Lost histories and stories of Britain were highlighted in three talks hosted by podcast the Odditorium, each offering a different style of presentation but backed by similarly meticulous levels of research.

The lectures struck just the right balance between delivering enough information to enlighten the audience, while intimating that there was more to be discovered.

Mathew Clayton gave an enthusiastic talk on the islands around the British coast, from those lost to the sea to mythical islands which never existed at all. While his thread was not always easy to follow, the story of the sunken land of Dogger was one of many intriguing points worthy of further investigation.

John Higgs, closing the evening, spoke with a natural raconteurish ease of the ancient path across Britain from Dover to Anglesey, known now as various motorways and in many areas as Watling Street.

The highlight of the evening was a guide to some of Britain's ghost towns from host David Bramwell, presented with a comprehensive photographic slideshow and covering the remarkable stories of drowned villages such as Derwent, those taken by the military such as Balsdean, and a tangential account of the independent state of Sealand.

Four stars