
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 as remote places for retreat and relaxation. However, they have often been on the front line of history - from the arrival of Christianity to battles with neighbours and nature; from slave trading to the birth of modern tourism.\n\nFrom Holy Island, monks spread Christianity to the rest of Northern England and created one of Britain’s finest treasures – the Lindisfarne Gospels. Viking attacks caused the monks to flee but the village survived. Today the community has to share their village with thousands of tourists.\n
Source: BBC 2
Series 2: 1. Alnmouth
Archaeologist Ben Robinson visits Alnmouth on England’s north east coast and discovers the village’s historical role in feeding the nation.
19-03-2026
BBC 2
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.
18-03-2026
BBC 2
Series 2: 4. Charlestown
Archaeologist Ben Robinson visits the picturesque Georgian village of Charlestown on the south west coast of Cornwall and learns how it was\nshaped by the vision of one man.
17-03-2026
BBC 2
Series 2: 3. Thorpeness
Archaeologist Ben Robinson uncovers the secrets of the Edwardian village of Thorpeness in Suffolk, the first purpose-built seaside village in the UK.
12-03-2026
BBC 2
Series 2: 2. Staithes
Archaeologist Ben Robinson visits the village of Staithes in North Yorkshire and unearths its role in kickstarting the chemical industry in the north east of England.
11-03-2026
BBC 2
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.
10-03-2026
BBC 2
Series 3: Tintagel
Archaeologist Ben Robinson uncovers the secrets of Cornwall’s Tintagel, famed as the legendary birthplace of King Arthur. Ben discovers Tintagel was potentially more impor ...
06-03-2026
BBC 2
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 ...
05-03-2026
BBC 2
Series 3: Flamborough
Archaeologist, Ben Robinson visits the east coast village of Flamborough which sits on a rugged headland sticking out into the North Sea. A largely unassuming village today, it ...
04-03-2026
BBC 2
Series 3: Gorey
Sitting on the east coast of Jersey, and about 14 miles from the coast of Normandy, the small village of Gorey was, for hundreds of years the\nfrontline of defence between the B ...
03-03-2026
BBC 2
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 ...
02-03-2026
BBC 2
Clovelly
Archaeologist Ben Robinson reveals the story of this Devon coastal gem’s transformation from fishing village to romantic Victorian seaside resort.\n\nOur coastal villages ...
23-02-2026
BBC 2
Series 3: Flamborough
Archaeologist, Ben Robinson visits the east coast village of Flamborough which sits on a rugged headland sticking out into the North Sea. A largely unassuming village today, it ...
04-03-2026
BBC 2
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.
10-03-2026
BBC 2
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 ...
17-06-2025
BBC 2
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 ...
05-06-2025
BBC 2
Series 3: Laxey
Situated on the eastern coast of the Isle of Man, the village of Laxey is known today as a tourist destination, but as archaeologist Ben Robinson finds out, it wasn’t the ...
06-06-2025
BBC 2
Series 4: 1. Culross
Ben Robinson visits Culross, a stunning example of a 17th-century Scottish royal burgh village. Culross was a major centre for Scottish coal mining and boasts the very first pla ...
29-08-2025
BBC 2
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 ...
08-08-2025
BBC 2
Series 4: 6. Beer
Ben Robinson heads to Beer, Devon, home to beer stone, which has been quarried since Roman times and used in many of the nation's cathedrals and landmark buildings, including We ...
31-10-2025
BBC 2