Over 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.

Neil 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.

Neil 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.

Neil 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.

Neil 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.

The south coast of England was the home of movies long before a frame was shot in Hollywood, thanks to long hours of daylight and glamorous London actors holidaying by the sea. Neil Oliver tries his hand at directing his own silent movie. Alice Roberts re-lives the glamour days of the hovercraft and on the Isle of Wight, we go in search of dinosaur footprints which prove the island has been on an epic voyage heading north from tropical climes 135 million years ago.

Castles are an integral part of the history and landscape of Britain, but the art of building a castle was brought across the channel by William the Conqueror. We visit the medieval quarry in France which supplied the stone for iconic buildings such as the Tower of London and Canterbury Cathedral. Nick Crane sets sail from Dover to visit the white cliffs of France. Connected by land before a mega flood carved the channel, Nick discovers that these divided cliffs are facing parallel challenges of coastal erosion.

The team's journey continues around the stunning shores of Devon and Cornwall. Nick Crane is on a fishing expedition on board one of the last remaining Brixham trawlers. He also explores how Henry VIII, fearing attack after his famous divorce, built a string of cleverly positioned forts all along the south coast. The Isles of Scilly are surrounded by lush, golden green underwater meadows of seagrass; Miranda Krestovnikoff explores the diverse wildlife of this natural sub-sea paradise. Mark Horton reveals the extraordinary story of how Lawrence of Arabia went to Plymouth, where he helped develop revolutionary fast rescue boats that saved countless lives in the Second World War. Dick Strawbridge learns the surprising secrets of the global steam power revolution pioneered in the tin mines of Cornwall some 200 years ago. And with the aid of some big wind machines, Alice Roberts creates her own perfect storm.

3,500 years ago, an international demand for Cornish tin put Cornwall at the centre of an internation arms trade. Mixed with copper, Cornish tin made high quality weapons, giving birth to the British Bronze Age. Hermione Cockburn discovers what happened when American media mogul and inspiration for Citizen Kane William Randolph Hearst, made a run-down castle with a sea view into a little hideaway for him and his mistress on the Welsh coast. Neil Oliver visits Porthcawl to trace the history of the Welsh Great Escape.

The Sea Eagles of the island of Canna were hunted to extinction, but now they have been brought back. We climb into one of their nests perched high on a steep cliff to find out what their chances of survival are. Neil Oliver visits Europe's biggest super-quarry to receive an explosive lesson in how the rock is mined. Armed with a simple ruler on a Scottish beach, Nick Crane learns how the challenge of measuring our coastline led to a new branch of maths that could help our mobile phones get smaller.

Coast ventures out to brand new territory, the astonishing man-made shoreline of the Netherlands. Nick Crane explores how ingenious Dutch engineers created massive coastal defences like no others on earth following the great North Sea flood in 1953 which killed thousands of people in the Netherlands and Britain. Nick also discovers how, during the Second World War, traitors from the British Indian Army took part in the Nazi occupation of the tiny isle of Texel - the unlikely site for the last battle in Europe of the Second World War. Coast newcomer, historian Tessa Dunlop, is on the trail of Tulipmania, the extraordinary trade in tulip bulbs that's said to have nearly bankrupted the Dutch nation nearly 400 years ago. Mark Horton reveals the age old skills that have made the Dutch the Grand Masters at creating new living space from the sea. Adam Henson, himself a farmer, investigates why cows from the coastal plains of the northern Netherlands became the most sought after milk producers in the world, and one of the most familiar sights in the British countryside. Miranda Krestovnikoff experiences how the Dutch delight in devouring raw herring as a sea side snack!

For centuries Britons have charted a course to the glorious coast of Sweden for its treasure trove of riches, now for the first time Coast explores the British connections to this stunning shore on the edge of the Baltic Sea. Nick Crane's journey starts in one of the most picturesque parts of Sweden, the dramatic peaks of the High Coast are a wonder of the world and, remarkably, the mountains are still growing at the rate of one centimetre every year. Nick also finds out why Britain's early engineers had to come to Sweden for iron to help forge our Industrial Revolution. Alice Roberts explores the extraordinary story of how, during the Second World War, Britain's military effort almost ground to a halt without Swedish ball bearings and how brave British servicemen beat the German blockade of the country. Mark Horton visits the world's most remarkable shipwreck, The Vasa, which has been called the Tutankhamun of maritime archaeology. Dick Strawbridge climbs the rigging of one of the last great commercial sailing ships, known as the Windjammers. As recently as the 1940s these tall ships managed to give steamships a run for their money. Dick discovers how in the days of Empire, the Windjammers connected Britain to Australia with their legendary grain races. The team also explore Abba Island and search out moose in Sweden's frozen North.

Neil 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.

Nick Crane confronts the terrifying power of the tides head-on as he paddles for dear life in a kayak to conquer the fearsome, tidal rapids that swirl off the island of Anglesey.

Miranda 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.

Miranda 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.

Nick Crane visits Cape Wrath, discovering where wolves once trod.

We visit Cork Harbour, Titanic's last port of call before sailing to disaster, to hear the story of one lucky Irish passenger who had to reluctantly disembark at Cork. Alice Roberts meets Waterford Crystal's chief scientist to learn how to turn the local beach's sand into glass. Hermione Cockburn creates her own mini earthquake on Killiney beach with a mercury dish and some dynamite, recreating an experiment performed 160 years ago that led to the understanding of the earth's tectonic plates.

On Holy Island, we find out how a Viking attach inadvertently united the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, creating a new national identity as they came together to resist a new enemy. Mark Horton navigates to Marine Esplanade in Ravenscar in search of the "town that never was". Destined to be a buzzing Victorian seaside parade, Mark uncovers why it is now just an empty field. Following three unsuccessful attempts to land a boat on Bass Rock, Miranda Krestovnikoff beats Neil Oliver to the challenge and is rewarded with a front row view of the diving gannets.

The team explore what becomes of our coast in winter. Nick Crane visits Cornwall, the storm central of Britain's rugged coastline and Neil Oliver experiences the extraordinary Viking Fire Festival on Shetland.

Blackpool is Britain's most visited seaside destination. How has the resort succeeded when others have gone under? The pleasure park is one of many innovative attractions imported here from America. Neil Oliver views the coast at high speed with a visit to the RAF's world famous "Pilot Factory". As he takes to the skies in a Hawk Jet with an instructor, can he travel from Anglesey to Blackpool and back in just under half an hour?

The team explore stories on both sides of the English Channel. Nick Crane visits Mont St Michel and Mark Horton looks at the origins of Britain's Ordnance Survey.

Coast explores surprising stories that connect our great cities to the sea. Nick Crane pays tribute to the unsung and astonishing mega-port of Immingham, Tessa Dunlop uncovers the astonishing story of how Hitler's bombers could have drowned London and Ruth Goodman investigates the clandestine coastal sex trade that scandalised Victorian Britain.

Coast embarks on its first adventure to North America as this explores British connections far offshore and surprising stories in the waters just off Britain's shoreline.

Before air travel, Britain's harbours were gateways to global adventure. There are more than a thousand ports, big and small, around the UK coastline, all with fascinating secret stories, many of them revealed for the first time in this episode.