National Trust creates virtual coastline in the heart of London

Immersive digital exhibition at Somerset House marks 50 years of saving the shores

"This is where the coast opens, fanning like the primaries of a predator's wing," murmurs poet Owen Sheers, as the wind whispers in the ears and waves roll rhythmically on to the shore below. The tang of salt and seaweed in the air seems almost palpable - but that's just an illusion, because this isn't a day out on the headland; it's the latest immersive digital experience.

This one has been dreamed up by the National Trust. Part of the 50th anniversary celebrations for what is now the Neptune Coastline Campaign - the trust's ambitious mission to buy swaths of the British coastline to save it from development - One and All launches on 4 November at nationaltrust.org.uk/oneandall, alongside a physical installation at Somerset House in London. "We've got over 775 miles of coastline under the care of the National Trust," says Tom Freshwater, the trust's contemporary arts programme manager. "What we are looking to do now is very much about managed access to the coast, people's enjoyment of it and the wildlife potential that it has."