Russell Harty at the Seaside - Season 1

Cockles and mussels, deck-chairs and toffee teeth, the tower, trams and real sand in the sandwiches - all part of a day out to that raucous Northern watering-place, Blackpool. It may rain, but Russell will be there anyway to take the air and sample the fish and chips, with live cameras and a choir of seaside landladies. Bring your own nostalgia.

Bilges and beam seas, flotsam and jetlag, tin baths and gin and tonic (ice, no lemon). This week Russell takes a landlubber's view from the bridge – or the saloon deck at least – of that Wimbledon of the floating boaters Cowes Week and finds that it's a rapture of the deep for those who are addicted to the watery way of life – at least for this one glorious week of the year.

This week Russell braves the bracing east coast breezes to discover the biggest and fastest, longest and loudest seaside town in Britain. Skinny-dipping and oyster-eating, pocket battleships and giant gooseberries are all part of the Scarborough fare served up with a record helping of Yorkshire welcome from a world-beating land-ladies' chorus-line, a fast-talking trio, the FILEY FISHERMEN'S HARMONY GROUP and especially from the man who has been applauding since Wednesday.

This week Russell is forsaking the call of the sea for a journey inland over hill and rail – steam-drawn, of course – from Haverthwaite to Lakeside pier for a day out on Windermere.

Steamboats and handbell ringers, windsurfers, swing hypes and dog-falls from the Cumberland wrestlers – all part of a motley crew joining Russell live aboard the pleasure boat Teal for a leisurely trip around the lake.

This week Russell takes to the Scottish air for a bird's-eye view of the highlands and islands of the west coast, drops in among the fishing smacks and sea-salt of Oban to talk to the people who go down to the sea in working boats and joins in with the strathspeys, cabers, clan tartans and fun and highland games at the famous Argyllshire gathering.

Sun and fun, dads and lads, knobbly knees, bingo, beer and punch-and Judy (plus an event delightfully described as "a leg competition for ladies" in the Blinking Owl Bar). It's all part of the entertainment on offer to guests at that famous holiday camp at Clacton. In the last seaside rendezvous of the present series, Russell surfaces by the Olympic-size swimming-pool to join the campers in a live half-hour of slap and tickle. If wet, in the Hawaiian Ballroom.