Caves and Coves

Nick Crane travels to Jersey in search of some of the most spectacular caves and coves in Europe. Following in the footsteps of the Victorians, he seeks out some sea caves that took nerves of steel to reach. He also discovers the poignant tale of a secluded bay that offered refuge - yet permanent isolation - for a sickly ship's captain on his death bed. Finally, he meets the archaeologists investigating how Neanderthals used Jersey's caves for shelter, protection and as a first basic home.

Ian McMillan turns storytelling sleuth on Scotland's Ayrshire coast as he delves into the story of Sawney Bean. Was this cave-dwelling incestuous cannibal purely the product of a wild imagination, or is there more to the story?

Andy Torbet travels to the sea cave capital of Britain - the Shetland Isles. Here he attempts to make caving history by carrying out a full 3D survey and by measuring Britain's longest sea cave. There's only a brief period when conditions allow the team to enter the cave so, as they bide their time and wait for weather and tide to turn, Andy swims through one spectacular cave and explores how these complex structures are formed.

On the Cleveland coast, physicist Helen Arney is exploring a cave with a difference. Over a mile out and under the sea is a mineral mine that's also home to a select group of scientists searching for the holy grail of physics: dark matter. Have they found it?

Mark Horton's on the Lizard Peninsula to find out why an unassuming cove became the spot where an incredible fight for survival took place during World War II. Survivors of a torpedoed ship ended up here - but the ship's cargo revealed a completely different side to the story when a salvage team located it off the coast of Ireland.