Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5675 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-02-02
• Rating: Exempt
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 180 minutes

Synopsis
Award-winning writer and broadcaster Nicholas Crane presents this celebration of the British Isles, as he retraces the steps of William Camden; the man responsible for the first topographical survey of Great Britain, in the 16th Century.

Customer Reviews

An illuminating tour of Elizabethan Britain
You may be familiar with Nic Crane's earlier geographical tours of the UK, but Britannia is much more about history than it is about geography or cartography. The scenery is superb (the weather is awful as usual); Nic's umbrella and bicycle still carry him a staggering distance (some 5000 miles), but this time the emphasis is on the historical moment of the original book, rather than the way the landscape has changed since then.

The theme is that William Camden's book Britannia of 1586 was a remarkable achievement for the Elizabethan era. The entire British Isles was described in great detail offering a near-encyclopaedic tour of the whole country in a single book. It was particularly unusual in that Britannia included Scotland and Ireland when they were barely under British control -- this was one of the turning points of hsitory, when constituant countries of the British Isles came together, and that's a continuing theme of the three-part series.

The first episode covers all of England and Wales, including Cornwall, while the second part goes to Scotland (it includes panning for gold and a meeting with a modern witch), and the final part finishes in Ireland -- revealing a land which was near-impossible for Elizabeth I to govern, full of ravening beasts and unruly locals.

Each programme runs to 60 minutes which feature Nic striding / wading / cycling or scullign through the landscape, highlighting the most remarkable aspects of each region while giving an unbiased view of its Elizabethan history. There's not too much time to spend in each location, sadly; I got the feeling this could easily have run to six episodes and I wonder how much ended up on the cutting room floor. However, it's still far more informative than most rush-rush 'around the world in 80 wotnots' programmes, and the informed commentary is delivered without the gushing enthusiasm which accompanies most amateur efforts.

Thoroughly enjoyed all three episodes and will happily watch them again.
8/10

enthralling
Two things persuaded me to buy this - I had enjoyed the first series of COAST which features Nicholas Crane and his enthusiast's way of presenting, and I liked the idea of using a historical perspective to view parts of Britain. I was not disappointed. For anyone who enjoys history, Britain's countryside and maps this series is a joy.

Nicholas Crane's Britania DVD
Nicholas Crane's Britania : EXCELLENT IDEA,BEAUTIFULL LANDSCAPES,EXCELLENT QUALITY !

CONTINUE !!!

Miklos Szabo