A series of six programmes in which Sir Hugh Casson, architect and President of the Royal Academy, shows viewers some of the places that delight him.
This is a museum unlike any other: it was once the private house of Sir Merton and Lady Russell-Cotes who, great travellers and fanatical collectors of the curious, filled their home with art of their choice and the things they had collected on their journeys abroad.
A prominent citizen of Bournemouth (he served as Lord Mayor for a time), Russell-Cotes urged the authorities to bring the railway direct from London and this brought great prosperity to the town. As a result of his personal interests and energy, Bournemouth, one of the most famous and respectable resorts on the south coast, has a unique, prized museum and art gallery.
"I first discovered this place on a wet Sunday afternoon about 20 years ago, and I thought it was an absolute knockout."