Open Country
- Épisodes
- 469
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- hebdomadaire
- Dernier épisode
- 1 Oct 2026
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Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of the British Isles
Épisodes 469
Walter Scott country
Martha Kearney visits Walter Scott country. She traces the writer's footsteps through the Scottish countryside, visiting Abbotsford House near Melrose, where he built his Scottish baronial dream. Scott was the …
Notes de l’épisode
Martha Kearney visits Walter Scott country. She traces the writer's footsteps through the Scottish countryside, visiting Abbotsford House near Melrose, where he built his Scottish baronial dream. Scott was the best-selling author of his generation, with Waverley station in Edinburgh named after one of his books. As Martha finds out, his writing explores Scotland’s environmental history, including deforestation, land use changes, and the human-nature relationship. He incorporates ecological themes in his novels, using landscapes as active components of storytelling and reflecting the Romantic view of nature as something to be revered. Scott advocated for the restoration of native woodlands and foresaw the potential for natural regeneration. His love of nature is expressed not only in the landscapes of his novels, but also in his personal passion for tree planting.
Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery
Whitwell Bird Ringers
Brett Westwood goes to meet ornithologist Jack Baddams and his fellow bird ringers in his home village Whitwell in Derbyshire, to find out how the practice of ringing has been passed down the generations there …
Notes de l’épisode
Brett Westwood goes to meet ornithologist Jack Baddams and his fellow bird ringers in his home village Whitwell in Derbyshire, to find out how the practice of ringing has been passed down the generations there, and learns about the impact it has on nature conservation more widely.
Most people know Jack as the young ornithologist who reports for BBC Springwatch. He’s also a bird ringer, licenced by the British Trust for Ornithology to catch and ring wild birds so we can learn more about their lives. His passion for birds started young, and as a teenager Jack was introduced to a group of bird ringers around Whitwell, where he was taught by Eleanor Wilkins who has been training the next generation.
Brett goes to meet Jack and Eleanor early in the morning at one of the Whitwell group's favourite spots to see what turns up in the nets, and hear how the data they collect on bird populations and migrations contributes to conservation. Brett also hears the story of the remarkable history of this group and its members, whose personal records of local bird observations go back decades.
Producer: Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol
Kate Stables and Winchester
Musician Kate Stables visits her favourite spots in Winchester to find out more about the area that she used to call home. From St Catherine's Hill you can see across the whole city. It's where Kate flew kites …
Notes de l’épisode
Musician Kate Stables visits her favourite spots in Winchester to find out more about the area that she used to call home. From St Catherine's Hill you can see across the whole city. It's where Kate flew kites, and celebrated her wedding - and with the help of archaeologist David Ashby she finds out about the iron-age settlement and medieval chapel that once adorned the landscape. Dropping down to the River Itchen, Kate and conservationist Rachel Remnant dip their toes into chalk streams, before heading to Cowslip Field to find out how the ancient skill of scything can feel like dancing. She was still at school when the protests against the building of a section of the M3 motorway took place, but campaigner Chris Gillham joins Kate on Twyford Down to share his memories of the camps that sprang up in an attempt to prevent the road being built. Chris describes the personal cost of being involved in that action. Kate's day finishes atop Winchester Cathedral, gazing back across the city.
Producer: Toby Field
Special thanks to Ross Lovett, Winchester Cathedral and Rozi Plain.
Saving the Rare Plants of Eryri
Martha Kearney meets the people protecting and restoring rare arctic-alpine plants in Eryri, also know as Snowdonia. Robbie Blackhall-Miles is a conservation horticulturist working for the charity Plantlife. He …
Notes de l’épisode
Martha Kearney meets the people protecting and restoring rare arctic-alpine plants in Eryri, also know as Snowdonia. Robbie Blackhall-Miles is a conservation horticulturist working for the charity Plantlife. He shows Martha his secret nursery for rare plants where he's been propagating species such as the previously extinct rosy saxifrage, in preparation for reintroducing them to the mountains.
