Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12485 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-11-26
• Rating: Exempt
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 400 minutes

DVD Description
Alan Titchmarsh makes an epic journey through eight natural habitats of Britain to explore the islands’ amazing diversity of wildlife.

Alan Titchmarsh turns wildlife detective, as he takes us on a journey of discovery through eight different British natural habitats surveying their unique flora and fauna and piecing together the jigsaw that makes up our homeland.

Spanning the length and breadth of the British Isles – from East Anglia to Snowdon, and from Jersey to Shetland, the series focuses on eight distinct habitats – Island, Farmland, Urban, Freshwater, Coastal, Woodland, Wilderness and Secret Britain – featuring such amazing scenes as a bloody battle between two-tonne grey seals; seven million starlings filling a Somerset sky and the extraordinary acrobatics of leaping bottlenose dolphins.

In an inspirational, visually stunning and definitive guide to British wildlife, familiar creatures are shown in a new light and superb footage captures rare behaviour and animals often for the first time, including boxing hares, killer whales hunting seals off Shetland, the underwater courtship of the pike; the hunting strategy of the Minke Whale and otters swimming right in the centre of Newcastle.

With so much stunning footage of both scenery and wildlife, this constantly surprising series represents an amazing celebration of the uniqueness of British nature.

Presented by Alan Titchmarsh. Executive Producer: Vyv Simson. Series Producer: Stephen Moss. Produced by: Chris Cole (Island Britain); Simon Bell (Freshwater Britain); Stephen Moss, Susie Painter (Urban Britain, Secret Britain); Simon Bell (Farmland Britain); Chris Cole, Sally Cryer (Coastal Britain); Bridget Appleby, Michael Bright (Woodland Britain, Wilderness Britain).

A BBC TV Production in association with the Open University.

Synopsis
Alan Titchmarsh makes an epic journey through eight natural habitats
of Britain to explore the islands’ amazing diversity of wildlife.

Alan Titchmarsh turns wildlife detective, as he takes us on a journey of discovery through eight different British natural habitats surveying their unique flora and fauna and piecing together the jigsaw that makes up our homeland. Spanning the length and breadth of the British Isles – from East Anglia to Snowdon, and from Jersey to Shetland, the series focuses on eight distinct habitats – Island, Farmland, Urban, Freshwater, Coastal, Woodland, Wilderness and Secret Britain – featuring such amazing scenes as a bloody battle between two-tonne grey seals; seven million starlings filling a Somerset sky and the extraordinary acrobatics of leaping bottlenose dolphins.

In an inspirational, visually stunning and definitive guide to British wildlife, familiar creatures are shown in a new light and superb footage captures rare behaviour and animals often for the first time, including boxing hares, killer whales hunting seals off Shetland, the underwater courtship of the pike; the hunting strategy of the Minke Whale and otters swimming right in the centre of Newcastle. With so much stunning footage of both scenery and wildlife, this constantly surprising series represents an amazing celebration of the uniqueness of British nature.

Customer Reviews

Nature of Bitain.
Alan Titchmarsh is the perfect companion on a tour throughout the U.K. looking at every aspect of wildlife and countryside blending in both perfectly. Apart from the series being beautifully filmed and hosted by Alan we found the documentary packed with interesting information. We learned lots of things such as 'did you know it was the Normans in 1066 who brought the pheasants to Britain altering the English landscape forever'? Anyone with an interest in our countryside and wildlife will thoroughly enjoy this series.

Very pretty but superficial. Not worth repeated viewing
At first glance this looked like it was going to be one of the BCC's treasures, but it turned out to be lots of pretty pictures and not much substance.
Titchmarsh is an enthusiastic and well informed presenter, who obviously loves the countryside of Britain. The photography in the series is stunning, and the images of the wildlife and plants are beautifully presented.

However... there really isn't very much here which is new. It's also stitched together in a disconcerting jumble; in theory following themes but in practice it feels like lots of 8-minute segments just bolted together to fill the time.
So the series is entertaining and interesting, but it's not gasp-out-loud stuff which thrills or educates the watcher. Stick to Planet Earth for sweeping beauty and series like Coast or Nicholas Crane's walking tours for more depth and understanding.
One to rent rather than buy.

Worth the wait for this US citizen!
I was a admirer of Alan Titchmarsh when he was in Ground Force on BBC America. I missed him when he left and later read of the series he was "presenting" on the nature and history of Britain. Until recently, I was unable to obtain this DVD set and could not have played it had I been able to find it. I didn't have a region 2 DVD player. The price of an all regions DVD player finally reached a price that I could afford. I bought one and found this delightful program on Amazon UK. BBC won't sell it overseas.
Mr. Titchmarsh is wonderful. He obviously loves nature and certainly the nature of Britain.The photography is top notch and the narration is witty, informative and uniquely Alan Titchmarsh. He conveys his love of nature in a way that makes this Anglophile wish I could visit the country of my heart. Thank you so much for making this available.