Open Country

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The Brecks - East Anglia's Secret Aug 31, 2017

Show notes

Helen Mark visits East Anglia's best kept secret, the Brecks around Thetford - a combination of sandy heathland, England's largest lowland forest and some highly productive farms.

Scraped clean by the last ice age, the poor sandy soil meant the Brecklands that straddle Norfolk and Suffolk were marginal land, sandy and unproductive. Rabbits were a major industry, reared on vast warrens for meat and fur, their dung collected for fertiliser. Fields were snatched from the heathland for a season, then left fallow to recover. Visiting the large farm operation at Elveden Estate, Helen hears how the use of fertilisers and irrigation has allowed the land to become extremely productive for high value crops like onions, carrots and potatoes.

Thetford Forest was planted with conifers after the First World War to create England's largest lowland forest, squeezing out much of the original heathland, home to rare plants and birds, such as the stone curlew. At Weeting Reserve, run by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Helen is shown one of these distinctive birds, also known as goggle-eyed plovers.

The Brecks is also home to Grimes Graves, a prehistoric flint mine, that provided the highest quality stone implements before the invention of metal. Will Lord, who brings the Brecks' Stone Age past alive for visitors, knaps a great lump of flint into a very sharp hand axe for Helen. To her cost, she finds out just how sharp it is.

Producer: Mark Smalley.

Huw Stephens at Green Man Festival Aug 24, 2017

Show notes

Huw Stephens is our guide to the Green Man Festival in the Brecon Beacons. As a DJ Huw has been to many festivals but the Green Man is a favourite. Set in his homeland of Wales the festival is not just about rock music but also about the place in which it is set. This year festival goers are invited to spend time on the site before the music starts to get back to nature and settle into the spirit of the place. Huw meets festival goers, musicians, local food producers and druids to try to understand why hearing music in the great outdoors can be such a powerful experience.

Ballooning in Bristol Aug 17, 2017

Show notes

The International Balloon Fiesta in Bristol has been running for nearly 40 years, drawing pilots and tourists form around the world. Helen Mark has been invited to Ashton Court to help launch one of the crafts and take flight in the direction determined by the wind. During the journey she'll find out how so many navigate around one another, and why those involved are so passionate about this way of travelling. Drifting through the skies with her will be 'The Flying Archaeologist' Ben Robinson who can reveal hidden histories in the landscape below that often go unnoticed. But all her plans are at the mercy of the weather.

Presented by Helen Mark Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.

Eliza Carthy in Robin Hood's Bay Aug 10, 2017

Show notes

Eliza Carthy is one of England's finest folk performers. In this episode of Open Country Eliza explores her hometown of Robin Hood's Bay on the North Yorkshire coast. Famed for shipwrecks, smugglers and fossils Eliza uncovers the true history of the place she calls home through those who know it's history and secrets best.

Lincolnshire Bike Night Jul 27, 2017

Show notes

Leathers, green beard, a Harley and pension: guest presenter Paul Murphy meets some of the people behind the longest running bike night in the UK.

Lincolnshire's roads are long, straight (Roman) and quiet, perfect for motorbikes. Every week between March and October, about a thousand of them ride out in the county for a pub supper and a cup of tea. It's a sight you don't easily forget.

Graham Sugdon started Lincolnshire Bike Nights in 1989 when his hair and beard were long and black. He's a third generation biker and hopes he'll be riding into his eighties, like his Dad, Bernard. Frustrated by the 'No Bikers' signs at venues, Graham set out to persuade landlords that bikers could be good customers. Twenty-eight years later he's still organising weekly 'rides out'. It is about landscape - the pleasures of experiencing it at speed.

Steve Smith, landlord of the Ferry House Inn in the Trent-side village of Burton upon Stather, always looks forward to bike night. These customers may have tattoos, ZZ top-style hair and green beards, but they're unfailingly polite, their bikes are immaculate and they don't drink and drive. These leather-clad cruisers appreciate a nice bit of landscape.

Presenter...Paul Murphy Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.

Loch Tay and Ben Lawers Jul 20, 2017

Show notes

Helen Mark is in Perthshire to climb Ben Lawers above Loch Tay for a better view of the southern Highlands. Scotland's 10th highest Munro, it's home to rare alpine wildflowers, and loved by walkers. The landscape's been shaped by centuries of grazing, first by cattle and in more recent times by sheep. Helen visits the sites of the old shielings, the summer dwellings used by farming families after driving their livestock up for the pastures.

Back down at loch level, Helen visits the locality's annual Kenmore Highland Games, and finds out what a crannog is. Visiting the Scottish Crannog Centre she learns why these ancient fortified dwellings were built over the lochs, on wooden piles.

