Open Country

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Jersey Shores Aug 13, 2015

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Jersey doubles in size when the tide goes out. Helen Mark discovers what the retreating waters reveal, from the evidence of our Neanderthal ancestors to the extraordinary marine life of the island's reefs.

At La Rocque three local guides take her across miles of treacherous shifting sands to Seymour Tower, built to defend Jersey against the French but used by the German occupiers. On the north coast she meets Dusty, the first red-billed chough to be born in the wild in Jersey for a hundred years and in the south-east she searches for evidence of the Neanderthal people who left more evidence of their existence here than in the rest of the British Isles combined.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

Thomas Hardy's Dorset Aug 06, 2015

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Thomas Hardy is one of England's most enduring writers. 175 years after his birth a new film of 'Far From the Madding Crowd' has recently been released and like the original version from 1967 it features scenes shot in the beautiful Dorset countryside. For Hardy the heathland, forests and rivers which surrounded his birthplace at Higher Bockhampton near Dorchester were more than a backdrop. Landscape in Hardy's novel is central to the narrative and it is his vivid descriptions of the stunning setting in which he grew up that lend authenticity and magic to what he wrote. Helen Mark visits Dorset to discover the countryside which Hardy disguised as 'Wessex' in novels such as 'Tess of the D'urbervilles', 'Return of the Native', 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' and 'Jude the Obscure' and hears how this landscape is now inspiring new writers in their work.

Rathlin Island Jul 30, 2015

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Helen Mark visits Rathlin Island situated just off the North Coast of Antrim.

Despite having a population of just over a hundred people, Rathlin Island is a thriving community. Its rugged landscape is home to a population of farmers and fishers, and supports thousands of sea birds.

Each year around thirty thousand tourists flock to the island and Helen discovers what its like to live there during the busy summer months, and once the tourists have left and the island is quiet once more in the winter months.

Presenter: Helen Mark Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

The North Antrim Coast Jul 23, 2015

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Helen Mark takes to the seas to explore the North Antrim Coastline, taking in Giant's Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede from the water.

She meets Robin Ruddock who teaches people to kayak along this coast and is joined by experts from Ulster Wildlife who tell her about the Living Seas project and the richness and diversity of marine life found in the waters off the North Antrim Coast.

Presenter: Helen Mark Producer: martin Poyntz-Roberts.

Ospreys in Cumbria Jul 22, 2015

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Caz Graham goes in search of Cumbria's regular visiting ospreys at a selection of locations in the Lake District.

Once extinct in England, Ospreys are now thriving in the UK. Breeding pairs are well established in Scotland and for several years they have become regular visitors to the Lake District.

Caz travels to Foulshaw Moss, a nature reserve on the side of the busy A590, just south of Kendal, where a nesting pair have made their home and are raising three chicks. Whilst there she encounters a host of rare butterflies, dragonflies and moths, along with a big fat toad sheltering from the summer sunshine under a corrugated iron canopy. She also finds several slow worms trying to keep cool and unnoticed by predators that maybe roaming.

A few miles from Foulsahw Moss is Esthwaite Water and here Caz meets with Natalie Cooper from the National Trust. Natalie recounts the relationship Beatrix Potter had with the area and in particular Estwaite Water itself as it is just a short distance from Hill Top Farm, where she once lived.

Then Caz takes to the water, cutting through Jeremy Fisher's lily-pads as she goes in search of the lake's own resident Ospreys, and visits the parts of the lake that the birds are known to hunt. But will she find them?

Presenter: Caz Graham Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

Celebrating Golowan in Cornwall Jul 09, 2015

Show notes

Golowan is the Cornish tradition of lighting Midsummer Bonfires. This ancient tradition which hopes to prolong the summer sun for a good harvest was revived by The Old Cornish Society. Helen Mark meets some of their members to learn how they hope to keep the unique identity of this place alive and well.

