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…a circle has no beginning and no end. It represents rebirth and regeneration, continuity and infinity. From wedding rings to stone circles, in poetry, music and the trajectories of the planets themselves, circles and loops are embedded in our imaginations.

In this five-part series poet Paul Farley goes walking in circles in five very different ‘loopy’ locations. He visits a stone circle, a roundabout and a rollercoaster to ask why human beings find rings and circles so symbolic, significant and satisfying.

Paul has circular conversations with mathematicians and physicists, composers and poets, each one propelling him into a new loop of enquiry. And that’s because a circle has no beginning and no end…

Paul's final circle is 27 kilometres in circumference and lies deep beneath the Swiss/French border. The Large Hadron Collider is a ring of supercooled magnets which accelerates subatomic particles to unimaginable speeds and smashes them together. Melissa Yexley and Simon Albright from CERN are Paul’s guide to an extraordinary loop which is revealing the secrets of the Universe. Physicist Paddy Regan explains the cosmic forces which keep our planet locked in orbit around the Sun. And we close the loop with dance teacher Karen Michaelsen as we explore the power of linking hands and dancing in circles.