Islands of the Severn Flat Holm

A quiet life with fog horns in the Bristol Channel, where history and ecology give lessons in island living

The rhythms of day and night and tidal ebb and flow frame this portrait of a lonely Welsh island. Flora and fauna occupy the places people have retreated from: weeds creep up an abandoned farmhouse, seagulls circle Victorian artillery fortifications. A relict human population are housed in the Trinity Lighthouse, protecting the busy shipping lanes where the Bristol Channel meets the Severn Estuary.

The programme is presented by TV favourite Johnny Morris, fondly remembered for his long-running children's television series Animal Magic, and he enlivens his narration here with his skills for impersonation and mimicry, voicing the characters of seabirds and historical figures.