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Writer and journalist Ian Nairn presents a series of travels, examining architecture and culture across Europe.
1975
Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End, famous names of famous teams in the soccer world. But what of the towns themselves - the towns behind the teams? Ian Nairn begins his journeys in the heart of the industrial North West. Bolton and Preston are less than 19 miles apart and yet Nairn finds two towns with surprisingly different characters.
Huddersfield Town and Halifax Town, to many people nothing more than familiar names on the pools coupons. But what of the towns themselves - the towns behind the teams? Ian Nairn continues his journeys with a visit to Yorkshire, to cast a critical eye on the Pennine soccer towns of Huddersfield and Halifax.
Wolverhampton Wanderers and Walsall, two well-known teams in the soccer leagues, but what do we know of the towns behind the teams? Ian Nairn completes his journeys with a visit to the Midlands, and to the soccer towns of Wolverhampton and Walsall. He finds the experience rewarding, and the term 'Black Country Towns' misleading.
1978
Ian Nairn takes a look at traditional follies and his own idea of follies in the first of three journeys in search of the good, the bad and the ugly in man's additions to the landscape.
Ian Nairn finds traditional follies and his own idea of follies along the Great Western Railway route between London and Bristol. Paddington Station, Reading Priory, Faringdon Tower and the Uffington White Horse feature, and Nairn finds the follies in Bristol and Bath.
Ian Nairn takes the last of three journeys in search of traditional follies and his own idea of follies. Wiltshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Concorde feature, and Nairn finds the follies in the City of London.
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1971
The first programme in a series of European journeys with Ian Nairn , writer and outspoken controversial critic of all that is bad or good in townscape and countryside. Annoyed by the traditional image of Switzerland - cowbells and cuckoo clocks - Nairn takes a 50-mile journey from Zurich and discovers a country of strong, passionate contrasts in landscape and architecture.
Early-morning arrival at Le Havre followed by a 700-mile journey across France to the Mediterranean. Ignoring maps and tourist routes, Ian Nairn takes a compass bearing on Nimes and discovers the real France. In an open top family saloon with a compass clamped to the windscreen, Nairn finds that the journey brings forth the unexpected and the whole amounts to a surprisingly revealing experience.
Browning's poem 'How they brought the good news from Ghent to Aix' is the theme behind the third in this series of European journeys. While attempting to discover whether or not Browning did actually make the journey across Belgium, Ian Nairn finds experiences both pleasurable and sad in this country tinted with a feeling of happy madness.
Ian Nairn travels north from Helsinki into the very heart of Finland by coach, hydrofoil and on foot. While attempting to discover what makes the Finns tick, Nairn finds a surprising mid-western town, and buildings designed by an 'architectural Sibelius.'
Day and night across Europe on a romantic international express. Ian Nairn leaves Paris on the overnight train to begin a 1700-mile journey through seven countries with a chance to take a critical look at the cities of Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Bucharest, and Istanbul, his destination. Featuring a memorable visit to the Oktoberfest.
