countrylife

Countryfile – The UK’s Highest Village in Winter: It’s 60 years since the Big Freeze, one of the coldest winters on record, when even the sea froze over, and rural communities were cut off by blizzards and towering snowdrifts. Anita Rani and Joe Crowley are in Flash, the UK’s highest village, to see how the community coped then and how […]

Countryfile – Audley End House: John Craven and Charlotte Smith are at Audley End House in Essex, one of the finest Jacobean houses in the UK. They may arrive in grand style but are quickly despatched to the servants’ entrance to roll up their sleeves and muck in with winter cleaning and maintenance. As well as discovering the provenance of

Countryfile – Shooting Estate: Love it or hate it, shooting contributes around £2 billion to the rural economy. But it’s a sporting industry under the cosh, as the UK is gripped by the worst ever outbreak of avian flu. Can game bird shoots survive the 21st century? Charlotte explores the 12,500-acre Rhug Estate in north Wales to see what it

Countryfile – Rural Heritage: John Craven is at the National Hedgelaying Championships as competitors go chainsaw to chainsaw, billhook to billhook in a bid to claim the coveted title as they set about specific regional styles and work against the clock. John gets a lesson in the Midland Bullock style and finds out why hedgerows are so important to our

Countryfile – Hogmanay and New Year Traditions: Margherita Taylor is in Auchindrain, a fascinating and remarkably preserved example of a Scottish Highland farm township, to discover the roots and traditions surrounding New Year and Burns Night. She discovers how tough life was, and that Christmas was once just a normal working day for the townsfolk. She also delves into the

Countryfile – Rockingham Castle: John Craven and Anita Rani get into the Christmas spirit at Rockingham Castle, which is celebrating its 950th anniversary. Anita discovers that Charles Dickens was a regular visitor during the festive season, and would perform plays not only for the Lords and Ladies but also the servants. Anita forages for greenery to make a Christmas wreath,

Landward episode 26 2022: Dougie takes a winter walk at Loch Lubnaig in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park in a special festive programme looking back on 2022. He revisits the stories that Anne, Arlene, Cammy, Rosie and Shahbaz have reported on this year. Dougie reflects on the big themes, best places and inspiring people the team have met

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

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

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,