In 1835 a young divinity student called Charles Darwin voyaged round the world, calling at the remote and weirdly beautiful island archipelago of Galapagos. What he saw sparked off a theory of evolution through natural selection which was to shake the foundations of contemporary religion and natural science.

Tonight's award-winning World About Us film is a reconstruction of Thesiger's wanderings.

The film sets out to capture the spirit of the desert and its people. But many lovers of desolate places are saddened that the deserts of Arabia are changing fast. Today the silence of the sands is broken by the drilling rig, and the Bedu has lost his livelihood, for no one needs his camels.