Martha and Robbie travel to the valley of Nant Ffrancon where work has been happening in collaboration with farmers to change grazing practices, in order to help the arctic-alpine plants survive. This work has been happening as a part of the Tlysau Mynydd Eryri / Mountain Jewels of Eryri project, which is part of the wider National Heritage Lottery funded Natur am Byth (meaning Nature Forever) partnership project. We hear how the National Trust will be expanding Robbie's work in reconnecting habitats in their new Natur i Bobl Nant Ffrancon project (meaning ‘Nature for the people of Nant Ffrancon’). Martha then goes to meet the naturalist Twm Elias who has spent his life educating people about the nature and stories of Eryri. He explains how plants and other elements of the landscape get their names in Welsh, and why it's so important for people to connect with these stories.
Producer: Sophie Anton
Bramble Bank Cricket Match
Between the mainland and the Isle of Wight, when the tides are low enough and the days long enough, a sandbank emerges from the Solent. At some point each summer, in most summers since 1984, this exposed bank …
Notes de l’épisode
Between the mainland and the Isle of Wight, when the tides are low enough and the days long enough, a sandbank emerges from the Solent. At some point each summer, in most summers since 1984, this exposed bank becomes the venue for an extraordinary event: a cricket match between two sailing club teams from opposite sides of the Solent.
Test Match Special commentator Alison Mitchell joins the team setting off from Hamble, near Southampton, to witness this remarkable contest, which can only take place on a low-water spring tide. She talks to players including former England cricketer Norman Cowans and his teammate Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail single handed and non-stop around the world
Arriving at Bramble Bank by boat at dawn, she follows and commentates on the action as it unfolds, before departing as the tide returns and the pitch disappears beneath the water once again.
Producer: Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio Bristol
River Pilgrimage
Pilgrimages are usually associated with the Middle Ages, when they were at their peak. Banned by Henry VIII in the 16th century, they are now regaining popularity. In this programme, Martha Kearney joins a …
Notes de l’épisode
Pilgrimages are usually associated with the Middle Ages, when they were at their peak. Banned by Henry VIII in the 16th century, they are now regaining popularity. In this programme, Martha Kearney joins a group of people on a river pilgrimage in Kent. They're spending ten days walking the entire route of the River Medway, from its source in the High Weald in Sussex to the point where it empties into the Thames estuary - seventy miles in all. The aim is partly to highlight the current plight of the river, and to spend time monitoring pollution levels, clearing away litter and learning about its importance in the landscape. Martha meets the Director of the Friends of the River Medway who explains about the river's environmental state and its cultural significance. She also talks to the founder of the British Pilgrimage Trust and finds out why people are being drawn to pilgrimages in the 21st century, learning that they are not necessarily religious, but more a case of "bring your own beliefs".
Producer: Emma Campbell
Photo courtesy of the Friends of the River Medway: www.formedway.org
Ancient Technology Centre
Martha Kearney learns ancient skills like forging a knife, flint knapping and making a fire with flint and steel, alongside local schoolchildren at the Ancient Technology Centre in the Dorset countryside. The …
Notes de l’épisode
Martha Kearney learns ancient skills like forging a knife, flint knapping and making a fire with flint and steel, alongside local schoolchildren at the Ancient Technology Centre in the Dorset countryside. The centre is a unique collection of archaeologically accurate reconstructions of ancient buildings, used for hands-on outdoor history education. Each building represents a different time period: there’s an Earthouse, a Roman forge, an Iron Age Roundhouse, a Saxon workshop and a Viking Longhouse. Producer: Beth O'Dea
Bluebird returns to Coniston
When Donald Campbell died on Coniston Water in Cumbria in January 1967, attempting to break his own water speed record it was, to many people, the end of an era. Many would always remember where they were when …
Notes de l’épisode
When Donald Campbell died on Coniston Water in Cumbria in January 1967, attempting to break his own water speed record it was, to many people, the end of an era. Many would always remember where they were when the images of Bluebird K7, the jet hydroplane he was piloting, crashing and disintegrating on the lake appeared on TV screens and the story broke across the world.
