Cley Marshes was purchased in 1926 making it the first Wildlife Trust reserve in the country. It's a fascinating place with inspiring international connections including a special link with the Middle East. In December and January overwintering birds fill the air and the reed beds of Cley but it's not just our winged friends that migrate here. A group of artists drawn from Germany, the US and all around the UK settled in Cley 30 years ago. Inspired by the light and the landscapes the collective ...
Jan 17, 2013•25 min
Thousands of historic buildings and monuments are at risk of being lost through damage or neglect. Jules Hudson tours sites in the West Midlands to assess the level of damage, to ask what's key to helping preserve or restore them and ask if some merit the cost and effort involved. Many walking through Bubbenhall village in Warwickshire may not know about the scheduled ancient monument under the earth because even signs of it are only visible for two weeks in the year but experts say it's key to ...
Jan 10, 2013•25 min
Helen Mark visits the ancient town of Hastings to meet the people involved in the fishing community there. The fishing fleet is made up of small wooden boats which are all under ten metres long. This is important as, unusually, they are launched each day from the beach. This involves pushing them down the shingle bank, by tractor nowadays but traditionally by hand, and winching them back up again out of the sea when they return. Helen meets Paul Joy, a fisherman, who can date his family back as ...
Jan 03, 2013•25 min
Helen Mark takes us on a journey to the real Never Never Land. Peter Pan first came to life on the glittering stage of London's Duke of York Theatre on 27th December 1904, but he began life far away from the hustle, bustle and glamour of the West End in the market town of Kirriemuir near Dundee. Helen Mark visits the birth place of J.M. Barrie who immortalised this "wee red toonie" as "Thrums" in his popular (pre-Pan) novels Auld Licht Idylls, A Window in Thrums, and The Little Minister. Helen a...
Dec 27, 2012•25 min
Helen Mark is in Norfolk where preparations for Christmas are underway. In Great Hockham Helen meets Vincent Thurkettle whose life has been defined by a love of trees and the great outdoors. During the early part of the year, Vincent tends his fields of Christmas trees, which are allowed to grow with wild flowers at their roots, before spending his summers diving for sunken treasure off the coast of Britain. Returning to Norfolk later in the year, Vincent begins his Christmas tree deliveries and...
Dec 20, 2012•25 min
A spectacular aqueduct hangs in limbo above the village of Coleford whilst deep green ridges carve their way through forest and fields. Tucked away at the eastern end of the Mendips in Somerset, Jules Hudson discovers the secrets of 'The Canal that Never Was'. Started in the late 1700s, the Nettlebridge branch of what would have been the Dorset and Somerset Canal, stretches eight miles though a quiet valley between Edford and Frome. The canal itself was planned in order to link the Bristol and E...
Dec 06, 2012•25 min
Helen Mark visits Brighton to find surprising wildlife in the city. She finds an urban flock of sheep grazing on ancient chalk downland areas in the city. Their gentle nibbling is kinder to wildlife than mowing and ensures that green spaces stay clear for wildlife and people. Helen meets a volunteer shepherd in charge of watching the sheep through the winter months. Nearby, Moulsecoomb Forest Garden and Wildlife Project works with excluded school pupils growing vegetables and gardening for wildl...
Dec 03, 2012•24 min
The 12th century St Donat's castle in South Wales was once home to media mogul William Randolph Hearst - subject of Citizen Kane. Fifty years ago it became the home of Atlantic College, a unique educational establishment bringing together students from around the world in the hope of promoting peace and understanding and to overcome the problems of the Cold War. Felicity Evans explores the campus grounds, meeting students past and present, to find out how an alternative education has influenced ...
Nov 29, 2012•25 min
Helen Mark discovers the myths and legends of the landscape of Snowdonia. A recent million pound appeal by the National Trust successfully enabled the Trust to buy one of Wales' most iconic farms, Llyndy Isaf, and the land around it on the shores of Llyn Dinas. As well as being important environmentally, legend states that the area is the setting for the mythical battle between the red and white dragon, the red dragon being the victor and claiming the honour of becoming the country's national sy...
Nov 22, 2012•25 min
Helen Mark visits Hicks Lodge, a restored open cast mine in Leicestershire, now a haven for wildlife, walkers and cyclists and other more unusual visitors. Over 100 different bird species have been recorded at Hicks Lodge, which is run by the Forestry Commission and is situated in young woodlands at the heart of the National Forest. Helen meets Area Forester, Alan Dowell, to find out more about Hicks Lodge and the various walking routes and cycle trails that are available and joins local cyclist...
