TOWN with Nicholas Crane

Aired 2011-07-28

An English market town on the Welsh border, Ludlow is small, landlocked and remote. Yet it has more listed buildings than anywhere else its size in Britain; not one, but two Michelin-starred restaurants; and a fairytale castle which was once the capital of Wales. Geographer and adventurer Nicholas Crane discovers how such a cut-off town came to be packed with so many treasures, and asks whether it really is as perfect as it first appears.

Aired 2011-08-04

A Yorkshire coastal town, Scarborough has had more ups and downs than a roller-coaster. It once had the biggest fish fair in Western Europe, it was a leading health spa and holidaymakers flocked to Britain's first seaside resort. Geographer and adventurer Nicholas Crane finds out what has happened to the town since its heyday and whether our fondness for foreign holidays has left this port high and dry.

Aired 2011-08-11

The gateway to the Scottish highlands, Perth is a town packed with history. It has been a royal burgh since 1124, has survived a regicide within its walls and rebuilt itself after devastating floods. It is also a town that wants to be a city, and geographer and adventurer Nicholas Crane is on a journey to find out why, what benefits that brings, and what the town has to do to achieve its ambition.

Aired 2011-08-18

A Saxon river town in South Devon, Totnes is one of the UK's oldest towns. It has seen tough times through its long history, but adversity has taught it to innovate. Geographer and adventurer Nicholas Crane visits the home of one of the greatest social experiments of the 20th century, and uncovers the test bed for an ambitious new idea that aims to change our urban life forever.