On Bodmin Moor and Kit Hill there are reminders of man's habitation going back 5000 years. The fires they light on Bodmin Moor each year hark back to pre-historic times and scattered around the moor are Neolithic monuments which bear testament to man's long history in this 'ritual landscape'. Writer Philip Marsden explains how his search for the 'Spirit of Place' began on the moors and then spread deep into the heart of the Cornish landscape and its people.

The Lengthsman with Antony Gormley Jul 02, 2015

Show notes

The Landmark Trust exists to save endangered important buildings and to enable people to inhabit them. For their 50th anniversary they invited one of our most celebrated artists Sir Antony Gormley to create a sculpture at 5 iconic locations across the country. The centre point of these 5 pieces is The Lengthsmans Cottage in Lowsonford which sits on the side of the Stratford-Upon-Avon canal in Warwickshire. Each work of art has been composed in direct response to the landscape which surrounds them and here the figure perches on the very edge of the lock gazing down into the depths of the rushing water as the calm yet industrious life of the canal unfolds below.

Helen Mark meets Sir Antony Gormley as he returns to the site for a final inspection and he explains how for him this figure represents our need to reconnect with our industrial heritage, man's essential drive to make things. As the programme unfolds we hear more about the secret life of the canal, the people who keep it running and the wildlife that live along it. Perhaps an unlikely spot to find the work of such an influential artist, Helen discovers that the canal in fact provides a perfect gallery as those who use it can view and react to the figure as they float by.

The ancient sport of hound trailing in Cumbria May 14, 2015

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Helen Mark visits Cumbria to watch the exciting and ancient sport of hound trailing. At the May Day races, she meets owners Wendy and Russell Dawson who treat their dogs like royalty. Cared for like athletes, they eat chicken and rabbit, and are bathed before a race. They are trained from pups to follow a scent, but it's a gamble if any will have the instincts of a champion. Helen walks the trail, which is scented with aniseed and paraffin, and meets owner Margaret Baxter who explains why this traditional male sport is now dominated by women. The actual races can be up to 10 miles long, which the dogs run in about 35 minutes, and from high up on Kirkstone Pass, the owners and followers watch - and place bets - as the dogs speed towards the finish line.

Landscape Art in Northumberland May 07, 2015

Show notes

Caz Graham visits the Northumberland countryside to discover stunning art in the landscape, produced by Iranian artist Khosro Adibi.

Khosro is a visual artist from Iran. He's lived in Europe for several years now and has created site-specific environmental sculptures and land art pieces in the landscape.

He has been artist in residence at Tarset in Northumberland since August last year. His work involves carving directly into sandstone, reminiscent of the pre-historic cup and ring marks that can be found in Northumberland.

Caz also meets some archaeologists who spot similarities in Khosro's work to the ancient markings that are found in the area.

Presenter: Caz Graham Producer Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

The Solway Shore Apr 23, 2015

Show notes

Caz Graham visits the shores of Solway Firth to discover the folk and wildlife that live around the stunning coastline.

Caz pulls on her wellies and heads to the shoreline at low tide with the help of Ann Lingard.

Ann is a 'low-tide' guide and leads Caz on a tromp through a rarely explored landscape: one of rock pools and rare reefs. Ann shows Caz the home of the honeycomb worm, Sabellaria. The creature creates a reef close to the low water mark and it is exposed at low tide. They also visit a submerged forest that the sea reveals when the tide rolls back.

Caz meets former miner Tom Norman to find out more about the Solway coast's industrial heritage. At the site of the former Haig Colliery in Whitehaven Tom recounts tales of mining under the sea dating back to the 1700s. Mining was enormously important in shaping the industrial past of Whitehaven and the towns along the coast. It, along with fishing, was the main employer in the area.

Further up the Solway Firth, where England and Scotland are a stone's throw away, Caz is given a lesson in Haaf Net fishing by Mark Messenger and Mark Graham. They are two of a dying breed fishing using a method that dates back to Viking times that involves standing chest-deep in the Solway Firth with a wide net to catch salmon and trout.

Presenter: Caz Graham Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

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