Harbour Lives

In this opening episode of the new series, Ben meets former lawyer Jeremy Channon, who recently gave up a six-figure salary to go into the family lobster fishing business. It's a 5am start for Ben as he joins Jeremy on the hunt for kilo-sized lobsters to find out why he swapped his high-flying city job for a life at sea. Frustratingly, the day's catch isn't great as many of the lobsters are undersized, and with high daily running costs of the boat, can Ben help bring in a catch big enough to help Jeremy and his crew break even?

In today's episode, Ben drops in on the larger-than-life husband and wife team running Poole's oldest fish wholesalers. Ken and Clara Greenslade's family business dates back four generations. Despite both being over eighty, neither are showing any sign of retirement and Ben's keen what keeps them motivated to carry on working. Clara then sends Ben out to sea with two of her favourite fishermen in search of whelks, but with 240 pots to haul, he's certainly got his work cut out.

In today's episode, Ben jumps aboard one of the most important boats in Poole Harbour - the dredger. It maybe dirty work but without the crucial work done by the dredger and her skipper Dean Cluett, water levels would become too shallow bringing the the harbour to a standstill as boats and ships would run aground. Having got stuck in helping out with this all-important job, Ben is then taken by Dean on a surprise visit to see a ‘super' dredger - the Amazone. This hugely impressive ship only works the harbour once every three years and can dredge the same amount of silt and sand in one hour as Dean's dredger does in nine days!

In today's episode, Ben learns the art of survival on the Dorset coast. First, he meets expert forager John Wright, who takes him on a seaside culinary journey along the beautiful Ossmington Mills to scour the shores for winkles, seaweed and shellfish. Having discovered what is edible, and what isn't, (including a plant that is fatal within three hours if eaten) Ben jumps into the sea to retrieve John's baited lobster pots, which they hope will provide them with a hearty meal back on shore.

In today's episode, Ben explores the Dorset coast by land, sea and air. First he meets the county's oldest glider pilot, 84-year old Bill Cook, who takes Ben up to 3,000 feet to show him some of the most spectacular views the historic Jurassic coastline has to offer. Despite some initial nerves, Ben is soon blown away by both the enjoyment of having the freedom of the skies, and the remarkable spirit of adventure Bill still has for a man well into his eighties.

In this episode Ben explores the ups and downs of coastal living. First, he catches up with local fisherman/restaurateur Pete Miles who he met earlier in the series. Ben gets a taste of what life is like juggling both jobs when first Pete takes him out for an early morning fishing trip to try and catch the first cuttlefish of the year - they need a big catch in order to satisfy the appetites of tonight's restaurant full of hungry diners. Back on dry land, the day's work is only half done as now Ben's kitchen skills are put to the test when Pete teaches him how to prepare and cook cuttlefish. He soon gets the hang of Pete's simple recipe but how will a tiring Ben cope when the orders start flowing in as the restaurant fills up?

In today's episode, Ben finds out about the people who enjoy some of Dorset's more unusual lifestyles. First he meets professional gardeners Ness and David Maskell who've opted out of the rat-race to become caretakers of the harbour's most deserted landscape: Green Island. Living a self-sufficient lifestyle, the couple have a massive job on their hands to battle against this overgrown wilderness and return the island to its former glory. Ben helps Ness forage for nettles to make her homemade soup which they serve up for the island's owner, multi-millionaire Edward Iliffe. It's a dreamy lifestyle with obvious echoes of the seventies hit series ‘The Good Life'.Back on the mainland, we meet a Dorset carpenter who's built a reputation for himself scouring the county's beaches for driftwood to turn into his own unique creations. Wayne Willett's works of art can fetch over a thousand pounds, but finding the right piece of driftwood can take a lot of patience. After a local tip off, Wayne tracks down an old groin which he decided to transform into a lamp. But will anyone want to buy his hard-crafted masterpiece?And while the coastline provides the perfect setting for Wayne's work, all its nooks and crannies also prove the perfect cover for illegal activity. The job of monitoring UK shores for criminal activity falls to the Home Office agency ‘Border Force' whose recent successful raids include the seizure of over one tonne of cocaine worth millions of pounds aboard a super yacht. Today, Ben is given special permission to board Her Majesty's Cutter ‘Protector' as they patrol the Dorset coast. Once at sea, it's not long before Border Force decide to investigate one yacht in particular and Ben joins their only female officer, Nicola, as they board the boat to investigate.

In the final episode of the series, Ben meets three harbour locals all striving for success, albeit in very different ways. First up he spends the day with Rosie Maddock, who is part of the harbour master's team who oversee the day to day running of the harbour. Today is her first day on jet-ski patrol and Ben joins her as she heads out into the harbour to keep an eye out of for speeding boats. While this is arguably the ‘coolest' job in the harbour, it does have a serious side and it's not long before they spot their first ‘speeder'. Having chased them down, Rosie issues a stern reminder about the laws of the harbour. At the end of their shift, Rosie takes Ben to jet-ski area of the harbour where the speed limit doesn't apply - much to Ben's obvious enjoyment!Ben then meets Janine Pattison, who specialises in landscaping the gardens of the exclusive houses of millionaire's row in Sandbanks. She takes Ben to a house that is the subject of a local dispute after the owner spent hundreds of thousands of pounds redesigning his garden without planning permission. Janine has been brought in to try and solve the problem, and we follow her story as she tries to rescue the garden and find a happy compromise for both the local council and the owner. What will he think when he sees his finished garden for the first time?Finally, Ben meets Tom Wartnaby, a 16-year avid angler who is practising on Sandbanks beach ahead of a big shore angling competition. Having given Ben a few tips on how to hook a ‘big un', we follow Tom as he heads off on his marathon five-hour angling match against some of the biggest names in British angling, including a former world champion. Can Tom belie his inexperience of youth and cause an upset by beating the seasoned professionals to win the first prize?