Coast (2005)
The nation's love affair with the coast will be reawakened for this entertaining and ambitious exploration of the entire UK coastline. Every part of the 9,000-mile coast is covered to explore how we've shaped it - and how it shapes us. Hosted by a team of history and geography experts who investigate everything from life on a nuclear submarine; rebuilding the Titanic using computer images; the story behind the first Butlins holiday camp; and the birth of the Severn Bore. Discover the curious, sometimes dysfunctional, relationship between the British and the seas.
-
Episode 1 - Dover To Isle of Wight
Release Date: 2006-10-26The beautiful cliffs of Dover are a breathtaking sight. On this stretch of the coastline chalk has not only defined and shaped the landscape but has also been the starting point of many innovators and their pioneering work. Our guide Neil Oliver takes over from Nicholas Crane this series, and guides us along this journey of beautiful scenery and remarkable discoveries.
-
Episode 2 - Holyhead To Liverpool
Release Date: 2006-11-02Neil Oliver explores an inaccessible cave inlaid with beautiful stonework - who was the mystery builder? Nick shows us how to read the history of your local beach and Alice traces the story of a foreign boy washed up on the Welsh shore and how he changed the history of medicine.
-
Episode 3 - Arran To Gretna
Release Date: 2006-11-09Why did Alfred Nobel, founder of the famous prizes, pick the South West of Scotland as the ideal site for the world's biggest explosives factory? Nicholas Crane discovers the remarkable use for the island of Ailsa Craig's beautiful granite.
-
Episode 4 - Cornwall & The Isles Of Scilly
Release Date: 2006-11-16Neil Oliver discovers the network of cables under a Porthcurno beach which wrap around the world in a tale of invention, espionage and surprise. Mark Horton visits the Isles of Scilly to meet the two football teams battling it out in Britain's smallest league and Alice Roberts paints up a storm in St Ives.
-
Episode 5 - Dublin To Derry
Release Date: 2006-11-23Discover why Dublin is the greatest coastal city, join Mark Horton as he goes in search of the wreck of the SS Great Britain and Miranda Krestovnikoff spends a day at the races. Alice Roberts visits a remarkable house designed to see the sea from every room.
-
Episode 6 - Newcastle To Hull
Release Date: 2006-11-30The concrete and steel of the North East coast conceal a remarkable history of religious passion that transformed Britain and touched every corner of the world. Neil Oliver explores this ancient coastal landscape and also reveals its contribution to the abolition of the slave trade.
-
Episode 7 - The Outer Hebrides
Release Date: 2006-12-07At the outermost edge of the British Isles, we discover the struggle to survive in this harsh but stunningly beautiful myriad of islands big and small. Crystal clear water and powder white beaches conceal a history of human tragedy and joy.
-
Episode 8 - Felixstowe To Margate
Release Date: 2006-12-14Alice Roberts savours the sea salt at Maldon, Miranda Krestovnikoff goes trawling on the Thames and we discover how the houses of Parliament can claim to be on the coast. We end the series with a remarkable cricket match miles out to sea on the eerie tidal landscape at Goodwin Sands.