Programme 1. Shetland to Orkney

The BAFTA award-winning Coast returns, bringing back the familiar team of experts to explore more spellbinding stories.

The new series opens with a journey from Muckle Flugga on Shetland, the most northerly tip of the British Isles, to the Old Man of Hoy, on Orkney. Neil Oliver joins an expedition to climb the Old Man of Hoy - a terrifying vertical column of sheer rock that was only conquered for the first time in 1966.

Neil also discovers the remarkable story of the Second World War freedom fighters who risked everything running the "Shetland Bus", a series of top-secret missions into Nazi-occupied Norway.

Bone expert Dr Alice Roberts unearths a mysterious skeleton which reveals the surprising lifestyle of ancient Shetlanders.

Miranda Krestovnikoff dives into the crystal clear waters off Orkney in search of the elusive octopus who love to feast on lobster. Nicholas Crane discovers evidence of a giant tsunami, a tidal wave which devastated Britain seven thousand years ago.

Mark Horton explores dangerous waters with one of the world's most sophisticated survey ships on a mission to find hidden rocks that have wrecked unwary vessels.

Programme 2. Bournemouth to Plymouth

The Coast experts journey along the stunning south coast of England from Bournemouth to Plymouth.

Neil Oliver explores why Sandbanks, in Poole Harbour, is one of the most expensive places in the world to buy a house. Neil also discovers where beach donkeys go to retire, and the extraordinary story of building Britain's most famous lighthouse on the perilous Eddystone rocks.

Alice Roberts constructs her own coastal "property" as she investigates the secret formula for the perfect sandcastle. Nicholas Crane unearths the story of massive mudslides in Lyme Regis and he meets the man who can finally rebuild his house forty years after it was wrecked by a landslip.

Dick Strawbridge joins an American serviceman on his emotional return to the beach where, sixty-three years ago, he was given up for dead in the tragic disaster of "Operation Tiger" during the Second World War.

Programme 3. Southport to Whitehaven, including the Isle of Man

The team are in the North West of England.

The journey includes a brand new location for Coast, the Isle of Man. Neil Oliver discovers why the Americans once attacked the English port of Whitehaven, and the early days of powered flight on a beach in Southport.

Miranda Krestovnikoff is in search of the biggest shark species in British waters. Mark Horton gets rare access to the construction of the Royal Navy's next generation of top-secret "Attack" nuclear submarines. Alice Roberts meets a woman who has a remarkable story of growing up in internment camps on the Isle of Man, where "enemy aliens" living in Britain were detained during the Second World War.

Programme 4. Cardiff to St David's

The journey starts in Cardiff marina, takes in the Gower Peninsula - the first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the UK - and finishes in Britain's smallest city, St David's.

Neil Oliver discovers why, eighty years ago, a beach in Wales briefly became the "fastest place on earth". He accompanies "Babs", the land speed record-breaking car from the 1920s, on its return to Pendine Sands.

Mark Horton explores how Swansea's monopoly of the world copper trade helped Nelson to victory at the battle of Trafalgar. Miranda Krestovnikoff joins the families of dolphins who come to the Welsh coast to raise their young.

Nick Crane investigates the massive engineering project at Milford Haven where soon one fifth of our gas will arrive into Britain by ship from the Gulf.

Alice Roberts is on board a dredger to discover how we are using up sand and pebbles from the seabed for construction and gardens.

Programme 5. Berwick to Aberdeen

The Coast experts travel from Berwick-upon-Tweed to Aberdeen, a journey that reveals Edinburgh's close connection to the coast.

Miranda Krestovnikoff dives into a spectacular marine reserve at St Abbs, one of Britain's best sites for underwater wildlife.

Alice Roberts discovers how a problem with rust is threatening to wreck the Forth Road Bridge, and the urgent efforts to save it.

Neil Oliver recreates a desperate wartime scheme to train seagulls to search for the periscopes of German U-boats.

Mark Horton discovers the secrets of the sail boats that could outrun steam.

Hermione Cockburn explores the extraordinary connection between a small picturesque coastal village and the birth of deep coal mining in Britain 400 years ago.

Programme 6. Galway to Baltimore

The Coast experts are exploring brand new territory - sea cliffs twice the height of Big Ben and 30 foot waves are just part of a remarkable odyssey along the stunning west of Ireland, from Galway to Baltimore.

Neil Oliver discovers why mysterious objects washed up in Galway Bay helped inspire Columbus's journey to America, and how an Irishman might have beaten Columbus to the New World by nine hundred years.

Alice Roberts explores the botanical puzzle of "The Burren", an odd, limestone landscape that is the only place in the world where Arctic plants grow next to Mediterranean plants. Alice also voyages out to the extraordinary mystical monastery on the tiny island of Skellig Michael, where Christianity survived the fall of the Roman Empire.

Miranda Krestovnikoff eavesdrops on the chatter of the dolphins in the Shannon estuary. Miranda also reveals the surprising secrets of seaweed that mean you'll find it in everything from toothpaste to beer.

Programme 7. King's Lynn to Felixstowe

The Coast team journey around the breathtaking shore of East Anglia.

Neil Oliver explores the abandoned site of an experimental radar installation, built to spy deep into the Soviet Union during in the Cold War.

Self-taught artist Alice Roberts tries to capture the unique beauty of Southwold, which has inspired generations of painters.

Mark Horton investigates the perilous state of our seaside piers. Nick Crane discovers how a potentially lethal combination of tides and weather can cause catastrophic floods.

Hermione Cockburn meets one of the forgotten army of women who worked in top secret to intercept German radio messages, which were then decoded at Bletchley Park, during the Second World War.

Programme 8. Jersey to Dover

The last journey in the series starts in the Channel Islands as the team make their way back to Dover, where their epic adventure around the shore began.

Neil Oliver investigates the tragic story of the first channel swimmer, Victorian celebrity Captain Webb. Webb became a hero as famous as David Beckham but he died in a desperate attempt to recapture fame and fortune.

Alice Roberts explores Jersey's remarkable post-war transformation from Nazi occupied island, to "Honeymoon Island". To discover the island's unique appeal to 1950's newlyweds, Alice meets a couple returning fifty years after their honeymoon night on Jersey.

Miranda Krestovnikoff enters a secret world, Gouliot Caves on Sark. Only accessible on foot at exceptionally low tide, inside the caves underwater creatures left high and dry by the tide must struggle to survive until the sea returns to save them.

Nick Crane discovers the forgotten story of "The Indestructible Highway", the convoys of coastal supply ships that braved Nazi attack from land, sea, and air, to keep Britain afloat during the Second World War. Mark Horton reveals how the forts on Guernsey explain why the islanders remain loyal to the Queen, even though they're not part of the UK.

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