In March 2001, after 34 years underwater, Donald Campbell’s ill-fated craft was raised from the deep by wreck-finder and engineer, Bill Smith. Later that year, at the request of Donald’s daughter Gina, his remains were also recovered - and in September 2001 he was finally laid to rest in the churchyard at Coniston. A painstaking restoration project began and in 2026, over 20 years after she was raised from the depths, Bluebird is set to finally return to Coniston Water.
Caz Graham visits Coniston Water to discover what Bluebird means to the Lake District as she returns to the water 70 years after Donald Campbell set the water speed record in 1956.
Producer: Helen Lennard
Wildlife Artists on Massingham Heath
Martha Kearney is in Norfolk to walk the heathland that is being returned to its ancient grassland habitat by Olly Birkbeck. The Society of Wildlife Artists is holding a year-long residency documenting the …
Notes de l’épisode
Martha Kearney is in Norfolk to walk the heathland that is being returned to its ancient grassland habitat by Olly Birkbeck. The Society of Wildlife Artists is holding a year-long residency documenting the recovery of the land and the flora and fauna. Martha meets sculptor Harriet Mead, field painter of birds Darren Woodhead and painter Kim Atkinson to see how they observe and reflect the natural world.
The Society of Wildlife Artists: https://swla.co.uk/
Producer: Beth O'Dea
Roadside Verges
Britain's roadside verges rarely get much attention, but can play host to a whole range of plant and animal species. In this programme Martha Kearney finds out about this overlooked habitat. She meets a …
Notes de l’épisode
Britain's roadside verges rarely get much attention, but can play host to a whole range of plant and animal species. In this programme Martha Kearney finds out about this overlooked habitat. She meets a community group in East Sussex whose members grow plants at home specially to plant in the verges of their village, and talks to the charity Plantlife about the importance of verges as an environmental habitat. She goes out exploring with artist Nessie Ramm, who focuses on painting the tiny details of roadside verges, and who last year won the New English Art Club Climate Emergency prize for her work entitled 'Reduce Speed Now'.
Producer: Emma Campbell
Deer Stalking in Essex
Britain’s deer population has surged to around two million. These iconic animals are well-loved, but their growing numbers are putting real pressure on the countryside - stripping young hedges and woodlands …
Notes de l’épisode
Britain’s deer population has surged to around two million. These iconic animals are well-loved, but their growing numbers are putting real pressure on the countryside - stripping young hedges and woodlands, damaging crops, preventing natural restoration and harming other native wildlife. To control the population, hundreds of thousands of deer are shot each year. Critics argue hunting in the name of conservation is inhumane, and a short-term fix. Others baulk at eating ‘Bambi’. Supporters argue that it’s the most sustainable, environmentally-friendly meat you can get. Mary-Ann Ochota heads into the field with a professional stalker to see what deer management really involves, from woodland to wild meat.
Produced and presented by Mary-Ann Ochota
Carrifran Wildwood
Martha Kearney visits one of the UK’s earliest environmental restoration projects. Southern Scotland was once covered in broadleaf woodland, rich scrub, heath and bog. That was before sheep, humans and conifers …
Notes de l’épisode
Martha Kearney visits one of the UK’s earliest environmental restoration projects. Southern Scotland was once covered in broadleaf woodland, rich scrub, heath and bog. That was before sheep, humans and conifers took hold. Now a group of visionary volunteers are restoring that landscape in what they call the ‘wild heart of southern Scotland’.
Set in a 1600 acre glacial valley in lowland Scotland, Carrifran Wildwood is the first tranche of a wider restoration area which aims to wheel back six thousand years. The idea is to recreate the primeval forest that proliferated back then. It will act as a carbon sink, a flood mitigator and a generator of biodiversity.
