he wandered from one bed to another he had three of them and no boredom seemed to have been a problem for him as well as the damp in the house. the restored furniture is being read and stored in the house including napoleon's billiard table that's reason enough for tour guide basil george to stop by he finds napoleon's former prison most impressive. i think it was just to have

a campaign to try and get him released i think to see how badly he was being treated. and i think the current campaign. george and his son kevin know that not all prisoners on the island had it says good they are descendants of a man who was himself banished to st helena along with countless others as a prisoner during the boer war that's all georges grandfather lived in a camp here on this windy plateau six thousand men were sent by the british to the end camp and. like most of the island's inhabitants basil and kevin's family is a mix of many cultures their ancestors came from moved parts of europe basil's great grandfather from china. among the few traces left at the south african

borders is this cemetery full of victims of a typhoid epidemic basle daughters grandfather was one of five prisoners who chose to stay on the island after being released they'd come to appreciate life on the remote island. it's near henry's first day on her new job as a security agent she will ensure. that everyone in the hub sticks to the rules and regulations she won't be saying goodbye to the sea completely but now most of her days will be spent here on a speck of land in the middle of nowhere. but myself i won't be able to just go and do some retail therapy now as we go off but i think

the islands and everything that goes with it has other bombs just that you will not find anywhere else in the well we can enjoy the sea as you know i'm passionate about the sea so now i can spend my.