Nov 01, 2012•25 min
Open Country visits Scotland's Moray Firth, testing the health of its marine mammal population The beaching of twenty six pilot whales in Scotland's Firth of Forth made headlines, and highlighted the importance attached by many of us to the creatures which live, largely unobserved, in our seas. In Open Country this week, Richard Uridge travels further north, to the Moray Firth, to test the health of its mammal populations, and to try to fathom what it is about these creatures which strikes such ...
Sep 13, 2012•25 min
Helen Mark explores the landscape and waters of the Isle of Bute off the west coast of Scotland where, for over 200 years, visitors have gone 'doon the watter' to take advantage of the island's relaxing atmosphere and healing properties. Suggestions have been made that Bute should be designated as Britain's first 'blue space', an area defined by blue sea, sky and fresh air which all have a therapeutic effect. Boarding the ferry at Wemyss Bay, Helen joins Shiona Lawson, one of those whose family ...
Sep 06, 2012•25 min
The peat bogs of Ireland's midlands have become a battlefield, with opinions divided on how they should best be managed in the future. Helen Mark looks beyond the present-day arguments and travels to Counties Longford, Roscommon and Offaly to find out how attitudes to the bog have evolved over centuries. From the Iron Age Corlea trackway, an oak road discovered just a few years ago, perfectly preserved in peat, to startling evidence of early Christian links with Africa and memories of childhood ...
Aug 16, 2012•25 min
The festival of Lughnasa (pronounced Loon-asa) is an ancient Celtic celebration of the harvest, with its roots in County Meath in Ireland. The god Lugh is said to have established the festival in honour of his foster mother Tailtiu, who had exhausted herself by clearing forest land for agriculture. Helen Mark visits Teltown in Meath, which is said to have taken its name from that of Tailtiu, to see how Lughnasa is celebrated there today. Presenter : Helen Mark Producer : Moira Hickey....
Aug 09, 2012•25 min
From Dover to Dundee, London to Leeds and Cardiff to Cambridge, there is much more to our towns and cities than concrete and cars. Take the time to listen and look and a world of wildlife is there just waiting to be spotted. As Britain's largest city London is alive with wildlife and Jules Hudson takes a journey across West London in search of just a few of the feathered, furry and winged residents that call the city home. As the day begins, Jules meets David Lindo, aka The Urban Birder, who tak...
Aug 02, 2012•25 min
In a year in which the world will be looking in on Britain as we celebrate the Diamond Jubilee and host the London Olympics, Helen Mark goes in search of the people whose lives are inextricably linked with the White Cliffs of Dover.We find out about this iconic part of the British landscape which has played such an important part in our nation's history and discovers why it still holds a special place in the nation's heart.Brian Whittaker and Rob Sonnen of the National Trust tell us why it is so...
Jul 26, 2012•25 min
Jules Hudson explores the waters of Hampstead Heath which have been used for over 200 years by champion swimmers and year round bathers. How and why did they come to be and what stories can they tell? How has the landscape around them changes and what is it about them that still draws over a quarter of a million visitors a year? And what does the future hold for them? Jules Hudson is joined by Caitlin Davies who has swum in the ponds all her life to find out more about these unique ponds. Presen...
Jul 19, 2012•24 min
As the excitement mounts around London 2012 Helen Mark visits Much Wenlock, the birthplace of the modern Olympics, and explores the landscape around Wenlock Edge. In the small market town of Much Wenlock in rural Shropshire, Dr William Penny Brookes came up with an inspirational way to promote healthy living to local people by devising an annual Games event which led to the rebirth of the Olympics at its classis home in Athens. The Wenlock Olympian Society has continued with the games which are ...
Jul 12, 2012•25 min
Helen Mark is in Gloucestershire to find out more about one of our most fascinating creatures, the eel, and hear why efforts are being made to save this endangered species. When eels arrive in the UK as tiny babies, called elvers, they do so at the end of an exhausting 4,000-mile marathon swim from the Sargasso Sea where they have spawned. For generations, their arrival was greeted with much anticipation by fishermen on the Rivers Severn and Wye where they were caught at night and often used in ...
Jul 05, 2012•25 min
Jules Hudson shadows a farm vet in Devon. As the landscape has changed and farms have grown larger the role of the farm vet has changed also. A large part of their role is now on disease prevention rather than simply treatment and they can be crucial in spotting disease outbreaks like foot and mouth which have devastated the countryside in the past. Jules shadows newly qualified vet Jen Hall to find out what's involved and how important the relationship with the farmer can be in protecting anima...