The planting schedule is drawn from a catalogue created from evidence in the ancient peat bog. Unlike other ‘rewilding’ projects, Carrifran Wildwood aims to exclude human beings from this valuable space, an unusual step which the founders see as crucial to its success.
Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery
In Celebration of the Daffodil
Thriplow Daffodil Weekend in Cambridgeshire started as a way of raising money for a church roof in 1968. Nearly sixty years later, it is thriving. More than 40,000 bulbs are planted each year to create the …
Notes de l’épisode
Thriplow Daffodil Weekend in Cambridgeshire started as a way of raising money for a church roof in 1968. Nearly sixty years later, it is thriving. More than 40,000 bulbs are planted each year to create the incredible displays and a small village of just 250 residents welcomes more than 10,000 visitors over the weekend. Martha Kearney joins them to discover what’s involved, meeting the organiser Paul Earnshaw and ‘daffodil Tom’ who spends his winter planting the bulbs.
Daffodils are ubiquitous in spring in Britain. We see them on vergesides and gardens across the country, but the flower is not native to the UK. Martha visits Cambridge Botanic Garden to find out more about the history and use of the humble daff. There are around 30,000 varieties of daffodil, or narcissus, grown - but some varieties are extremely rare. The Royal Horticultural Society is asking gardeners to log any pink blooms, to find out how many are left.
Celebrated in literature and used for centuries in medicine, there is much more to the daffodil - as Martha finds out on her travels in Cambridgeshire.
Producer: Helen Lennard
Restoring Wallasea's Wild Coast
Martha Kearney visits Wallasea Island in Essex, the largest manmade coastal nature reserve in Europe. It was created from the 3 million tonnes of London clay that were excavated in the digging out of the …
Notes de l’épisode
Martha Kearney visits Wallasea Island in Essex, the largest manmade coastal nature reserve in Europe. It was created from the 3 million tonnes of London clay that were excavated in the digging out of the Elizabeth Line. The RSPB project used soil from the Crossrail scheme to raise the land, and flood almost 170 hectares of arable land to create saltmarsh, mudflats and lagoons. This was to mitigate for land loss as sea levels rise and it’s the only place that has raised land in order to bring the sea back. It’s the largest complex of saline lagoons in the UK. The project tells an unusually positive story about adapting to climate change and coastal erosion before it happens, for the benefit of nature. Martha goes to see the waders and waterbirds that now over-winter there.
Producer: Beth O'Dea
Stroudwater's missing mile
The Stroudwater canal in Gloucestershire was built in the 1770s. It brought coal to the mills along the Stroud valleys, which had become an important centre for the manufacture of woollen cloth, but the arrival …
Notes de l’épisode
The Stroudwater canal in Gloucestershire was built in the 1770s. It brought coal to the mills along the Stroud valleys, which had become an important centre for the manufacture of woollen cloth, but the arrival of the railways in the mid 19th century led to the canal's decline and eventual abandonment. A mile-long section of it was filled in when the M5 motorway was built in the 1960s, cutting the canal off from the rest of the inland waterways network. Now ambitious multi-million plans are underway to restore and re-open the "missing mile" and reconnect the canal.
Martha Kearney visits the Stroudwater canal to see how the work is going. She talks to volunteers, and finds out what difference the work will make to the canal - as a local amenity, as a tourist attraction and as a wildlife corridor.
Producer: Emma Campbell
The Rock Houses of Staffordshire
Martha Kearney visits the unique cave dwellings at Kinver Edge that were lived in until the 1960s. Cosy cottages were built into the soft red sandstone with windows and doors and families lived in them for …
Notes de l’épisode
Martha Kearney visits the unique cave dwellings at Kinver Edge that were lived in until the 1960s. Cosy cottages were built into the soft red sandstone with windows and doors and families lived in them for generations. Martha looks around a cottage which has been restored as it was when it was lived in and hears about the family that lived there. She also finds out about the heathland restoration project which is bringing rare wildlife back to this valuable sandscape. And she meets Brett Westwood to try and track some of it down.
