Catch up TV
Series 5: 1. Runswick Bay
Archaeologist Ben Robinson visits Runswick Bay on the North Yorkshire coast, where he discovers how this pretty village was once a place of danger. Ben explores the mythical ‘hob-holes’ to uncover how they once helped supply a thriving jet industry and finds evidence of how, in the late 1800s, the village became the inspiration for a group of artists who became known as the British Impressionists.
Source: BBC 2
Most recent episodes of Villages by the Sea
Villages By The Sea
Series 5: 4. St Agnes
Ben Robinson investigates how a Cornish gem became world-famous for tin. In the bay, the archaeologist unravels the epic story behind the hundreds of huge carved stones that lie ...
20-12-2024
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 5: 6. St Bees
In Cumbria, on the edge of the Lake District, Ben Robinson finds evidence of early pilgrimage at a remarkable Norman priory. In a 500-year-old house in the village, the archaeol ...
16-12-2024
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 5: 5. Bucklers Hard
In Hampshire, archaeologist Ben Robinson investigates how a tiny village, originally meant to be a free port to process sugar, became a bustling naval shipyard.\n\nBen learns th ...
14-12-2024
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 5: 3. St Margaret's
On a visit to the Kent coast, Ben Robinson learns how an exclusive retreat for the rich and famous suddenly became 'Hellfire Corner' during World War II. Ben examines graffiti i ...
13-12-2024
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 5: 2. Seahouses
Ben Robinson casts his eye over the industrious village of Seahouses in Northumberland. The archaeologist learns how the lethal shoreline shaped its transformation from a sleepy ...
06-12-2024
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 5: 1. Runswick Bay
Archaeologist Ben Robinson visits Runswick Bay on the North Yorkshire coast, where he discovers how this pretty village was once a place of danger. Ben explores the mythical &ls ...
29-11-2024
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 2: 3. Bamburgh
Archaeologist Ben Robinson uncovers how the health and fortune of the village was shaped by those in charge of Bamburgh’s famous castle.
27-09-2024
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Walberswick
Archaeologist Ben Robinson discovers the surprising story of this former medieval port on the Suffolk coast.\n\nCoastal villages are often seen as remote places for retreat and ...
26-09-2024
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Robin Hood's Bay
Archaeologist Ben Robinson reveals the story of smuggling intrigue and bravery on the Yorkshire coast.
25-09-2024
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Holy Island
Archaeologist Ben Robinson discovers the story of the monks and villagers of the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, off the Northumberland coast.\n\nOur coastal villages are often seen ...
24-09-2024
BBC 2
Most popular episodes of Villages by the Sea
Villages By The Sea
Holy Island
Archaeologist Ben Robinson discovers the story of the monks and villagers of the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, off the Northumberland coast.\n\nOur coastal villages are often seen ...
24-09-2024
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Robin Hood's Bay
Archaeologist Ben Robinson reveals the story of smuggling intrigue and bravery on the Yorkshire coast.
25-09-2024
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 3: Orford
Lying off the North Sea is the unassuming Suffolk village of Orford. It’s behind a large shingle spit called Orford Ness. But as archaeologist Ben Robinson unearths, it&rs ...
04-08-2023
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 4: 8. Porthgain
Ben Robinson unearths the unique past of Porthgain, a small Pembrokeshire village built for its industry, first as a slate quarry, then exporting brickwork and finally producing ...
11-12-2023
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 3: Craster
Archaeologist Ben Robinson visits a small village in Northumberland to find out how the family and village who both share the name Craster have had their lives and fortunes inte ...
14-06-2023
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 3: Cley Next The Sea
Archaeologist Ben Robinson visits the Norfolk village of Cley next the Sea and discovers that due to Dutch settlers in the Elizabethan era, it's not as ‘next the sea&rsquo ...
09-06-2023
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 3: Botallack
The small hamlet of Botallack was once at the centre of the Cornish tin and copper mining industry as archaeologist Ben Robinson discovers. By 1861, Botallack’s mine was o ...
09-05-2024
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 3: Parkgate
Archaeologist Ben Robinson explores Parkgate, on the estuary of the River Dee in Cheshire. Today the village is landlocked, cut off from the Dee and the Irish Sea due to the est ...
18-08-2023
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 3: Ravenglass
Archaeologist Ben Robinson takes us to the quiet village of Ravenglass, tucked away on the edge of the Lake District’s National Park, where he finds out about its strategi ...
26-07-2024
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 2: 2. Arnside
Archaeologist Ben Robinson discovers how traditional boat building shaped the beautifully preserved village of Arnside on the banks of the River Kent in Cumbria.
25-06-2024
BBC 2