May 10, 2012•25 min
Richard Uridge is in Northamptonshire to discover the inspirational landscape around Rockingham Forest.He meets musician, Nick Penny, who explains to Richard how he records the nightingales that frequently return to Glapthorn Cow Pasture and works with these sounds and other birdsong to create sound diaries of the landscape.His friend and collaborator David Garrett, takes inspiration from the Northamptonshire countryside for his poetry which began with 'Rose of the Shires, a tribute to the count...
May 03, 2012•25 min
As the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal celebrates its 200th anniversary, Helen Mark takes a boat trip to find out about the canal's importance to the South Wales landscape. Helen is joined by David Morgan from British Waterways to find out more about the canal's history and Helen and David help local brewer, Buster Grant, to deliver his celebratory ales to local pubs in the way that they would have been delivered 200 years ago. Stopping off en route, Helen finds out more about the lime industry i...
Apr 26, 2012•25 min
Where might you find the spot where Saint George killed the dragon and the oldest complete set of medieval bells? The answer lies in the Herefordshire countryside and in the history and legend attached to just some of the beautiful churches that can be found there. The Bishop of Hereford once said that 'The Diocese of Hereford is blessed with so many beautiful church buildings. Most of them stand at the centre of communities they have served for a thousand years or more." Helen Mark travels arou...
Apr 19, 2012•25 min
As parts of the country face a hosepipe ban for the first time in 20 years, Jules Hudson is in Berkshire to find out how the drought is affecting the county. Presenter: Jules Hudson Producer: Helen Chetwynd.
Apr 05, 2012•25 min
Flat Holm is the most southerly point in Wales. The Island sits just off the Cardiff Coast. In 1982, the Flat Holm Project was established. The aim was to manage Flat Holm as a local nature reserve and to encourage visitor access and opportunities for education. The Island has a long and varied history having been used by man since prehistoric times. It was farmed for some 800 years and stopped in 1942. It has been fortified twice, most recently during the 2nd World War. The Island has many buil...
Mar 29, 2012•24 min
To celebrate the bicentenary of Charles Dickens, Helen Mark visits the Medway towns to find out how important a part the Kent landscape played in Dickens' life and works. Except London - no part of the British Isles features more prominently in Dickens' life than Kent. "Kent Sir - Everybody knows Kent - apples, cherries, hops and women" Mr Jingle, Pickwick Papers. Anyone who's ever thumbed through the likes of Oliver Twist, David Copperfield or The Pickwick Papers will know that the landscape an...
Mar 22, 2012•25 min
Jules Hudson discovers an ancient landscape buried deep beneath the East Anglian fens which gives, possibly, the best idea yet of what life was like here thousands of years ago. Several wooden boats, spears, swords and other items have been found on the site of a brick quarry, preserved in silt and peat, and researchers say that this is one of the most important Bronze Age sites ever to be found in Britain Jules hears from David Gibson and Mark Knight of Cambridge University's Archaeological Uni...
Feb 02, 2012•25 min
Deep in the countryside of eastern England, British troops train in a mock Afghan village designed to look, feel, and sound like the real thing. The 30,000-acre training complex allows soldiers to prepare themselves for the cultural and tactical challenges operating in Afghanistan. The facility, built in 2008, is meant to replicate a typical village in Helmand, with houses, shops and open markets, and the exiles playing the role of villagers. In July 1942 about a thousand men, women and children...
Jan 26, 2012•25 min
It's been seven years since hunting with hounds was abolished. But it's claimed the country's hunts, which no longer chase a live animal but a trail of artificial scent instead, are in the best shape anyone can remember. So is the ban working? On Boxing Day, three hundred hunts took place across the country and Agricultural Minister, Jim Paice announced there'd be a vote on whether to repeal the act when there's time in the parliamentary calendar. So on today's Open Country, Helen Mark investiga...
Jan 19, 2012•24 min
This is the year of the London 2012 Olympic Games. In just 6 months time, 60,000 people are expected to flood into Weymouth and Portland every day for 2 weeks to watch the sailing events. GB has topped the Sailing medals table at the last three Olympic Games. British sailors will be hoping to repeat the feat at London 2012, battling their rivals in Weymouth Bay. Weymouth and Portland have been preparing for this moment since the location of the sailing events was announced over five years ago. T...
Jan 12, 2012•24 min