Producer Beth O'Dea
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/shropshire-staffordshire/kinver-edge-and-the-rock-houses
Hedgerow havens
Hedges are such a traditional part of the British landscape that most of us don't give them a second thought. They're usually associated with the enclosures of the 17th-19th centuries, when the medieval farming …
Notes de l’épisode
Hedges are such a traditional part of the British landscape that most of us don't give them a second thought. They're usually associated with the enclosures of the 17th-19th centuries, when the medieval farming system gave way to enclosed fields surrounded by hedges - designed to keep sheep in and people out. But, as Martha Kearney finds out, many hedges are far older than that - going back thousands of years in some cases.
In this programme, Martha explores the history and future of the hedge. She learns that there are an estimated 400,000 miles of hedgerow in Britain, despite the fact that many hedges were grubbed up and destroyed in the years since the Second World War. She talks to a wildlife expert, who explains why hedges are so important for wildlife and outlines the vital role they have to play in the ecosystem.
Martha visits a hedge-laying course in Devon, where trainees are learning this ancient skill, and tries her hand at the craft using a billhook. She discovers that Devon has a hedge style all of its own.
Producer: Emma Campbell
Savernake Forest
It's an ancient hunting ground with thousands of 'veteran' trees. Henry VIII visited often as it was the seat of the Seymour Family at nearby Wolfhall. Martha visits the forest to learn about its past as well …
Notes de l’épisode
It's an ancient hunting ground with thousands of 'veteran' trees. Henry VIII visited often as it was the seat of the Seymour Family at nearby Wolfhall. Martha visits the forest to learn about its past as well as how ecologist Andy Harris and forester Nikki Morgans manage this special site and aim to 'future proof' it protecting the ancient trees and wildlife for the next thousand years. Historian Graham Bathe helps her measure one of the thousand year old trees and Emma Heard who produces the Weird Wiltshire blog recounts tales of hauntings from the forest.
Producer: Maggie Ayre
The Mourne Mountain Fires
The Mourne Mountains in County Down are home to Northern Ireland’s highest and most dramatic peaks - a landscape often shrouded in cloud and rain. Yet in recent years thousands of fires have broken out across …
Notes de l’épisode
The Mourne Mountains in County Down are home to Northern Ireland’s highest and most dramatic peaks - a landscape often shrouded in cloud and rain. Yet in recent years thousands of fires have broken out across the range, the majority believed to have been started deliberately. Dry weather and hotter summers linked to climate change have made conditions even more hazardous, alongside the degradation of peat bogs and increased soil erosion.
Martha Kearney visits County Down to hear how local people have been affected, including farmer Sam McConnell and mountain rescue volunteers Neville Watson and Alwynne Shannon. She also discovers what is being done to mitigate the devastation, meeting lead ranger James Fisher and wildfire recovery ranger Linus Voksepp from the National Trust to learn about their vital restoration work.
Producer: Eliza Lomas
Black Poplars: How to Save a Tree
Have you ever heard of a black poplar? You've probably seen one, at least in a painting, even if you didn't recognise it as such. The black poplar is Britain's most endangered tree, and features in Constable's …
Notes de l’épisode
Have you ever heard of a black poplar? You've probably seen one, at least in a painting, even if you didn't recognise it as such. The black poplar is Britain's most endangered tree, and features in Constable's famous work, The Hay Wain. Martha Kearney is in Suffolk to see black poplars at Flatford Mill, the location in the painting, and to talk to botanical artist Ruth Wharrier about painting from nature. With tree wardens David Appleton and Fe Morris, Martha surveys new trees on the riverbank nearby. She finishes by visiting a new clone bank of trees at Jimmy's Farm, which are thriving between the wolves and polar bears. Without active support, this native British tree could disappear from our countryside altogether.
