Farming and Country Life

Countryfile – Compilation: Modern medicine has transformed our lives and wellbeing, but some ancient remedies still have a place in our hi-tech hospitals. Sean Fletcher is in Hendy, south Wales, visiting Europe’s most productive leech farm, which supplies 70 per cent of medicinal leeches worldwide. He joins for feeding time and discovers how these often-reviled three-jawed creatures are making a comeback, helping patients recover from trauma or severe infections. Leeches aren’t the only creepy crawlies with a place in modern medicine. In Swansea, Sean discovers how maggots are working their magic for a patient recovering from a major infection. And

Countryfile – Troubled Waters: The Wye is one of the most spectacular rivers in Britain, winding through stunning countryside, the muse of writers and artists, and a Site of Special Scientific Interest and conservation. With that sort of reputation, you’d expect the river to have a pristine bill of a health. But like so many of our waterways, the Wye’s waters are in trouble. Suffocated by pollution, it is slowly dying. But all is not lost.         Matt Baker and Anita Rani meet the volunteers going to the rescue of the Wye, from the cider maker turned

Countryfile – Dartmoor: Our national parks are beautiful wild spaces that are free for us all to explore and enjoy. But what does the future hold in light of funding cutbacks and the recent wild camping ruling on Dartmoor? Charlotte Smith discovers how cuts are affecting management of wild landscapes and finds out how political parties are squaring up to the right to camp debate. She also catches up with author Guy Shrubsole to discover a rare rainforest here on Dartmoor, while Matt Baker helps budding conservationists with a bird survey and takes to the airwaves of Skylark FM.  

Countryfile – Vanishing Villages: John Craven and Matt Baker are on the east coast of England to find out how storms are devouring the coastline, putting homes and livelihoods at threat. John is in Happisburgh in north Norfolk which loses two metres of land to the sea every year, a rate predicted to accelerate in the near future. One resident has already lost her home but has bought another in the town, while a neighbour is watching her house edge ever closer to being claimed by the sea, the same sea she swims in to help with her anxiety.  

Countryfile – Going to Extremes: Celebrating the seventieth anniversary of the first recorded summit of the highest point on earth, Mount Everest, Ellie Harrison is in Kettering at one of the world’s most advanced materials research facilities to put outdoor gear – and herself – to the test. As well as getting to grips with a pair of expedition boots that made it to the top of the world, how will Ellie bear up in a cold chamber where the mercury can hit -40 Celsius? The UK may not be able to match the dizzying heights of Everest, but we

Countryfile – Livestock Market: Adam Henson and Charlotte Smith are in Derbyshire at Bakewell Livestock Market as hundreds of sheep and cattle are auctioned. Among the farmers looking to make a penny or two is Keith Harrop, who is hoping to get top dollar for one of his beef cattle. But is business brisk enough today? As well as following a busy market day, Charlotte discovers the history of markets and how Bakewell is adapting for the future with pop-up shops and also a pop-in health clinic. Joe Crowley is in East Anglia, where a proposed new multibillion-pound power grid

Countryfile – Small Fishing Village: Joe Crowley and Steve Brown are on the North Yorkshire coast in the beautiful village of Staithes to find out how the traditional fishing community is adapting for the future. Where once there was a fishing fleet of 80, now there is just one fisherman left. Joe goes out to sea to discover how one skipper has swapped nets for wildlife tourism, while Steve takes a look at Staithes’s art heritage and tastes some locally smoked goodies. Adam Henson finds out about the challenges facing a sheep dairy, and Charlotte Smith investigates the latest developments