countryfile

Countryfile – Rural Power: Rural households are more vulnerable to the current energy crisis and fuel poverty due to lower wages, poorly insulated buildings and a heavy reliance on cars. However, there are some communities that are finding ways to take power into their own hands – literally. Ellie Harrison heads to Bethesda, a village in rural north west Wales built around former slate quarries and the River Ogwen that is now home to a growing community of energy self-sufficiency.       With hydro pumps, solar panels, e-transport, energy wardens and repurposed buildings, this local community has found a […]

Landward episode 25 2022: With the festive season fast approaching, Dougie visits a farm near Buchlyvie, in Stirlingshire, that has diversified from producing beef to growing Christmas trees. He lends a hand as people come along to cut their own trees. Elsewhere, Rosie is in Ullapool to help the community build this year’s creel Christmas tree, while Cammy visits young farmers taking part in the trial of an app that tracks low-level mental health.       Anne is near Strathdon to find out out how avian flu is affecting poultry farmers producing Christmas turkeys. Avian flu, also known as

Countryfile – Winter Wonders: Anita Rani is at the world-famous Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in Slimbridge, a centre of research and conservation founded by Sir Peter Scott in 1946, to discover some wonderful winter sights. Anita waits for one of the most magical moments in the Slimbridge calendar, the arrival of Bewick’s swans. Having flown all the way from Russia, these rarest and smallest of swans land here to spend the winter in warmer climes – a phenomenon known to locals as ‘swanfall’.       Anita meets Mary, one of the original ‘swan girls’, who explains how she used

Countryfile – Inclusive Farming: Matt Baker rolls up his sleeves to help out on a remarkable smallholding in Bedfordshire. Farmer Mike Duxbury lost his sight at the age of six due to glaucoma, but that didn’t stop him from achieving his dream to farm. Touch and sound enable him to navigate the farm and take on anything that needs doing, from checking livestock to wielding power tools to build animal enclosures. And Mike is determined to inspire young people with disabilities to get into agriculture by running practical courses.       Meanwhile, Joe Crowley investigates if enough is being

Countryfile – Plant Britain Finale: As Countryfile’s Plant Britain initiative to plant three-quarters of a million trees across the UK reaches its climax, John Craven and Ellie Harrison are at the Countryfile wood in Cheshire. Planting here began just two years ago, but John and Ellie discover how the saplings are already helping nature. Ellie also checks out the positive impact trees have on the planet, from seed to deadwood. Charlotte Smith finds out how community gardens are changing lives and discovers the fascinating underground system that enables trees to talk to each other.       Tom Heap visits

Countryfile – Mount Edgcumbe Country Park: Margherita Taylor visits Mount Edgecumbe Country Park in Cornwall to mark Remembrance Sunday. She discovers how ex-servicemen and women are being helped to heal old wounds and develop new skills for the future. For many veterans, the transition from military to civilian life can be tough, but dedicated charities and initiatives can help to give them a new start in life – from solace and healing in nature to training in cutting-edge technology in the battle against poaching and deforestation across the globe.       Charlotte Smith meets farmers dealing with eye-watering energy

Countryfile – Ramble: It’s the big ramble for BBC Children in Need as our presenters step out to meet some inspirational young people and to discover how they have been helped by the charity. Matt Baker is in Northern Ireland with Saul, aged 12, who has a rare form of dwarfism and an unquenchable thirst for adventure, enabled by CiN support. From canoeing to abseiling in the worst of weathers, nothing deters Saul, and there’s a surprise or two to keep him going.       Anita Rani is in Wales on a testing ramble up Pumlumon – the highest

Countryfile – Green Space Dark Skies: Matt Baker introduces a special episode that comes from all four corners of the UK. Ben Nevis, Slieve Donard, Yr Wyddfa and Scafell Pike – the highest peaks of our four nations are the breathtaking backdrop for a massive art installation. Hundreds of volunteers, or ‘lumenators’, with specially designed bespoke lights, head for the peaks for this ambitious project celebrating access to and custodianship of the countryside.       With a presenter on each of the mountains, we go behind the scenes to discover the vision behind the project, hear the stories of

Countryfile – One Man and His Dog: In a small field in north Wales, four of the UK’s top handlers and their sheepdogs go head-to-head, aiming to claim this year’s One Man and His Dog trophy. Overlooked by the famous Offa’s Dyke, the course at Bodfari is small and simple, leaving our competing teams nowhere to hide from the expert eye of the judge, Mike Northwood.       Can English outsider Jessica Saukkonen and her dog Gannon or Scottish veteran Sandy McCulloch and his dog Sam outdo the reigning International Supreme Champions, Wales’s Dewi Jenkins and Jock? Dewi took

Countryfile – Field to Fashion: Anita Rani is in a green pocket of Blackburn to catch up with fashion designer and Great British Sewing Bee judge Patrick Grant to find out about the growing field-to-fashion movement. Patrick is behind a movement to revive the flax industry, once a mainstay of British agriculture, to create home-grown linen. Anita also tries her hand at spinning and finds out about growing woad to dye locally produced cloth.       And she raids the Countryfile archives to celebrate British field-to-fashion artisans from tanners to sock makers, including the time Charlotte gave an angora

Countryfile – Harvest: For some, it’s been the earliest harvest ever in the UK. We join Adam Henson on his farm to find out if he is being persuaded by pioneering neighbour David Wilson to give regenerative farming a go. It’s the big new buzzword in agriculture, but how do Adam’s conventional crops compare to David’s heritage breeds? And who comes out on top in terms of profit and for soil health?       As energy costs rocket, Charlotte Smith finds out whether methane might be fuelling our tractors in the future and also if a giant grass could

Countryfile – Brixham: Joe Crowley is on the south Devon coast, the stunning English Riviera where disco scallops are the talk of the town. A chance discovery that they react to lights could revolutionise scallop fishing. Joe also discovers how new technology can reveal some watery wonders without having to put a toe in the sea, and we meet the farming brothers who’ve turned to aquaponics.       Adam Henson meets the two final contenders going for glory in One Man and His Dog. For Scotland, it’s veteran Sandy and his dog Sam, while Dewi and Jock run for