- Title: Atlantic Britain
- Date: 9th October 2004
- Summary: Adam decides to leave British waters behind and push 200 miles further north to the Faroe Islands. Here people still hunt whales, net fulmars, eat sea bird eggs and live in tiny isolated fishing communities, almost entirely cut off from the outside world. But Adam discovers that their life is prosperous, modern and energetic, combining the best of the old traditions with all the advantages of the modern world. They may be in the middle of nowhere, but they drive 4x4s, have internet access and make a lot of money from the sea, as Adam discovers when he goes long-lining for cod. Having voted to stay outside the European Community, they control their own fishing quotas and, for the time being at least, the Faroese fishing bank is one of the richest in the world. On the island of Koltur, Adam takes part in a peculiarly Faroese ritual. The Faroese farmers believe that sheep reared in extreme, difficult, wild pastures halfway down cliffs taste much better than their domesticated cousins. But hanging off a rope halfway down a 500-metre cliff, trying to coax two rams back to the slaughter is as dangerous, unlikely and difficult as it sounds.
- Description:Writer and novice sailor Adam Nicholson sails the length of Atlantic Britain,from the Scilly Isles to Orkney,in search of the strange and unusual people who,battered by the most extreme weather and seas in the world,cling to the edge of Europe. Writer and journalist Adam Nicolson has taken out a second mortgage to buy The Auk, a 42-foot sailing boat, to sail up the west coast of the British Isles. From the Scilly Isles up the west coast of Ireland, through the Hebrides and on to Orkney and beyond, it's a 1,500-mile sea journey along one of the world's greatest landscapes. Adam explores the history of the west coast: what originally drew people to live on the edge? And he finds out who still lives here today, and how their lives are shaped by the power of the Atlantic. The only problem is, he's never sailed anything bigger than a dinghy before.
- Broadcaster:Channel 4
- Collection: KEO Films
- Genre:Documentary and Factual
- Producer:Keo Films Ltd.
- Programme Episode:Episode 8
- Transmission Date:09/10/2004
- Rights:UK and Eire
- Decade: 2000s