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the series also explores uplifting stories from the present. In the first episode, Humble walks the South West Coast Path with author Raynor Winn, whose bestselling book, The Salt Path, reveals how her husband fought a terminal illness by putting one foot in front of another and following the trail. It’s proof time spent in our wild world can have both physical and mental benefits.

“The result of the pandemic has been a renewed enthusiasm for our countryside,” Humble muses on the restorative power of nature. “We’ve tapped into an instinct that this is what we need to make us feel better.”

Along with imbuing a sense of calm, being outside is, she claims, also a means for reconnecting with a childhood sense of nostalgia and delight.

“The enduring appeal of the coast is enjoying those simple pleasures that we want our children and grandchildren to enjoy,” she says, reciting examples of playing with buckets and spades, going crabbing, and swimming in the bracing English sea.

“There is something about swimming in a wild place, whether it’s the sea, river or a lake, or a pond, that connects you with your childhood again,” she says, referring to her own chilling dip in the North Sea.

Given the challenges of the past year, she proposes a healthy dose of nostalgia could be the remedy we all need. If nothing else, we all deserve to remember what it’s like to have fun.

“When you’re a child, you do things that might seem silly as a grown up. But we all need a bit of silliness... and running into the sea on a cold Yorkshire day is one of the finest things you can do.”

Kate Humble’s Coastal Britain airs on Fridays on Channel 5, 8pm, or on catch up at channel5.com