Open Country

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Helen Baxendale visits Belper in Derbyshire Aug 25, 2016

Show notes

Guest presenter Helen Baxendale visits Belper in Derbyshire, to explore the landscape for traces of the town's industrial past. Belper is part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site (as designated by UNESCO in 2001), so she expected to find the river-power and the ironstone that made the town a perfect site for Jedediah Strutt to locate his mills in the eighteenth century. More surprising is the vibrant artistic scene and a large helping of community spirit whose roots can be traced back over to Strutt.

Helen also explores a nature reserve that bears the scars of industry, with rivers dredged to feed the mills, flood plains damned and built up and a former landfill site that looks as wild as the rest of the reserve. Closer scrutiny suggests that local flora and fauna are less willing to make their home on the former rubbish tip, even though it is entirely covered in soil and vegetation and doesn't appear to leach into the surrounding environment.

Helen Baxendale is an actress best known for her roles in Cuckoo, Cold Feet and Friends. She also has a keen interest in the environment and family roots in Derbyshire.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.

Spurn Point Lifeboat Station Aug 18, 2016

Show notes

Helen Mark spends the day wit the only full-time lifeboat crew in the UK, based on Spurn Point. This unique landscape is a strip of land, 3.5 miles long and only 50m wide in places. Until recently the station was occupied by the station staff and their families, but the fragility of the Spurn Point sandbank that links it to the mainland means it is no longer fit for so many people. And if you want to visit, you have to park up and walk 3 miles, since the storms of 2013 washed parts of the road away.

The lifeboat stations covers the treacherous inshore waters of the Humber and 100 miles out to sea, as far north as Bridlington and south to Skegness. There's an average call out rate of once a week, but the crew have to be ready 24/7. Helen meets Ben Mitchell, the 29 year old 2nd Coxwain who is in charge this week, plus crew members Ed Kilsby, Liam Dunnett, Glen Peterson and Kim Platford. She also visits the manager of the Spurn Point National Nature Reserve, who explains why this tiny strip of land is of national importance to wildlife.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.

The 'Man Engine' in Cornwall's mining landscape Aug 11, 2016

Show notes

The largest mechanical puppet ever made in the UK "The Man Engine" has been striding out across Cornwall to celebrate 10 years since Cornwall's mining landscapes were awarded the status of UNESCO world heritage sites.

Standing 10 metres high this 'Man Engine' will visit each of the 10 heritage areas across Cornwall and Helen Mark meets him and his creator Will Coleman in Liskeard and Minions on Bodmin moor. Helen speaks to some of the people who live here about what tin mining means to them today and to their sense of history. Former miner Mark Kaczmarek tell us about life in the mines today at Camborne School of Mines and we hear songs from Nick Hart from 'The Story of Cornwall' that make up the soundtrack to this incredible landscape and the industry which began here.

Orkney Wildlife in Crisis Aug 04, 2016

Show notes

The Orkney Isles are one of the best places for wildlife in the country. Species such as seals and puffins which are hard to find in other parts of the UK can often be spotted in Orkney with ease. Helen Mark visits to discover for herself the incredibly rich beaches, cliff tops and moorland on the islands. Despite the display of rare species on offer Helen finds that even here marine life is increasingly threatened by an array of problems and once thriving populations are now in decline. She talks to Martin Gray, the Orkney beachcomber who has dedicated his life to cleaning up the shores of his home. She learns how to capture the flight of the Arctic Skua on paper with artist Tim Wooton. Helen visits the 'sea bird city' at Marwick Head and discovers how their decline, as well as that of the harbour seal, is being tracked using mobile technology. Can conservationists learn enough about the feeding habits of the most threatened species to halt the decline? The nature lovers of Orkney continue to hope they can.

Capability Brown at 300 Jul 28, 2016

Show notes

Lancelot 'Capability' Brown is heralded as the Shakespeare of gardening who in the eighteen century designed an estimated 170 landscapes including Blenheim Palace, Warwick Castle and Highclere Castle. To mark the 300th anniversary of his birth, Helen Mark discovers how his naturalistic landscapes changed the face of the countryside in the eighteenth century and continue to endure today. She visits Wrest Park in Bedfordshire to identify the trademarks of a classic Capability Brown landscape and finds out how these gardens became the height of fashion for the ruling classes, and how Brown turned himself into a brand. Helen also visits Brown's grave in the village of Fenstanton and finds out how they're marking his life through music and literature.

Producer: Toby Field.

