This peak time Sunday night series (being simulcast with BBC One) takes a detailed high definition look at the landscape of Britain through its landmark buildings.
David Dimbleby is your host for the six-part documentary that journeys around the country, telling the story of the architecture that defines the nation.
The programmes aim to cover everything from magnificent cathedrals to tiny thatched cottages, as well as railways, bridges, canals and airports, which have had an impact on history and our lives now.
Programme One, on June 3, is called A New Dawn and focusses on the east. It explains how the Norman conquest of 1066 led to the first ‘construction boom’ in England. Ely Cathedral took 300 years to complete, but it’s still intact overlooking the Fens.
"There were no architectural drawings, there was no architect,” Dimbleby says. “Working with little more than a set square, some compasses and a grasp of geometry, medieval masons were able to raise this glorious building to the heavens.”
Dimbleby also investigates traditional carpentry, while Gainsborough Old Hall (pictured) reveals how the rich lived.
It should be a good companion series to the often fascinating Coast, which returns to BBC2 on the same evening, at 8pm.
Related story: Summer's offerings from the BBC HD channel.
Photo: BBC/Mike Hogan
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