Coast star’s new journey of discovery through history
IT’S HARD to believe that it’s 13 years since the BBC’s hugely popular hit our screens.
The TV series was an instant hit, taking us on a journey of discovery around the nooks and crannies of our indefatigable coastline, and made several of its presenters household names. Perhaps none more so than Neil Oliver, whose long dark hair and gentle Scottish lilt made him instantly recognisable.
Oliver, an archaeologist and author as well as TV presenter, has written a new book –
– which is a personal account of what makes these islands so special, told through the places that have witnessed its unfolding history.
To tie in with this he’s embarking on a nationwide tour which begins in Harrogate at the start of October and also takes in Hull.
“I saw a flyer for Ray Mears’ show,” explains Oliver. “He was going to be playing at the Albert Hall near us in Stirling. My wife said to me, ‘Why don’t you do a show like that?’ I’ve done lots of book tours and festivals before, and I began to think that this book would lend itself particularly well to a tour of Britain. So I decided to do it, and now I’m really excited about it.”
It’s a human story soaked in history that travels via the Romans and Vikings, the flowering of religion, through civil war, industrial revolution and two world wars.
“Over the last 20 years, TV has taken me on a very unusual tour of Britain. As well as iconic places such as the White Cliffs of Dover, Edinburgh and Cardiff, I’ve gone to unexpected, remote places that take quite a lot of getting to. They are places that people have never heard of. So I’d become aware that an idiosyncratic chronology of the British Isles had formed in my head.”
Despite his many years of experience being in front of the camera he admits to being a tad nervous about getting up on stage in front of a live audience.
“The prospect of public speaking, always makes me nervous – just as you’d be nervous about making a best man’s speech. The tour is exciting, but nerve-racking. It’s the agony of anticipation, but I know it will ultimately be really enjoyable.”
He’s enjoyed being part of the
team and believes the secret of its success is quite straightforward. “There’s nothing triumphalist about the series. It’s not declaring that Britain is the best country in the world. But it celebrates our country and allows people to see it in a new light.
“It shows the highs and lows of our history, the whole tapestry of life in Britain. It invites people to think that it’s actually a fascinating place. It also reminds you that if you spend half an hour in a bus, you can be at the coast and somewhere completely different,” he says.
And he believes the coast is part of our psyche. “As Winston Churchill and others have pointed out, we are an island race. In the British Isles, you’re never more than 70 miles from the coast. It is ever present. For most of us growing up, holidays are about getting to the beach. Even though the weather is often inclement, when you go to the coast, it’s a completely different landscape for people who live in towns.”
Oliver says history is about far more than just rocks and relics and that it still influences our lives today.
“The stuff that happened in Scotland during the mediaeval period was every bit as violent as If you think the House of Lannister is bloodthirsty, just take a look at what happened with the Campbells and MacDonalds!”