Villages by the Sea

Archaeologist Ben Robinson travels to Culross, a stunning example of a 17th century Scottish Royal Burgh village. This was a major centre for Scottish coal mining and boasts the very first place in the world to have a mine shaft that extended under the sea floor.

This village is like stepping back in time 400 years and many of the interesting details and decorations of the buildings remain. It is also a place where witch hunting was rife, and superstitions lived alongside innovative industry.

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 the nation.

For a very short time, this village was a thriving port with ambitions to rival Liverpool. It welcomed tourists, but its canal was soon overtaken by the advent of the railways. Ben goes on to discover the cauldron-like original boiler behind the Victorian bath house.

Archaeologist Ben Robinson travels to Cushendall, one of the finest planned Georgian villages in Northern Ireland.

Owned and shaped by a series of owners, but most notably its 19th century merchant landlord, Francis Turnly. A fascinating place where this forward-thinking man hoped to try out his ideas for a new global order – ideas akin to organisations such as the UN and the WHO today. He also built an intriguing, tapered tower, from which he rang a curfew bell to keep his villagers in check.

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 ago.

The current village was once owned by Thomas William Coke, known as Coke of Norfolk, who was one of the great farming reformers of his time, instrumental in the agricultural revolution. Ben explores its oldest building, the Ancient House, as well as Holkham's beautiful stately home and the Great Barn, whose sheep shearing events are credited as the forerunner to today's country shows.

Archaeologist Ben Robinson discovers the impressive lime kilns in Solva, this picturesque, 1800s Welsh port is famous for producing quicklime, a vital ingredient in both our agriculture and building industry.

The kilns here are well preserved and contributed to making the soil in farmers' fields more alkaline – to increase crop yield at a time when the nation's population was growing. A pretty spot now but Ben learns of how this industry would have been a tough life for the locals.

Ben Robinson heads to Beer, Devon, home to beer stone, which has been quarried since Roman times and used in many of England's cathedrals and iconic buildings.

Ben Robinson travels to Seaton Sluice, home to the notorious Delaval family and the site of a past bottle works that shaped the village.

Ben Robinson unearths the past of Porthgain, Pembrokeshire, built for its industry exporting slate, then brickwork, then finally stone used for the nation's roads.

Ben Robinson unearths the past of Greyabbey, a village on Northern Ireland's beautiful Strangford Lough, and discovers the history of its moneymaking kelp industry.

Ben Robinson travels to Johnshaven, a once-important Scottish fishing village that diversified into the flax and jute trade when its skilled sailors were press-ganged into the Royal Navy.