Inspired by the solitude and escapism of islands, the author sets his heart on finding one of his own. After failed attempts to buy his retreat, he starts looking. It's a search that takes him on a journey along the UK's coastline to some of Britain's least well-known but most fascinating extremities.

Islands have always held a peculiar fascination for Ben Fogle. Inspired by their solitude and escapism, he sets his heart on finding one of his own. After failed attempts to buy his retreat, he starts looking. It's a search that takes him on a journey along the UK's coastline to some of Britain's least well-known but most fascinating extremities. Along the way, he discovers communities still living by 16th century laws, meets the king of a country founded on an abandoned floating fort, and attempts to launch a full scale invasion on a forbidden island with a GBP12.99 Mr Incredible inflatable dinghy. In the end his only hope, it seems, might lie on a barren windswept crag of black rock in the middle of the North Atlantic...Islands evacuated, islands forgotten, islands left behind by time. Ben's offshore adventure takes him in search of inspiration from those who have made their home on the periphery of our society. And just maybe, somewhere along the way, he might discover an island all of his very own.