Episode 1

Jules Hudson and the Countryfile Diaries team travel the length and breadth of the UK to uncover the best winter stories. Jules is on the island of Anglesey, celebrating its winter landscape and wildlife. Keeley Donovan is on the trail of the puppy farmers in Ireland whose cruel trade is flooding the UK market. An undercover investigator reveals some of the horrors that he witnesses and how easy it is to be duped into buying a sick puppy. Keeley discovers how agencies and ferry operators are cracking down, and she gets the lowdown on what to look out for when buying a puppy. Paul Martin picks up some thrifty and clever ideas from wildlife saviour Kate McCrae on how to help winter garden visitors get through the season, with a little bit of know-how in the kitchen. From a whisk birdfeeder to a little sieve, a feeding station that defies raiding rats and squirrels, Paul also helps to make a pool from an old tyre to home amphibians or simply act as a winter watering hole.