Britain's Most Historic Towns

Alice is in Lincoln, getting to grips with life in medieval England. She visits the magnificent cathedral that was once the tallest building in the world and re-lives the battle at Lincoln Castle.

Alice Roberts explores London's Restoration history, including the founding of the Royal Society and the violent dark side behind Charles II's carefully crafted public image. She visits St Paul's Cathedral, reveals how women performed on stage for the first time during this period, and uncovers shocking details of the slave trade at the National Maritime Museum. Plus, a look at parallels between the plague that struck London during the 1660s and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Professor Alice Roberts visits Portsmouth to investigate the history of the Royal Navy, uncovering some uncomfortable truths behind the myth surrounding Lord Horatio Nelson and getting first-hand experience of what life would have been like in the heat of battle at Trafalgar. She also visits an archaeological dig on Burrow Island and a lantern show at the New Theatre Royal, and discovers the brutal punishments doled out for even minor offences by the Victorian penal system.

Alice Roberts visits Elizabethan Plymouth, exploring the story of England's `Golden Age', from Sir Francis Drake to the Spanish Armada, piracy, theft, and the slave trade.

Alice Roberts explores Glasgow's age of steam, from lethal diseases and industrial injury to genteel tea rooms, football at Celtic Park, and the beautiful Loch Katrine

On a visit to Georgian Edinburgh, Alice Roberts explores the city's finest architecture, 'Auld Reekie', the roots of modern Scottishness, and some dark imperial controversies

Alice explores Manchester's rich history of working-class protest and revolution during the Industrial Revolution, from the Peterloo massacre, to Marx, and onwards to the suffragettes