Series 1

Season 1 · 2005 · 14 episodes

Episodes

1The Frontline: Dover To ExmouthTraditionally the South coast of England is where we've fought our battles, and defended ourselves. A hop, skip and a jump away from the continent, divided only by the narrow stretch of the English Channel. It is Britain's front line.
2The Wild West: Exmouth To BristolDr Alice Roberts investigates how greed led to a village being washed into the sea; Nick unearths the history of slavery in Plymouth; while Neil and Mark try to wreck a ship with nothing but a candle; and Miranda comes face to face with a shark!
3Times and Tides: Bristol To Cardigan BaySouth Wales has the second highest tidal range in the world. It is the tidal surge that creates the Severn Bore: Nick follows the wave upstream; whilst Neil explores the history of Cardiff coal; and Alice gets acquainted with the Red Lady of Paviland.
4The Travellers Coast: Cardigan Bay To The DeeNeil discovers the story of a Welsh Atlantis lost beneath the waves; Miranda goes in search of leatherback turtles; whilst Alice descends into the caves of Great Orme and Nick canoes in the treacherous Menai Straits, to examine the bridges across to Anglesey.
5Shifting Sands: Liverpool To Solway FirthAlice discovers 5,000 year old footprints on the beach; whilst Nick investigates our worst lifeboat disaster; Mark is on the track of the Roman conquest of Northern Europe in Maryport and Neil ventures onto the treacherous sands of Morecambe Bay.
6The Troubled Coast: The Northern Ireland CoastNick investigates how the building of the Antrim Coast mirrors the troubled history of the province; Neil uses computer imagery to rebuild the Titanic; Alice heads to the Giants Causeway and Mark explores the wreck of a Spanish Armada treasure ship.
7Islands And Inlets: West Coast Of Scotland And Western IslesNeil joins the crew of the trident submarine HMS Vanguard; Miranda goes hunting for Minke whales; whilst Mark and Neil recreate the inter island rocket mail service; and Nick sails the beautiful Western Isles armed only with a 500 year guide book.
8Life On The Edge: Cape Wrath To OrkneyNick takes part in a NATO exercise at the Cape Wrath bombing range; Neil meets the descendants of the people displaced by the Highland Clearances; and the survivors of the worst loss of British Naval life in Scapa Flow; whilst Alice visits the Dounreay reactor.
9The Working Coast: John O'Groats To BerwickMiranda heads to the Moray Firth, home to bottle nosed dolphins; Nick investigates the impact of the North Sea oil industry; whilst Neil meets a fishing family in Fraserburgh, facing a bleak future; and Alice reflects on the history of whaling in Dundee.
10The Forgotten Coast: Berwick To WhitbyNick explores the holy island of Lindisfarne; Alice helps rebuild Britain's first house in Howick; whilst Neil examines the tensions in South Shields that led to race riots in the 1930s and Miranda gets up close and personal with grey seals.
11The Inventive Coast: Robin Hood's Bay To The WashNick retraces the steps of smugglers in Robin Hoods Bay; Neil goes to the first Butlins Holiday camp in Skegness; whilst Mark sets sail in a recreated bronze age boat; and Alice recreates alum crystals using stale urine!
12The Vanishing Coast: The Wash To DoverNick investigates the freak floods of 1953; Alice explores the landbridge which joined us to the continent; whilst Nick meets Peter Boggis, a man trying to save his home from the sea; and Neil celebrates Trafalgar 200 examining an eye witness account of the battle.
13The Future CoastThe final programme examines coastal issues highlighted in earlier episodes: sea level rise and erosion; the health of our seas and wildlife, power generation; and access to our coast; as well as development.
14Coast Revisited: West of Scotland - Dover