ISLAND THROUGH THE AGES
Wherever you happen to be in Britain, you’re never more than 70 miles from the coast. It’s no wonder, then, that the British are mildly obsessed by the seaside. And what a seaside it is.
According to the Ordnance Survey, the coastline extends to a whopping 11,072.76 miles (17,819.88km) – and that’s just the British mainland. There’s an extraordinarily rich variety on offer, too. Depending on where you go, you could find yourself on a stretch of coast where history, culture and geography have been shaped by the North Sea, the English Channel, the Bristol Channel, the Irish Sea or the Atlantic.
LIVING WITH THE SEA
As a seafaring nation, it’s natural that a good deal of Britain’s heritage is bound up in its coastline. Stone-built villages tumble down to harbours where
