Season 11

2016 · 8 episodes

Episodes

1The Great Guide: CornwallTessa Dunlop and Neil Oliver present the ultimate guide to the Cornish coast - from the River Tamar to Tintagel Castle - as they tell the stories that make this stretch so unique. As well as choosing the pick of Coast stories from the past ten years, Tessa hops on and off a variety of boats to delve into untold secrets from these shores. From line fishing with a local Looe fisherman, exploring serpentine rock on The Lizard with a leading geologist, to uncovering a story of tragedy at sea and finding out what it is like living the wild coastal dream in the storm-hit harbour of Porthleven.
2The Great Guide: Southern WalesTessa Dunlop and Neil Oliver present an insider guide to southern Wales - from the Severn Bridge to St Davids - as they unearth the stories that give this coast its wild appeal. Building on the best of ten years of Coast stories from these shores, Tessa takes to the seas to seek out new stories and extreme experiences for the guide. She tries her hand at coastal rowing, braves the high seas to explore why Gower was made Britain's first area of outstanding natural beauty, gets close to nature in a kayak at Worm's Head and tries her hand at a local tradition - cockle picking - at Penclawdd.
3The Great Guide: England's South EastTessa Dunlop and Neil Oliver present their insiders' guide to our frontline shoreline - England's south east. From the heart of the capital to Hastings, they reveal the stories of trade and defence that characterise this coast. As well as selecting the best Coast stories from a decade of exploring these shores, Tessa hitches a ride with the Thames river police to the new London Gateway, where she gets an overview of Britain's trade with the world from the vantage point of a giant crane. From Ramsgate, she embarks on one of the Dunkirk 'Little Ships' to discover the vital role it played during the Second World War, before making her way to Dover, where she finds a magnificent Roman lighthouse that has guarded the shores for centuries.
4The Great Guide: East AngliaNeil Oliver and Tessa Dunlop present the ultimate guide to East Anglia - from The Wash to Canvey Island. Building on the best of ten years of Coast stories from these shores, Neil takes to the sea on a variety of boats to seek out new stories for the Great Guide and bring well-known ones up to date, from seal-watching at England's biggest grey seal colony to extreme coastal erosion at Happisburgh. From its earliest pre-history, Neil explores the incredible stories that underpin this coastline, which was once our landbridge to the continent, and he also celebrates more recent times with a trip aboard a floating relic of the herring industry. Neil finishes his exploration at Orford Ness, where the battle between sea and land is still being fought out - and where one of East Anglia's most distinctive landmarks is at risk from the encroaching waters.
5The Great Guide: Our North Sea CoastNeil Oliver and Tessa Dunlop present their insiders' guide to the North Sea coast, a stretch that takes in two nations and is book-ended by two huge estuaries, the Forth in Scotland and the Humber in England. As well as his pick of Coast stories from the last decade in Britain, Neil seeks out new stories for the guide. With exclusive access to an epic military shipbuilding project at Rosyth, Neil voyages to the island of Inchmickery and discovers a bird colony with a difference. From there he explores a tragic tale that still haunts the fishing town of Eyemouth, before taking in the Holy Island of Lindisfarne to make a dramatic archaeological discovery.
6The Great Guide: Scotland's Western IslesAn insiders' guide to the Western Isles - a coastal cluster of a myriad sea-girt islets that include the Inner and Outer Hebrides, Argyll and St Kilda. Neil sets out on an island-hopping adventure that takes in three of the most stunning settings: Mull, Staffa and Gometra. Along his journey taking to the waves on a range of wonderfully restored vessels, he compiles our great guide from a wider canvas of Coast stories that stretch right across the Western Isles. He learns the secrets of crab fishing from a professional, samples a local delicacy from a surprising source, searches for stunning wildlife and meets the sole resident of one of Scotland's most remote islands.
7The Great Guide: The Heart of England's South CoastThe ultimate guide to the heart of England's south coast - a stretch book-ended by two pebble beaches at Brighton and Chesil. To try to capture what makes these 'sunshine' shores so special, Neil selects his pick of Coast stories from the past ten years, as well as searching out exciting new ones for our guide. He hops on and off a full flotilla of boats, including Sir Ben Ainslie's prototype yacht for the America's Cup, a Southampton superyacht, a vessel at the heart of a project to reinvigorate the Solent oyster population and an offshore powerboat. Neil finds out why this coast is a maritime leader, a geological marvel and a holidaymaker's dream.
8The Great Guide: Our Irish Sea CoastNeil Oliver and Tessa Dunlop present the ultimate guide to the UK's Irish Sea Coast - a sprawling, dynamic shoreline that fringes four nations, England, ScotIand, Wales and Northern Ireland. Building on a decade's worth of the best of Coast stories from these shores, Tessa goes in search of brand new tales and experiences for our Guide. She hitches a ride on a Liverpool tugboat to bring a giant container ship to shore, crosses the Irish Sea on a supersized luxury cruise liner, and seeks out a little-known surviving sister ship of the legendary Titanic.