The Netherlands

Coast ventures out to the man-made shoreline of the Netherlands.

Nick Crane explores how Dutch engineers created massive coastal defences following the great North Sea flood in 1953 which killed thousands of people in the Netherlands and Britain.

Nick also discovers how, during the Second World War, traitors from the British Indian Army took part in the Nazi occupation of the tiny isle of Texel. This remote outpost in the far north of the Netherlands was later the unlikely site for the last battle in Europe of the Second World War. Nick investigates how the island fortress of Texel was torn apart by a fight between Soviet and Nazi soldiers in April 1945.

Tessa Dunlop is on the trail of 'Tulipmania', the trade in tulip bulbs that's said to have nearly bankrupted the Dutch nation nearly 400 years ago. Tessa seeks the truth behind this tale of that still haunts today's traders.

Mark Horton reveals the age-old skills that have made the Dutch the grand masters at creating new living space from the sea. Mark explores a 40-year plan to wall off the sea and drain away the water from an area bigger than Greater London.

Adam Henson investigates why cows from the coastal plains of the northern Netherlands became the most sought after milk producers in the world, and one of the most familiar sights in the British countryside. Adam discovers how in the 19th century, when British farmers went shopping for Dutch cows, these 'two-tone' Friesian cattle would transform Britain's pastures into a sea of black and white.

Miranda Krestovnikoff experiences how the Dutch delight in eating raw herring as a seaside snack, and explores a man-made island that's become a natural paradise of shifting sand and home to migrating birds in the most remote part of the Netherlands.