Suffolk Tree Warden Network: https://www.suffolktreewardens.org.ukhttps://ruthwharrier.comhttps://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/adult-learning/botanical-art
Producer: Beth O'Dea
The Stones of Snuff Mills
Tucked away in a wooded valley on the outskirts of Bristol is a magical woodland nature reserve, Snuff Mills. Helen Mark discovers what lies beneath the trees, a now peaceful place with a history of heavy …
Notes de l’épisode
Tucked away in a wooded valley on the outskirts of Bristol is a magical woodland nature reserve, Snuff Mills. Helen Mark discovers what lies beneath the trees, a now peaceful place with a history of heavy industry, where milling and stone quarrying has left behind a stunning playground for walkers and climbers. Local residents John, Beryl and Margaret grew up next to the quarry and witnessed its transformation from their secret playground to a busy public park. Engineer Geoff Wallis helped to literally unearth a fascinating piece of industrial history, and Steve England shows Helen the natural secrets of the valley.
Following the stones of the quarry Helen crosses the river and finds the grounds of what was once Bristol’s asylum and – Helen hears from volunteer Anwyl Cooper-Willis - a landscape carefully designed to be therapeutic for patients and speed their recovery. But where does the name Snuff Mills come from? Is it really one of the most haunted places in Bristol? And which Hollywood star has a connection with the Asylum's story?
Presented by Helen Mark Produced by Beth Sagar-Fenton Assistant production by Ellie Richold Series Producer: Emma Campbell
Fair Isle
Halfway between Orkney and Shetland, Fair Isle is one of Britain’s most isolated inhabited islands. It's famous for knitting and birds, and those still form the basis of the island's economy, as Martha Kearney …
Notes de l’épisode
Halfway between Orkney and Shetland, Fair Isle is one of Britain’s most isolated inhabited islands. It's famous for knitting and birds, and those still form the basis of the island's economy, as Martha Kearney discovers.
As an inviting rock in the North Atlantic it’s a magnet for migratory birds, with exhausted individuals blown off course regularly adding to a long list of unusual species recorded by the local bird observatory. Martha joins the island’s Head of Ornithology, Alex Penn, to ring some visitors and sit for a while with Britain’s friendliest colonies of puffin.
French knitwear designer, Marie Brahat introduces Martha to her flock of sheep and gives her a lesson in turning their wool into the unique designs of Fair Isle knitwear. School teacher Jonathan Pye is the newest arrival on the island, currently dealing with a school roll of just two pupils - brothers Luca and Anders.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
The Menai Strait
Martha Kearney visits the Menai Strait - the stretch of water which separates Ynys Môn or Anglesey from mainland Wales. She learns about its treacherous tides and hears about the history of its two bridges …
Notes de l’épisode
Martha Kearney visits the Menai Strait - the stretch of water which separates Ynys Môn or Anglesey from mainland Wales. She learns about its treacherous tides and hears about the history of its two bridges, both built in the 19th century to improve travel between London and Ireland. The Menai Suspension Bridge was designed by Thomas Telford and will celebrate its 200th anniversary at the start of 2026. The newer Britannia Bridge had to be completely rebuilt after a disastrous fire in 1970.
Martha meets an academic from Bangor University who explains how ocean physics make the waters of the Strait so dangerous. At low tide she braves the pouring rain to go rock-pooling with a wildlife expert, who explains why the Strait is such a special habitat for marine life. She also visits Church Island - a tiny island in the middle of the Strait which is home to an ancient church - and meets the people who look after it.
Producer: Emma Campbell
Pingos and Pool Frogs
Martha Kearney discovers the Ice Age ponds in Norfolk, called pingos, which are being brought back to life, and provide a home for the Northern Pool Frog. It's the UK's rarest amphibian and had become extinct …
Notes de l’épisode
Martha Kearney discovers the Ice Age ponds in Norfolk, called pingos, which are being brought back to life, and provide a home for the Northern Pool Frog. It's the UK's rarest amphibian and had become extinct in this country, but it's now breeding there again and Martha is keen to see one. With 400 pingos, Thompson Common is the most important site for pond wildlife in the country and also holds a precious store of seeds.
