Open Country

Latest Episodes:

Nature Reserves in Cumbria Dec 15, 2014

Show notes

Caz Graham visits two Nature Reserves in Cumbria to find out what happens on wildlife reserves in winter and meets the people working away to maintain these conservation areas.

It's cold outside: many birds have flown south for the winter and the smaller mammals have gone into hibernation, but there is still life to be found on nature reserves, if only in the form of teams of conservationists maintaining the area for next year's visitors.

Caz heads first to Foulshaw Moss, an expanse of peat bog that has been restored over the past decades to ensure the peat continues to grow and squelches her way around the wet habitat.

She then heads to Roudsea Nature Reserve to find a team at work preparing the woodland for the tiny, hibernating dormice that make the area their home.

Presenter: Caz Graham Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

Belfast Hills Dec 04, 2014

Show notes

Helen Mark makes a trip to the Belfast Hills and hears from the people who live and work in the landscape to discover how their lives have been shaped by the tough environment.

The Belfast Hills form an arc around the edge of the city, visible from virtually anywhere in Northern Ireland's capital.

Largely ignored by many of those living just a few miles in the city, the hills have always been a bustling centre of life. In fact without the linen industry that thrived in the Belfast Hills, the city would not have prospered.

Farming was common, mainly dairy and beef cattle, along with pigs and sheep, and the flax that grew in the hills fed the linen industry. Mills sprung up along with vast 'bleaching greens' to weave and finish the linen before it was taken down to the city to be sold.

Helen Mark meets with several local voices that have contributed to the Belfast Hills Spoken History Project: Roy Thompson has farmed in the area all his life; Joan Cosgrove and Rosalind Shaw provide memories of their childhood growing up and running riot in the Belfast Hills.

And how has the area changed? Helen finds out how the Belfast Hills are now a destination for those hoping to enjoy walking and the views across the whole of the city.

Presenter: Helen Mark Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

Brownsea Island, Dorset Nov 27, 2014

Show notes

After a trip to Brownsea Island in 1818, George, the Prince Regent declared "'I had no idea I had such a delightful spot in my kingdom'. It may only be 1.5 miles long and 0.75 miles wide but this 500 acre island is full of history, mystery and wildlife.

Felicity Evans takes a boat across and meets Claire Dixon of The National Trust, who took over the island in 1963.

As Claire explains, many previous inhabitants have left their mark on Brownsea. Colonel Waugh and his wife Mary were walking along the beach in the early 19th century when she got her umbrella stuck in the sand, pulled it out and discovered clay. They built the village of Maryland and started a pottery. At a newly excavated site, you can see some of the cottages that were built for the potters. She also tells the story of the eccentric recluse, Mrs Mary Bonham Christie who threw all the inhabitants off the island and patrolled the beaches with a shotgun. She handed it back to nature and for 45 years, animals, birds and the rhododendron ran wild.

Then it's a walk to spot red squirrels with ranger John Lamming, who's lived on the island for over 30 years. Brownsea is one of the few places you can see this highly protected animal and in autumn they are easy to spot, burying food on the woodland floor.

Felicity then heads to a low hide over the saltwater lagoon, to meet Reserve manager, Chris Thain, of the Dorset Wildlife Trust to see and hear about the huge diversity of birds that frequent this area. Finally, to the flattest part of the island where Lord Baden Powell hosted his first experimental Scout camp in 1907. Next to a huge memorial stone to the movement, Scout Commissioner, Kevin Philips explains how Brownsea is still visited by thousands of Scouts and Guides every year. Youth group leader and Girl Guide, Amanda Shorey encourages Felicity to have a go at den building, low ropes and archery, just some of the activities going on in The Outdoor Centre.

Presenter: Felicity Evans Producer: Julia Hayball.

Steart Peninsula, Somerset Nov 20, 2014

Show notes

Felicity Evans visits Steart Marshes on Somerset's Steart Peninsular just as the sea wall is breached to transform this landscape.

Rising sea levels are putting the squeeze on wildlife along the coast and also leaving coastal villages under threat of flooding, but earlier this year, The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (The WWT) and the Environment Agency began the creation of the UK's largest new wetland reserve. The sea wall was purposely breached to create an inter-tidal range that will see the development of salt marsh - a habitat that is currently under threat. As WWT Warden Alys Laver explained, in making the breach, Steart Marshes will create safe habitats for rare species whilst also offering a flood defence for the nearby villages. It will also provide an accessible nature reserve for the local community right on their doorstep.

For PhD student Adam George of the local Bridgwater College, it's a unique opportunity to study the effects - and possible benefits - of salt marsh creation whilst for Steart's dedicated volunteers - including 14 year old Jo - it's a chance to watch a whole landscape change in their lifetime.

Lee Valley Nov 13, 2014

Show notes

Where can you find a hill that looks like an Inca monument but which is in fact an old nitroglycerin factory? The answer can be found in the Lee Valley, a green and watery wedge that grows and flows from Hertfordshire and Essex through northeast London to The River Thames. Occupying a liminal space between rural countryside and the industrial, the Lee Valley presents a surprising landscape - where nature has come back reclaim the monuments of an industrial past.

Helen Mark travels down the Lee Valley and its waterways to explore how for centuries it was a crucial thriving hub of industry before falling into decline until more recently experiencing regeneration of its natural spaces. She visits the Royal Gunpowder Mills, Kings Weir Cottage, Glasshouses, The Waterworks and the Lee Navigation to meet people who work on and live by the Lee Valley's historical waterways; people like Barbara the wife of one of the navigation's last weir-keepers.

