Martin Clunes: Islands of America

The first port of call on Martin's journey is the lush, tropical Hawaii. His exploration looks beyond Hawaii's image as a tourist paradise, crammed with sun-kissed beaches and world class surfing, and into the havoc wreaked by advancing lava fields and smoking craters. Leaving Hawaii Martin flies 2,500 miles north to the islands of Alaska, where the contrast couldn't be more extreme, from tropical rain forests to snow-fringed glaciers; from crowded beaches to some of America's most sparsely populated territories.

Martin's travels take him 1500 miles to the San Juan Islands in Washington State, just off America's North West Pacific coast, right on the border with Canada. There are more than 100 islands, mostly uninhabited. From the San Juan Islands Martin travels down America's West coast to visit the Channel Islands National Park which is known as 'America's Galapagos' because of their unique wildlife. From the Channel Islands Martin takes a 2000-mile journey across the States to Avery Island which sits inland from the Gulf of Mexico, rising 150 feet above the surrounding Bayou. Martin ventures just along the coast from Avery Island where Louisiana's island communities are being washed away, destroyed by climate change, rising sea levels and violent weather. Land is vanishing at an alarming rate which Martin is able to witness.

Next stop on Martin's island journey is the colourful Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, America's third largest island, and the only one where Spanish is the main language. In 2017 Hurricane Maria ripped through the island causing the worst disaster in the island's history, flattening forests and houses and ultimately claiming thousands of lives. One year on Martin sees how the Puerto Ricans have begun to recover from the disaster. Leaving Puerto Rico, Martin travels north to the Sea Islands along the coast of Georgia and the Carolinas. They're home to the unique Gullah Geechee people, descendants of African slaves who once worked the plantations on these islands. Thanks to their island remoteness, they were able to hold on to much of their African heritage in ways that mainland slaves could not. Next Martin travels north to the 200-mile string of barrier islands of the Outer Banks, which run parallel to the North Carolina coast, and protect the mainland from the full force of storms and hurricanes.

Martin arrives in New York for the final leg of his journey to explore Manhattan Island, and its world famous Empire State Building, and nearby Ellis Island. From one iconic playground to another - next stop, 200 miles from New York, Martha's Vineyard. Seven miles off the mainland Martha's Vineyard is a magnet for holidaymakers and a playground for the wealthy. The final place on Martin's epic island journey is Maine, America's most easterly state, with hundreds of islands off its coast. He boards the Sunbeam support ship, a charitable mission which has been running for more than a hundred years, offering help to the most isolated island communities. The ship's crew includes a nurse, a chaplain, an engineer and a steward, who organise everything from coffee mornings to counselling, and care for the communities' physical, mental and spiritual needs.