Biodiversity at Heathrow Jul 23, 2016

Show notes

Helen Mark visits Heathrow Airport to discover what steps they take to encourage biodiversity and assesses the impact the proposed third runway will have should the decision be made for it to go ahead.

Heathrow has thirteen sites of Conversation, and Helen speaks to to the Airport's Biodiversity Manager Adam Cheeseman about the species he finds there including the Black Bee. Environmental Operations Manager Russell Knight explains how they've encouraged fish species to return to their rivers, and how they plan to create a green fringe around the proposed new runway. Helen also asks how much difference biodiversity can make to a project of this scale.

She visits Colne Valley Park, part of which will be taken up by the new runway, and asks Stewart Pomeroy about the challenges of balancing the needs of the Park with the need for development, and to Mathew Frith from the London Wildlife Trust about the potential impact on the Park's bird and fish species. She also speaks to Colin Rayner who farms land around Heathrow about what life's like for him now and what he thinks the future will be should permission for a third runway be granted.

This programme has been amended since first broadcast. Comments made that St Mary's Parish Church and the Great Barn at Harmondsworth were under threat from the proposed third runway were not correct and have been removed.

Producer: Toby Field.

The Dolphins of Cardigan Bay Jul 14, 2016

Show notes

Patrick Aryee travels to West Wales to meet the dolphin-watchers of New Quay, and to encounter some members of the largest group of bottlenose dolphins off the coast of the UK.

New Quay is home to the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre, which was set up in 1996 by Steve Hartley, a former fisherman, because he wanted people to know about the amazing array of marine wildlife he saw from his fishing boat. Fishing trips turned into dolphin-watching trips, and now Steve takes researchers out regularly to monitor the marine wildlife. The Centre has become a hub of scientific research and is now part of the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. It's manned by volunteers and just a couple of paid scientific officers. Dolphins are a key part of the economy of the area, bringing tourists and visitors who hope to catch a glimpse of these charismatic animals from the harbour wall.

Patrick, a guest presenter on Open Country, has had a fascination for marine mammals since his childhood, when his parents took him to a safari park. But he's hoping to see dolphins in the wild for the first time. Another first is a chance for Patrick to try coasteering with Jethro Moore, who describes the activity as 'everything your mum told you never to do beside the sea'.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.

Bishop Auckland, History in Production Jul 07, 2016

Show notes

'Kynren' is set across a landscaped stage which is the size of 5 football pitches and involves over 1000 local volunteers. Organizers hope that it will transform Bishop Auckland and bring many visitors to the area for years to come. The story will explore 2000 years of British history from Roman times through the Saxons and Vikings to Industrial times and beyond. Helen Mark hears from the local volunteers about what it means to them and discovers the real history behind Bishop Auckland. She visits Binchester Roman Fort, Escomb Saxon Church and the shut down collieries to see how history remains clearly written in the landscape as well as in this ambitious new production.

Midsummer Music in Orkney Jun 30, 2016

Show notes

Orkney has a great heritage of music so for this weeks Open Country Helen Mark visits the St Magnus International Festival of Music and Arts. Now in its 40th year St Magnus was founded by the late Orkney-based composer, and Master of the Queen's Music, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. This years festival will celebrate his legacy as well as shining a light on new talent from the islands.

During the summer months Orkney enjoys 'Twilight All Night' due to its latitude, Helen discovers what this means for the people who live there and the festival. She meets local musicians and composers to find out how the unique landscape, history and wildlife of Orkney inspire individual creativity and how music contributes to the community spirit so integral to island life.

Dawn Chorus across Europe May 12, 2016

Show notes

Brett Westwood presents a special programme as Open Country joins forces with the European Broadcasting Union and RTE in Ireland to follow the Dawn Chorus from East to West across Europe.

Sunday 1 May was International Dawn Chorus Day and from midnight until six am, Brett Westwood sat in RSPB Ham Wall in Somerset broadcasting about what he heard. The silence of the night is broken by belching Moorhens, booming Bitterns and even a Marsh Frog before Dawn breaks to reveal a huge cast of Coots, Little Grebes and even Brett's first Cuckoo of Spring, to name but a few.

But as the Dawn moves West, Brett speaks to Alexander Khaburgaev in Russia about the Starlings of Moscow which imitate cab drivers from a hundred years ago, and Jason Aloisio describes how tackling illegal hunting has allowed the sparrows of Malta to thrive. Helge Søfteland and Niall Hatch witness a thrilling spat between rival Capercaillie, and Rob Buiter and Eric Dempsey report on Bluethroats in The Netherlands.

Producer: Toby Field.

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