Britain from Above
A documentary series in which broadcaster Andrew Marr journeys across Britain, revealing the habits, rhythms and secrets of British life, visible only from a bird's-eye view.
- 2008-2008
- 1 season
- Documentary
A documentary series in which broadcaster Andrew Marr journeys across Britain, revealing the habits, rhythms and secrets of British life, visible only from a bird's-eye view.
Season 1 Episode Guide
6 Episodes 2008
Episode 1
24 Hour Britain
60 mins
In this first edition, the broadcaster takes note of how the supply-and-demand culture of modern Britain expresses itself on the landscape through all the invisible networks that keep the population warm, fed and watered.
Episode 2
The City
30 mins
Examines the way London has transformed in the past 200 years, focusing on how fierce bombing during the Second World War irrevocably changed the face of the capital.
Episode 3
Man-Made Britain
60 mins
In East Anglia, Andrew Marr flies 10,000 feet above ground to locate a patchwork quilt of fields that produce a quarter of the country's wheat and barley. He also investigates how farmers are using military-style spy planes and GPS technology to monitor their crops, and faces his biggest challenge yet - a daunting plummet from an airborne plane in his first ever skydive.
Episode 4
The Land
30 mins
In the heat of World War Two, 300,000 'unproductive' farms were commandeered by the government and tightly regimented to increase their output. In the second episode of BBC Two's companion series, the show discovers how this intensive form of agriculture, which would later become standard practice, has shaped the modern British landscape.
Episode 5
Untamed Britain
60 mins
Setting out in a microlight aircraft, Andrew Marr explores the Great Glen Fault in the Scottish Highlands, discovering where England and Scotland collided more than 400 million years ago. In Northern Ireland, he locates an untapped vein of gold flowing through the Sperrin Mountains, and heads to the Glastonbury festival to explore the rich variety of cultures at home in modern Britain.
Episode 6
The Industrial Landscape
30 mins
This episode is an examination of how industry has affected the landscape of modern Britain. Highlighted examples include the influence of coal mining in South Wales, once considered the backbone of the British economy, and Manchester's Trafford Park, which has now been transformed into a point of pilgrimage for shoppers nationwide.