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 4: 10. Johnshaven
Ben Robinson travels to Johnshaven, a once-important Scottish fishing village. When its skilled sailors were press-ganged into the Royal Navy in the late 18th century, it had to ...
10-09-2026
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 4: 9. Greyabbey
Ben Robinson unearths the ancient past of Greyabbey, a small village on Northern Ireland’s beautiful Strangford Lough. The village name comes from Grey Abbey, its Cisterci ...
09-09-2026
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 ...
03-09-2026
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 4: 7. Seaton Sluice
Ben Robinson travels to Seaton Sluice in Northumberland, home to the notorious Delaval family. These wealthy bottle makers were some of the greatest players on the Georgian part ...
02-09-2026
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
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 ...
27-08-2026
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 4: 5. Solva
Ben Robinson discovers the impressive lime kilns in Solva, Wales. This picturesque 19th-century port is famous for producing quicklime, a vital ingredient in both agriculture an ...
26-08-2026
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 4: 4. Holkham
Ben Robinson makes an amazing discovery at Norfolk’s impressive Holkham estate - its lost medieval village, seen for the first time since its disappearance some 200 years ...
20-08-2026
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 4: 3. Cushendall
Ben Robinson travels to Cushendall, one of the finest planned Georgian villages in Northern Ireland. It was owned and shaped by a series of owners but most notably its 19th-cent ...
19-08-2026
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 4: 2. Port Carlisle
Ben Robinson examines the remains of a lost harbour in Port Carlisle, Cumbria, a small village near Carlisle which grew as a consequence of the canal building surge that swept t ...
13-08-2026
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
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 ...
12-08-2026
BBC 2
Most popular episodes of Villages by the Sea
Villages By The Sea
Series 4: 10. Johnshaven
Ben Robinson travels to Johnshaven, a once-important Scottish fishing village. When its skilled sailors were press-ganged into the Royal Navy in the late 18th century, it had to ...
10-09-2026
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
Series 4: 5. Solva
Ben Robinson discovers the impressive lime kilns in Solva, Wales. This picturesque 19th-century port is famous for producing quicklime, a vital ingredient in both agriculture an ...
26-08-2026
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
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
Villages By The Sea
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
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 ...
16-06-2026
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 ...
27-02-2026
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
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
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 ...
26-02-2026
BBC 2
Villages By The Sea
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
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 ...
18-06-2026
BBC 2