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.
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Episode 1 - Shetland To Orkney
Release Date: 2007-06-03Over 230 islands make up the Northern Isles - The Shetland and Orkney. These magnificent islands are made up of rock stacks, secret inlets and spectacular scenery, surrounded by sometimes extreme sea and weather conditions that have shaped these islands. Neil Oliver joins an expedition climbing the Old Man of Hoy in Orkney and finds out about the Second World War freedom fighters who risked their lives running the "Shetland Bus". Miranda Krestovnikoff goes in search of an elusive octopus, Nicholas Crane finds evidence of a tsunami that devastated Britain 7,000 years ago and Alice Roberts unearths a mysterious skeleton that reveals more about the lives of ancient Shetlanders.
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Episode 2 - Bournemouth To Plymouth
Release Date: 2007-06-10Neil explores why Sandbanks in Poole Harbour has some of the world's most expensive houses. Alice builds her own coastal 'property' as she investigates the perfect sandcastle. Dick joins an American serviceman on an emotional journey, as he returns to the beach where he was given up for dead during World War Two.
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Episode 3 - Southport To Whitehaven (Inc. The Isle Of Man)
Release Date: 2007-06-17Miranda is in search of the biggest sharks in British waters. Mark sees the Royal Navy's next generation of top secret 'Attack' nuclear submarines and Alice meets a woman who as a child was in the Isle of Man's internment camps, where 'enemy aliens' in Britain were held during the Second World War.
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Episode 4 - Cardiff To St David's
Release Date: 2007-06-24Neil discovers how a beach became the 'fastest place on earth' 80 years ago. Mark explores how Swansea's monopoly of the copper trade sped Nelson towards his Trafalgar victory. Miranda joins dolphins at the coast raising their young and Alice boards a dredger to discover how much sand we are consuming.
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Episode 5 - Berwick-Upon-Tweed To Aberdeen
Release Date: 2007-07-01Miranda dives into a marine reserve off St Abbs, one of Britain's sites for underwater wildlife. Neil recreates a wartime scheme to train seagulls to search for German U-boats and Hermione explores the 400-year-old connection between a picturesque village and the birth of deep coal mining in Britain.
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Episode 6 - Galway To Baltimore
Release Date: 2007-07-24Neil discovers how mysterious flotsam inspired Columbus' journey to America. Alice explores the botanical puzzle of "The Burren" - where Arctic plants grow next to Mediterranean flowers. Miranda reveals the surprising secrets of seaweed that make it the special ingredient in everything from toothpaste to beer.
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Episode 7 - King's Lynn To Felixstowe
Release Date: 2007-07-31Neil explores the site of an experimental Radar, built to spy on the Soviet Union. Alice tries to capture the beauty of Southwold in paint. Nicholas discovers how tides and weather can cause catastrophic floods and Hermione meets a woman who intercepted German radio messages from the Norfolk coast during World War 2.
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Episode 8 - The Channel Islands To Dover
Release Date: 2007-08-07Neil investigates the tragic story of the first channel swimmer. Alice explores Jersey's remarkable post war transformation from Nazi stronghold to 'Honeymoon Island'. Miranda enters secret caves and Mark reveals why the islanders on Guernsey remain loyal to the Queen, despite being outside the United Kingdom.