Episodes
| Series | Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 01 | Back To The Future | 20180129 | Will Self embarks on a 1000 mile tour of the UK travelling only by bus and coach, exploring urban Britain and British identity at a time of flux. Bus and coach windows afford Will a different perspective on the nation. He eschews the bright lights of the big cities, heading instead for smaller urban centres. His objective is to speak to Britons about how they view their cities and themselves in 2018. Will's first trip takes him to Plymouth, once the cockpit of British naval power - a time when national identity was clear and certain. Over ten programmes, Will takes in Swansea, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton, Preston, Middlesbrough, East Kilbride and Derry-Londonderry. In the fish and chip shops, the B&Bs, the pubs and car repair garages, Will debates the state of British identity - and discovers that Britain has become a highly debatable land. Producer: Laurence Grissell. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2018. Will Self embarks on a 1,000-mile tour of the UK, travelling only by bus and coach. Will Self makes a 1,000-mile tour of the UK, by bus and coach, exploring British identity |
| 01 | 02 | Soup And Laverbread | 20180130 | Will Self continues his tour of urban Britain travelling only by coach and bus, assessing British identity at a time of flux. It's a late night for Will as he speaks to some of Plymouth's homeless people who are gathering to make use of a mobile soup kitchen. After just a few hours sleep, he boards the 5am coach bound for Swansea, where he samples a local delicacy and examines the state of Welsh identity. Producer: Laurence Grissell. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2018. Will Self boards the coach for Swansea where he assesses the state of Welsh identity. Will Self makes a 1,000-mile tour of the UK, by bus and coach, exploring British identity |
| 01 | 03 | A Trip Down Rusty Lane | 20180131 | Will Self continues his tour of urban Britain travelling only by coach and bus, assessing British identity at a time of flux. After checking out of his Swansea B&B, it's time to move on to West Bromwich, where Will visits the place JB Priestley once described as the worst street in England. Will finds out what the street tells us about Britain today. Producer: Laurence Grissell. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2018. Will Self visits the place which JB Priestley described as the worst street in England. Will Self makes a 1,000-mile tour of the UK, by bus and coach, exploring British identity |
| 01 | 04 | Rock On At The Giffard | 20180201 | Will Self continues his tour of urban Britain travelling only by coach and bus, assessing British identity at a time of flux. Will visits Wolverhampton's Express & Star - which enjoys the highest circulation of any local paper - before winding down and rocking out at the town's goth pub. Producer: Laurence Grissell. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2018. Will Self visits Wolverhampton's local paper and rocks out at the town's goth pub. Will Self makes a 1,000-mile tour of the UK, by bus and coach, exploring British identity |
| 01 | 05 | Jobless In Wolverhampton | 20180202 | Will Self continues his tour of urban Britain travelling only by coach and bus, assessing British identity at a time of flux. Will speaks to jobless young people in Wolverhampton which has some of the highest rates of youth unemployment in the country. Producer: Laurence Grissell. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2018. Will Self speaks to jobless young people in Wolverhampton. Will Self makes a 1,000-mile tour of the UK, by bus and coach, exploring British identity |
| 01 | 06 | The Preston Model | 20180205 | Will Self continues his 1000 mile tour of the UK by bus and coach, arriving in Preston. Will visits a local mosque as well as assessing a bold civic experiment dubbed The Preston Model. Bus and coach windows afford Will a different perspective on the nation. He eschews the bright lights of the big cities, heading instead for smaller urban centres. His objective is to speak to Britons about how they view their cities and themselves in 2018. In the course of his enquiries, he discovers Britain has become a highly debatable land. Next stops: Middlesbrough, East Kilbride and Derry-Londonderry, concluding on the Irish border. Producer: Laurence Grissell. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2018. Will Self continues his 1,000-mile tour of the UK, stopping off in Preston. Will Self makes a 1,000-mile tour of the UK, by bus and coach, exploring British identity |
| 01 | 07 | Dual Control To Middlesbrough | 20180206 | Will Self continues his tour of urban Britain travelling only by coach and bus, assessing British identity at a time of flux. In Middlesbrough, Will learns about the booming digital scene and finds out what happened to the 1700 workers laid off at the Redcar steelworks in 2016. Producer: Laurence Grissell. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2018. Will heads to Middlesbrough, where he learns about the booming digital scene. Will Self makes a 1,000-mile tour of the UK, by bus and coach, exploring British identity |
| 01 | 08 | A Night In East Kilbride | 20180207 | Will takes the coach from Middlesbrough to East Kilbride. Will Self makes a 1,000-mile tour of the UK, by bus and coach, exploring British identity |
| 01 | 09 | Across The Irish Sea | 20180208 | Will takes the ferry across the Irish Sea to assess identity in Northern Ireland. Will Self makes a 1,000-mile tour of the UK, by bus and coach, exploring British identity |
| 01 | 10 | Last Bus To The Border | 20180209 | Will Self concludes his bus tour of the UK, assessing British identity at a time of rapid change. His final stop is Derry-Londonderry - on the very edge of the UK - where he speaks to young people about how they see themselves in 2018. Producer: Laurence Grissell. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2018. Will Self concludes his tour of the UK in Derry-Londonderry. Will Self makes a 1,000-mile tour of the UK, by bus and coach, exploring British identity |