Outposts of Empire

The final part of Stewart McPherson's epic journey to visit all of the UK's Overseas Territories takes him to islands that could not be more different, yet are all united by being important military or trading bases, both historically and, in some cases, still today. This journey begins in the Caribbean, where amongst sunbathing tourists, he finds some unexpected wildlife and an active volcano. In the centre of the Atlantic, the pinprick of Ascension Island, an extinct volcano, looks like somewhere on Mars rather than a part of Britain, yet it too has rich wildlife. St Helena is so remote it was seen as a safe prison for Napoleon Bonaparte after his defeat at Waterloo. And finally, Stewart visits the newest of the Overseas Territories, the Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus, along with Gibraltar, the last home of the Neanderthals and the present home of Barbary macaques, Europe's only wild colony of monkeys.