Norfolk Wildlife Trust: https://www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/ThompsonCommon
Find out more about The Pingo Trail Walk: https://www.explorenorfolkuk.co.uk/pingo-trail.html
Work supported by Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme.
Producer: Beth O'Dea
Exploring the Lakes by wheelchair
Caz Graham tries out Miles without Stiles, a scheme which helps disabled people access the Lake District. She joins a group of people in a fleet of mobility vehicles on a route from Sizergh Castle near Kendal …
Notes de l’épisode
Caz Graham tries out Miles without Stiles, a scheme which helps disabled people access the Lake District. She joins a group of people in a fleet of mobility vehicles on a route from Sizergh Castle near Kendal, and visits the Keswick to Threlkeld path which was rebuilt after Storm Desmond but attracted controversy when it was surfaced with tarmac. Will Clark explains how the scheme helps him continue to enjoy the countryside after a mountain biking accident left him paralysed from the neck down. He explores the lakes and fells using a power chair which he operates with his chin.
Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven
Aeolian harps on Wicken Fen
Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire is one of the few remaining fragments of England’s original fenland. A place loved by naturalists for generations, it was Victorian botanists and entomologists who led the efforts …
Notes de l’épisode
Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire is one of the few remaining fragments of England’s original fenland. A place loved by naturalists for generations, it was Victorian botanists and entomologists who led the efforts to ensure the land was entrusted to the National Trust, which has protected it for 125 years.
Today, Wicken Fen is a thriving mosaic of flowering meadows, sedge and reedbeds. It is one of the most species-rich areas in Britain, home to endangered species such as the crane, bittern, marsh harrier and great crested newt.
Martha Kearney explores the unique history and ecology of this remarkable landscape alongside sound artist Kathy Hinde. Together, they craft a handheld aeolian harp – a stringed instrument played solely by the wind. Kathy Hinde has created sound sculptures across Wicken Fen to celebrate 125 years of this special place, called 'Listen to the Voices of the Fen'.
Martha also meets local volunteer Gerard Smallwood, who demonstrates how the last surviving wooden windpump in the Fens, an iconic piece of machinery, is now used to re-wet the land. Ajay Tegala, a National Trust warden, shares recent wildlife sightings, offering a glimpse into the lives that flourish in this delicate ecosystem.
Producer: Eliza Lomas
Flutterings on the Fleet
Tucked in behind Dorset's famous Chesil Beach is a unique and beautiful place - the Fleet Lagoon. Martha Kearney explores a thousand year history of human guardianship of birds on the lagoon. On the way she …
Notes de l’épisode
Tucked in behind Dorset's famous Chesil Beach is a unique and beautiful place - the Fleet Lagoon. Martha Kearney explores a thousand year history of human guardianship of birds on the lagoon. On the way she gets a close-up view of little tern dating platforms on the Fleet itself, learns why the swans of the ancient Abbotsbury Swannery are much safer now and who they hate the most, and - of course - learns to build a nest.
Contributors include:
Angela Thomas - Assistant Warden, Chesil and Fleet Nature Reserve Chris Goding - RSPB Project Officer & Assistant Warden, Chesil Little Tern Recovery Project Steve Groves - Swanherd, Abbotsbury Swannery
With thanks to Dorset Wildlife Trust.
Presenter: Martha Kearney Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton
Shipshape and Bristol Fashion
Helen Mark visits the port of Bristol – finding out how it changed the local landscape, and how the landscape in turn shaped it. She learns how and why Bristol became a port city in the first place and finds …
Notes de l’épisode
Helen Mark visits the port of Bristol – finding out how it changed the local landscape, and how the landscape in turn shaped it. She learns how and why Bristol became a port city in the first place and finds out about the creation of the floating harbour in 1809. She uncovers a tale of mud, the enemy of shipping, which scuppered the port’s ability to take on larger ships, resulting eventually in its move down to the mouth of the river in 1873. Helen visits the historic Underfall boat yard, which was badly damaged in an arson attack two years ago, but is now gradually returning to its former glory. She finds out how the modern port has managed to carve out spaces for wildlife, learns how it still continues to change the landscape today, and hears about plans to build a “compensatory” nature reserve further down the coast.
