Customer Reviews
Simply MUST HAVE for any collection. easy 10/10 - By: MaverikUK, 24 Sep 2007 
From start to finish this is a sumptious, gorgeous presentation & the best COAST series by far, especiallyin picture quality. We use it for visiting ares we would never have got the chance to see, & it's fun looking for the locations shown using google earth etc.
I have all three series, & if you must have one than this is it.
A most enjoyable series - By: Mordechaiipa, 11 Sep 2006 
First let me say that I did enjoy the series overall. A five man team of Open University staff take you on a guided tour all around the coast of Britain, including Northern Ireland & some Scottish islands. The tour is not uniform though. They spend quite some time on the Isle of Weight yet poor old Isle of Mann doesn't even get a mention.
The idea of making a programme about the British coast is truly inspiring. Some highpoints were the early warning enemy aircraft sound walls along the south coast & the fishing village that got washed away one night. The story of the Scottish fishing industry was also well told as was the horrific story of the slave trade.
I do have some criticisms though.
They did not show enough scenic views of the coastline. I've taken some landscape photos myself from off shore. Some parts of Britain's coastline simply take your breath away. They missed some great opportunities.
Whilst taking us on a tour of the Irish coast, one member of the team made a really stupid comment that had the Protestant armies not won the warin Ireland, we could have avoided 400 years of war. He foolishly informed us of this fact (sic) with such certainty. I didn't know that the Open University had courses on historical "what if" prophecies & fortune telling. It's quite possible that had the Catholic armies won, there would have been a civil warin England.
Some sideshows such as taking us on a tour of a Royal Navy submarine & the building of a prehistoric home were too distant from the main subject. At some points the episodes degenerated into a magazine style format instead of focusing on the subject of Britain's coast.
One more criticism. I would have thought that one target audience for this programme would be tourists to Britain. I feel it is an oversight that there are no sub-titles whatsoever. I find this even stranger considering that the programme is so PC, (watch it, you'll see what I mean!), you would have thought they might have at least added subtitlesin English for the hard of hearing?
To conclude, a most enjoyable series that hopefully should inspire us all to tour Britain's coastline & enjoy its unique beauty.
Fantastic DVD - By: N. Coleman, 17 Aug 2006 This was the best suprise present for my mother.The first viewing was the west coast of Scotland where she used to live.It has excellent graphics & has inspired my mother & I to explore other parts of England as soon as possible.This is my first purchase from Amazon & I would highly recommend you to buy this DVD.
My 3 year old couldn't recomended more! - By: Mr. George Johnson, 26 Jun 2006 I have always loved the coast, staring out to sea. My parents always took me on holiday to the coast around Britain, from Lands End to John O'Groats. A love that has always stayed with me, these days I take every opportunity to visit the coastline, with my little one. This series has opened my eyes to more splended sights that I will now make it my goal to visit. The passion that Nick Crane & his colleagues feel for their subject it so intense, you can't help but feel it leap out of the screen at you. If you enjoy Britain & it's amazing natural sights, this will really light a fire under you. My little three year old loves this series & will happily sit glued to it for hours, if given the chance!!!
Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside! - By: T. Bobley, 19 Jun 2006 But livingin the midlands these days, I miss the sea terribly. Watching the Coast series is a real treat & makes my longing for the sea even stronger. There are so many miles of astoundingly beautiful coastline round England, Wales, Ireland & Scotland (about 12,000 miles I think they said when you addin all the twiddly bits & islands) that the series could have been twice as long & my attention wouldn't have faltered for a moment. And it's not just the beauty of the coastline that recommends this series - there's the sea itselfin all its moods & tempers, the marine wildlife & the history. I've no doubt that I'll watch these DVDs many times. There is really only one thing I can think that would improve the programmes & that is subtitles. I can think of several occasions when they would have been useful, for example, when the zoologist, Miranda was diving with seals & it was very difficult to understand what she was sayingin her diving suit, when the geographer, Nick was speaking over the clatter of a fish-finger conveyor belt, when the archaeologist/anthropologist, Mark was speakingin a Butlins holiday camp disco. Even without the subtitles though, it's mostly quite easy to understand what's said.
Highly recommended.