Up on Ben Lawers overlooking Loch Tay Helen also finds out about the ancient 'cup and ring' markings engraved on boulders long before even the crannogs were built. We might not know their purpose, but that doesn't stop us from guessing.

Producer: Mark Smalley.

The Dark Side of the Lune Jul 13, 2017

Show notes

Ian Marchant associates the landscape at the mouth of the River Lune with his friend and musical partner, Chas Ambler, who died nearly two years ago.

In this personal exploration of his connection to the life of the river, Ian talks to poet Paul Farley about how to value un-romantic landscape. He meets Fiona Frank, one of the founder members of the Lancashire Co-Housing project , to discuss living in an 'intentional community' on the banks of the Lune. Lancaster has a little-known connection with the slave trade, which Ian discusses with Anthea Purkis from the city's Maritime Museum.

Ian also visits Michelle Stevenson - or Chel - to talk about how she invited Chas to move into her family home at Glasson Dock for the last few weeks of his life, an act of extraordinary generosity. And if that isn't enough to reaffirm his faith in life, Ian meets haaf net fisherwoman, Margaret Owen, at the isolated north bank of the river, Sunderland Point.

An unusual, moving and funny edition of Open Country exploring the dark side of the Lune.

BBC Monitoring at Caversham Jul 06, 2017

Show notes

For 75 years a stately home near Reading has eavesdropped on the world. As BBC Monitoring changes, Caz Graham hears why the organisation is leaving Caversham.

Caz speaks to staff past and present to hear about the vital daily work conducted behind the grand portico, amidst splendid grounds, listening in to and translating radio broadcasts since 1943.

Retired staff recall being on shift when major world events occurred, such as the deaths of Stalin, Franco and Brezhnev. With its roots in short wave technology, Caversham's sensitive radio aerials and satellites could be retuned to listen in to countries around the world. Current manager at BBC Monitoring, Chris Greenway, describes the organisation's work today, for example tracking social media and the broadcasting activities of Islamic State (IS).

Producer: Mark Smalley.

Wimbledon Jun 29, 2017

Show notes

When Andy Murray steps out onto Centre Court to defend his 2016 title at the All England Lawn and Tennis Club in Wimbledon it will be the culmination of a year's work by a team of people who dedicate their lives to this iconic sporting landscape. Alison Mitchell takes a break from the commentary box to go behind the scenes of this iconic sporting venue.

Starting on the roof of the broadcast centre she speaks to Ashley Jones from Wimbledon Museum about how the grounds have moved twice since the club was founded in 1868, and explains how a broken piece of garden equipment led to the inception of the Championships.

Alison describes the Centre Court commentary box as an 'Alice in Wonderland' moment, and squeezes through its narrow doors, ducking under its low ceilings to speak to John Barrett about his life-long relationship with the Championships from visiting as a boy, to later playing there, and then his many years commentating for the BBC including that epic 1980 men's final between John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg.

She goes court-side with Head Groundsman Neil Stubley to talk about the upkeep of the playing surface, before joining Johnny Perkins on 'Henman Hill' to find out how this patch of spare ground has become an integral part of the Championship experience.

For podcast subscribers there's also an interview with Ronald McIntosh about how his first assignment at Wimbledon turned into the longest-running match in tennis history with John Isner triumphing over Nicholas Mahut 70-68 in the final set, an encounter now marked by a plaque at Court 18.

Producer: Toby Field.

Stonehenge and Mental Health Jun 15, 2017

Show notes

Helen Mark asks whether time creatively spent in Stonehenge's prehistoric landscapes can help Wiltshire residents with long term mental health problems. It's called the Human Henge project, and for one day a week for ten weeks the participants have been given the opportunity to get an insight into the lives of ancestors lived long ago. Helen accompanies the group on the final day when they're able to enter the inner circle of Stonehenge, the culmination of their work together.

Helen hears how the idea for the project began with the Restoration Trust, a charity that links heritage sites with mental health in what it describes as 'culture therapy'. English Heritage who operate Stonehenge have supported the project, as has a leading expert on Stonehenge, the archaeologist Professor Tim Darvill of Bournemouth University. Tim argues that the site may well have had a healing function in the past as a focus for rituals and ceremonies, and is glad to explore that aspect of it today.

The participants themselves describe how they've benefitted from being out of doors, from getting to know each other and having a focus besides indoor drop-in support groups. More than one participant says what's helped her is being treated as someone with a brain, glad to learn something new about her locality and its ancient past.

Producer: Mark Smalley.

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