Contributors include:
Tiggy Latcham - Bristol Ferry Company Sarah Murray - Director, Underfall Yard Anne Hayes - Head of Environment and Sustainability, The Bristol Port Company Lucy Taylor - Deputy Environment & Sustainability Manager, The Bristol Port Company John Chaplin - Director of External Affairs and Special Projects at The Bristol Port Company
Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton
Wild and Windy Fylde
The Fylde peninsula stands between Morecombe Bay, the Bowland Hills and the Irish Sea. Its position means that it's a very windy spot. Windmills have been a feature of the area for hundreds of years, built to …
Notes de l’épisode
The Fylde peninsula stands between Morecombe Bay, the Bowland Hills and the Irish Sea. Its position means that it's a very windy spot. Windmills have been a feature of the area for hundreds of years, built to grind grain and drain marshy areas in order to turn them into agricultural land. At one point there were over thirty-five windmills on the Fylde coast. Rendered obsolete by the arrival of new technologies – first steam, then electricity - only a few are still standing today. In this programme, Martha Kearney visits one of the last remaining windmills, Little Marton in Blackpool. Built in 1838, it inspired the author Charles Allen Clarke to write 'Windmill Land', documenting the windmills of rural Lancashire. Martha is shown around the mill by the author's grand-daughter, who explains its significance.
Martha travels inland to discover how some of the impacts of the previous generations' decisions about landscape management are being reversed. Where land was once drained, in some places it is now being "re-wetted". She visits Winmarleigh carbon farm where Lancashire Wildlife Trust is running a project to restore peatland which was damaged in the past by drainage, involving planting 150,000 plugs of sphagnum moss. She learns how that's done, and meets the scientist who's monitoring the effect this has on greenhouse gas emissions.
Back on the coast again at Lytham St Annes, Martha finds out about the role the wind has to play in 21st century activities in the area, where sports like kite-surfing and land-yachting are growing in popularity. She meets a man whose father set up the local land-yachting club, and who - now in his 80s - is still going strong in the sport.
Producer: Emma Campbell Assistant producer: Jo Peacey
The People's Forest
Helen Mark hears the story of how the ancient Epping Forest was fought for, and saved by, the people of East London. In the late 19th century, Epping Forest was threatened with enclosures. As elsewhere in …
Notes de l’épisode
Helen Mark hears the story of how the ancient Epping Forest was fought for, and saved by, the people of East London.
In the late 19th century, Epping Forest was threatened with enclosures. As elsewhere in Britain, local landowners were selling off common land for farming or building developments. But local people fought back. Beginning with a Loughton man, Thomas Willingale, who continued to assert his commoner rights to lop trees for firewood, the groundswell of protest later became thousands of working class East Enders gathering on Wanstead Flats - the area closest to the city of London.
The land of Epping Forest was eventually bought by the City of London Corporation, and with the Epping Forest Act of 1878, was forever saved from more enclosures. As Queen Victoria declared in 1882, "It gives me great satisfaction to dedicate this beautiful forest for the use and enjoyment of my people for all time”.
Part of the responsibility of the new conservators of the forest, the City of London, was to look after and protect the forest for both people and wildlife. Helen Mark hears from those who job it is to carry that out, including Senior Epping Forest Keeper Martin Whitfield and Head of Conservation Tanith Cook. She also speaks to local historian, Georgina Green - author of 'Keepers, Cockneys and Kitchen Maids: Memories of Epping Forest, 1900-25', a book about the forests' eventful past, who also talks about her own memories of the place. And finally Luke Turner, author of 'Out of The Woods', who lives on the forest border talks about the myriad ways humans and Epping Forest are entwined.
Produced by Eliza Lomas, BBC Audio Bristol.
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