Presenter: Helen Mark Producer: Melanie Brown.

Orchards in Herefordshire Nov 06, 2014

Show notes

Felicity Evans visits the autumnal orchards of Herefordshire and discovers how centuries of cider production have shaped this landscape. For at least 350 years there has been cider production in this area and there are over 800 orchards across the Wye Valley, which make a significant contribution to the beautiful countryside.

Norman Stanier's family have lived in this area for generations and are deeply rooted ('scuse the pun') in the apple industry here. He shares his passion for this landscape and explains how centuries ago these local enterprises caught the eye of Gladstone's government as they sought to do away with the 'Yankee Apples' and how today, this area has become 'The Big Apple' of the UK.

Featuring visits to a variety of cider and perry producers - from small scale amateur production to award winning artisan ciders and global scale distribution from Europes largest cider factory.

Produced by Nicola Humphries.

Elmley Nature Reserve Oct 30, 2014

Show notes

As Open Country returns for a new series, Helen Mark ventures to The Isle of Sheppey where she becomes immersed both in the marsh swathed landscape of Elmley Nature Reserve and the infectious enthusiasm of the man who oversaw its creation.

Elmley is the only National Nature Reserve in the UK to be managed by a farming family and this unique status is down to the forward thinking of farmer Philip Merricks. Bumping along the ridge of the reserve's sea wall in his trusty 4x4, Philip introduces Helen to this historic Kent landscape, accompanied by the flight of lapwing and wigeon.

It's an area that is believed to have inspired Charles Dickens in the writing of 'Great Expectations' but as Helen discovers, it has also inspired an even bigger story of ground breaking conservation.

During the 1980's, farmers were paid compensation for turning land over to wildlife but Philip felt that this was unproductive for both farmers and wildlife and so wrote - what he calls - a fairly strong letter to the House of Commons Select Committee that had been tasked with finding a solution to what was becoming a rural battle ground. Remarkably, Philip's letter found its way into Parliament and his ideas were held up as a potential way forward.

Thirty years on Philip's enthusiasm and dedication to this one of a kind nature reserve is as strong as it ever and now - with the support and care of long standing farm manger Steve Gorden - Philip's daughter Georgina and son-in-law Gareth are moving forward with sharing this special place with visitors and encouraging that passion for farming and conservation that Philip began decades ago.

Produced by Nicola Humphries.

Dennis Potter and the Forest of Dean Sep 11, 2014

Show notes

"Strange and beautiful, a heart shaped place between two rivers" is how television playwright and author, Dennis Potter described the Forest of Dean, where he grew up. On the 20th anniversary of his death, Felicity Evans explores the landscape that shaped much of his work.

The Forest has a rich industrial heritage which Forester and Freeminer, Rich Daniels explains at the former site of the New Fancy coal mine. The old spoil heap now provides spectacular views across the Forest. In the distance, you can see Cannop Ponds and the pit where Dennis' father was a miner.

Then it's to Berry Hill, the place where Potter grew up and visited frequently with his own family. Firstly to "Spion Kop", the Potter family home where artist John Belcher now lives and then onto some of the locations used in Potter's work.

Felicity meets historian and verderer, Ian Standing who talks about his role in upholding Forest law and culture and shows us the oak trees that Lord Nelson planted.

Finally from the ancient forest to the very modern as we visit a nearby café in Coleford to talk to teenagers from the Forest Youth Forum about what it's like to live in the Forest of Dean today. How does the landscape affect them? Dennis Potter was concerned that the "New Foresters" would have no sense of community and not realise how special and unique it is. Were his fears unfounded?

The John Muir Way Sep 04, 2014

Show notes

A young boy - John Muir - spent his early years in Scotland, playing along Dunbar's coast and scrambling across rocks. This early fascination with nature and 'wild places' later saw him campaign to protect them. When his family emigrated to the USA it led him on a path that would see him appeal directly to the president and help create the National Parks. Today he's known by most American schoolchildren but he is not so widely known in the UK.

Helen Mark sets off on the new coast to coast John Muir Way from Dunbar to Helensburgh, named after the man but leading through his native country. She visits the town where he revelled in nature, hikes along some of the route with poets who've planted trees and created new writing inspired by his work and takes in Helix Park and the Kelpies - a dramatic modern designed landscape - far from the wilderness which Muir revelled in but which is bringing together thousands from the local community into the outdoors.

Presented by Helen Mark and produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.

The Needles, Isle of Wight Aug 28, 2014

Show notes

Helen Mark visits one of the Isle of Wight's great attractions, those famous chalk cliffs, The Needles, at the western end of the island. These iconic white stacks march out to sea, back towards the Dorset coast, that they used to be joined to a mere 10,000 years ago. Tony Tutton of the National Trust shares the great views across the Solent with Helen, describing how treacherous the waters beneath them can sometimes be to competing sailors, and how vicious the winds can be.

Helen also unpicks a Cold War secret that lurks amongst the Needles: in the 1950s, the Victorian gun battery here became the test site for the British space missile programme. We hear from former rocketeer Mike Elliott, who used to work on the Black Knight system.

By contrast, Jamie Marsh, Reserves Officer with the Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, shows Helen the impact of the sea at Bouldnor, where old oaks, part of a landslip wood, are being rapidly undercut by the sea - the nearest to a mangrove swamp that you could hope to find in the UK.

Producer: Mark Smalley.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected