Countryfile - Episode Guide

In 1988 we take access to wide open spaces for granted. But the right to roam free was only won 50 years ago after a mass trespass in the North of England. This year canoeists have been staging similar demonstrations to win access to Britain's rivers. Ian Breach reports from Wales and Yorkshire on a dispute which is coming to a head this summer.
From Essex and the West Country, Anne Brown discovers a shortage of low-cost housing in our villages; and Roger Tabor investigates the suggestion that the domestic cat is a major threat to small wildlife.
Plus the week's most comprehensive weather forecast with Bill Giles

Ellie and Matt look at how the geology of the Peaks has lead to two distinct landforms. Sean reports from Haddon Hall looking at the buildings restoration. Adam looks at the story of the tractor. Tom finds out the return of wild boars to the Forest of Dean isn't going down too well.

Matt and Ellie are in Coverack, helping the locals get ready for the Christmas festivities. John heads to Truro to discover what became known as the most famous carol service in the world. Tom meets a community who are getting behind their fishermen in a very festive way. Adam explores how a day on the Cornish farm is so busy at Christmas. Sean Fletcher gets a cookery masterclass from Rick Stein.

Adam prepares for the year ahead on the farm, whilst looking back at highlights from the past years programming.

Ellie looks back at some of the shows encounters with Winter Wildlife.

The show head's to Herefordshire, here Matt meets a family who are turning oilseed rape into oil. Jean Christophe-Novelli reveals how he uses the product. Ellie heads to Heartwood Forest to see how the work on the area is going. Tom wants to know if bus routes will ever return to some of the most isolated areas of the countryside. Tony Singh reveals what the British countryside means to him. Adam revisits the winner of 2015's Countryfile Farming Hero and launches this year's competition as well.

Matt gives some trees a health check. Ellie looks at a renowned bird breeding program. Josh Widdicombe relives his youth at a Welsh campsite. Adam Henson revisits a 2015 finalist of the Food and Farming Awards, Cameron Hendry. Tom investigates a new law which has been introduced to try and save neglected and abandoned horses.

Ellie and Matt head to North Devon, a place which is busy but only when it's tourist season. Sarah Storey reveals her favourite bit of the countryside. Adam looks at a new piece of technology which is extending growing season. Tom invesitgates the ban on catching bass.

Matt visits the unlikely stars of the documentary 'Addicted to Sheep'. Ellie looks at winter migration. John goes for a woodland walk in Cumbria with some wolves. Sean tries winter cod fishing. Adam heads to Orkney looking at why seaweed-eating sheep are under threat.

Matt and Ellie are in Tyne and Wear. Matt visits a country park. Ellie heads down the coast near Sunderland to look at the restoration of a lighthouse.

Matt and Ellie are in Norfolk. Matt learns about how to become a gamekeeper, he also sees how to butcher venison and is prepared a stew. Ellie tells the story of the return of cranes to Norfolk. Adam heads to the Stirling bull sales. Nicola Adams reveals what her favourite place is in the British countryside.

Matt and Ellie are in Staffordshire. Matt visits a school that focuses on farming and agriculture. Ellie meets a couple with their very own nature reserve. Adam looks at eggs. Tom investigates a tree disease called Ash Dieback.

Matt Baker and Shauna Lowry are near Colchester on the Essex coast. Matt takes a trip to Mersea Island to Richard Haward, a oyster fisherman. Elsewhere Shauna returns to the River Colne, where five years ago the show saw the start of a big project to return water voles to the wild.

John Craven discovers the Rathlin Island's growing kelp industry. Anita Rani meets farmer who has diversified in an imaginative way.

Adam Henson visits Aberystwyth to meet the youngster working towards a career in farming. He will also explore what life is like being a young farmer today.

Matt Baker and Ellie Harrison explore Ashdown Forest.

The team explore the three counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. Matt Baker meets some of the local crafts people keeping rural skills alive - heritage builders, a weathervane maker and a stained glass artist. Ellie Harrison is visiting a farm where the owners are potty about poultry, breeding turkeys for their eggs rather than meat. She's also exploring the ultimate wildlife garden. Sean Fletcher is discovering the area's links with the humble daffodil. And Adam Henson is meeting the three-year-old girl already getting to grips with lambing. Hundreds of years after becoming extinct, beavers are back on mainland Britain. Charlotte Smith investigates why some people are trying to save them, while others want them culled.

John Craven takes to Northumberland's roads in a vintage Volvo, much like the car used to ferry the artist L S Lowry around on his visits to the area. To mark the 40th anniversary of Lowry's death, John follows in the artist's footsteps, accompanied by Simon Marshall, who used to drive Lowry to scenic spots for him to paint. Ellie Harrison is on the moors learning that the best ways to conserve vital moorland is to burn it. She joins the team behind an innovative scheme to train people how to cope with wildfires and how controlled burning can benefit wildlife. Domestic violence can be a problem anywhere, but as Charlotte Smith discovers, when you live in an isolated rural area, finding the support you need to escape an abusive situation can be tough. Plus the second of the Farming Hero nominees, Julia Evans, who opened a care farm in Worcestershire.

To mark 400 years since Shakespeare's death, Countryfile travel the length and breadth of the country in search of the landscapes that inspired him. Ellie Harrison is in Warwickshire, rediscovering the ancient Forest of Arden and looking at Shakespeare's intimate knowledge of plants. Matt Baker visits the Clydach Gorge, a magical hidden valley on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park, where local legend says Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer Night's Dream. Meanwhile, John Craven is joined by Dame Judi Dench, one of Britain's best-loved Shakespearian actors. Together, they follow in the footsteps of Shakespeare and his players to Fordwich in Kent, where they performed for the town in 1605. Joe Crowley visits the Minack Theatre in Cornwall to see how Shakespeare has had a dramatic effect on our landscape. And Adam looks at Shakespeare's relationship with the lucrative wool trade and takes sheep back to the centre of Stratford-upon-Avon for the first time in over a century.

Ellie Harrison visits the South Haven Peninsula in Dorset to tell the story of conservation's unsung hero Captain Cyril Diver. Diver was a champion of conservation and broke new ground in the 1930s, surveying the whole ecosystem of the peninsula. Ellie spends the day with the National Trust's ecologist Michelle Brown to find out what the Trust have been doing 80 years on from Diver's survey and what the future holds for this diverse landscape. Ellie also talks about her passion and love for nature and conservation, and she takes a look back through the Countryfile archives to see how conservation projects are making a difference across the country.

Matt Baker explores the Dartington estate in south Devon to discover the innovative history of the place, meet the farmers who are turning their goat's milk into ice cream and find out about the vertical farming taking root in the grounds. Anita Rani sees how to make the softest of sheepskin and meets the woman who has turned her cottage industry into a thriving business selling natural, handmade soap, and Adam Henson looks at the livestock being bred specifically for conservation. The programme also visits the Food and Farming Awards to reveal this year's Countryfile Farming Hero. Plus there is a look at European turtle doves - they are in decline, but in one country it is legal to hunt them as they migrate back to their European breeding grounds. Tom Heap travels to Malta to investigate a tradition causing controversy across the continent.

This special programme travels the length and breadth of the country to provide a snapshot of spring, from shoreline and shingle to farmland and fell, we discover signs of new life as the season unfurls. Including dolphins in Cardigan Bay, one of the UK's last remaining hay meadows, a Roman fort in Alderney, the largest vegetated shingle spit in Europe and a look at the start of the shellfish season.

From carrots to cauliflower, peas to parsnips we are a nation of vegetable lovers. To mark National Vegetarian Week, Countryfile is taking a look at all things veggie. Matt Baker is at the heart of the Jersey Royal Potato Harvest. Ellie Harrison gets artistic with her vegetables to create a landscape photograph with a difference. Naomi Wilkinson tastes the delights of Indian vegetarian cooking. Champion free runner and vegan Tim Shieff goes head to head with sheep farmer Gareth Wyn Jones to debate the pros and cons of veganism. Adam Henson looks into the future of farming when he visits an urban farm built in tunnels 33 metres below the streets of London. And Tom Heap investigates the threats facing vegetable producers and finds out why many feel that the days of British veg are numbered.

Countryfile is in Snowdonia. John Craven races a hill runner to the summit of Snowdon and meets the volunteers protecting the area's osprey. Anita Rani dons her wetsuit to discover that you don't need to be near the sea to go surfing. Joe Crowley meets the artist whose work is taking centre stage in this landscape. And it's all going down on Adam Henson's farm as spring takes hold. The EU referendum is arguably the biggest decision facing our countryside for decades. Tom Heap meets up with the leading figures from both sides of the argument and asks the prime minister and Boris Johnson why rural Britain should vote with them.

To celebrate British Flowers Week, Charlotte Smith and Anita Rani look at the resurgence of British flowers. Charlotte meets a Hampshire farmer who has diversified into British blooms, with as many acres given over to flowers as to food. Charlotte is intoxicated by their fragrance and finds out what it is about the smell of flowers we find so bewitching. Anita Rani visits Covent Garden Flower Market, where she meets the traders doing a roaring trade in roses. Meanwhile, Matt Baker takes to the old pack horse trails through the New Forest and hears how the ponies were used by smugglers to ply their illicit trade. He also visits a farm where water buffalo are the main livestock. Adam Henson gets stuck in with the sheep shearing and hears from farmers about the prices they get for their wool. Tom Heap investigates why areas set up by the government to protect our seas are being branded by some scientists as worse than useless.

Countryfile is in the East Midlands to find out about the region's rural past. Matt Baker takes to the Trent in a kayak and finds out about the effort to clean up the river. He also visits Calverton Fish Farm in Nottinghamshire, where the team teach stocked fish how to be 'wild' in special tanks that force the fish to swim against an artificial current for food. Helen Skelton is in Rutland to meet master miller Nigel Moon. Nigel takes her on as apprentice for the day in his traditional windmill, one of the last in the region. Adam Henson is at the biggest agricultural show in the South West, The Royal Bath and West. John Craven launches 2016's photographic competition, with its theme From Dawn till Dusk. Joining John on the judging team are Dragons' Den's Deborah Meaden, comedian Rhona Cameron and wildlife cameraman Simon King. Matt Baker also reveals the total raised by sales of 2015's calendar. Tom Heap discovers how a global health crisis is impacting the battle against Bovine TB.

This episode comes from Pembrokeshire. John Craven takes to the water to find out about the area's boating heritage, painting boats and learning sea shanties along the way. Helen Skelton is foraging on Freshwater West beach and cooking up a seaweed feast. She also meets the team building the ultimate ecohouse using locally sourced materials. Sanjida O'Connell is on Skomer helping to count the Manx shearwaters who call this island home.

And Adam Henson is in Cornwall making a special delivery of rare-breed cattle to the Heligan estate, while Tom Heap is looking at what is being done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on farms after claims that agriculture produces larger quantities of gases than traffic.

It's tennis season and Countryfile is visiting Kent, where Matt Baker will be finding out about Wimbledon strawberries and getting to grips with the harvest.

Naomi Wilkinson is meeting the couple who turned their love of wildlife into an animal rescue centre, looking after everything from hedgehogs to flocks of buzzards. In the shadow of the white cliffs of Dover she'll also be finding out about the long history of channel swimming and donning her wetsuit to try out the ultimate wild swim.

John Craven meets a farmer who is growing Chinese vegetables and produce, from pak choi to chrysanthemums, and Adam Henson is at the Royal Three Counties show, meeting youngsters with the farming bug. Plus Tom Heap investigates calls to ban live plant imports and asks what dangers could be hiding in the soil that comes into the country with them.

The Countryfile team explores meadows, from the wildlife that makes the meadow its home to the plants that thrive there. Matt Baker discovers the art of scything with Britain's reigning female scything champion, and also makes hay whilst the sun shines.

Naomi Wilkinson meets an artist whose passion for meadows echoes through her vibrant paintings. She explores the RSPB site encouraging birds, bees, bugs and butterflies by introducing a meadow habitat. And she finds out about the rise in popularity of burial meadows.

John Craven discovers the folklore behind meadow plants and how their healing properties are being used in modern medicine. And Adam Henson is on his farm looking at his own meadows and grasslands. Tom Heap investigates the lack of affordable housing in Britain's rural areas and asks why we're still not getting it right.

The team visit Cumbria, where Matt Baker looks at the places which inspired the work of Beatrix Potter, marking the 150th anniversary of the writer's birth. Helen Skelton meets a couple who run their farm using horses and steam power, and also finds out about traditional Lakeland sports, including Cumberland wrestling. Naomi Wilkinson meets an artist who captures the inspirational women of the Cumbrian countryside, Adam Henson visits a Capability Brown landscape being restored with heavy horses, and Tom Heap investigates why there are calls across the UK and Europe to ban glyphosate, the world's most used herbicide.

Summer has arrived, and the landscape is in full bloom - it is the perfect time to get out and enjoy the countryside. And in a special programme, Countryfile are cooling down by the water's edge in celebration of the Great British summer. Matt travels along the coastline of south Wales with Sam Evans and Shauna Guinn, known as the first ladies of barbeque, sourcing the best cuts of meat for their summer beach party. Meanwhile, Naomi Wilkinson enjoys a summer evening punt along the River Cam in Cambridge, where she is joined by Iain Webb from the Wildlife Trust on the lookout for a feeding frenzy of bats. John Craven is on the river Waveney in Suffolk bringing in the summertime bulrush harvest for the first time in more than 50 years. Sean Fletcher gets on his bike and heads off the beaten track along the beautiful Pembrokeshire coastline to enjoy a spot of wild camping. And Adam is in Northern Ireland, where summer for one farmer means taking to the water with his cattle.

Countryfile is on the tiny Scottish island of Kerrera. Sitting just half a kilometre from the mainland but a world away from the hustle and bustle, Kerrera is the archetypal Scottish Island. There are rugged cliffs, wide-open beaches and remote farmsteads. Anita spends a day getting to know the locals and getting under the skin of island life. She joins postmaster Gill Vollum as she goes about her daily round - not easy when there's only one half-finished road on the island. She helps shepherd Sheila McGregor round up her sheep and hears that all the farms on Kerrera are run by women. And she stops for a welcome cup of tea at the tea room that serves as the community hub. Anita meets owners Aideen Gallagher and Martin Shields who quit busy jobs on the mainland and finds out what living the island dream is like for them.

2016 is the 60th anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme, and to mark the occasion Countryfile heads to the wilds of the west Highlands of Scotland. Matt joins the intrepid team mid-way through their five-day Diamond Challenge. They have already scaled Ben Nevis, and when Matt meets them they are canoeing the Great Glen all the way to Inverness. Matt also meets the scientist who has made it her mission to fight the menace of Scotland's infamous midges. Sean meets mountaineer Hamish Macinnes, whose inventions, including his famous stretcher, have saved hundreds of lives.

Naomi explores Glencoe's 'Atlantic woodland' - a rich and rare habitat, where she gets a close look at the amazingly intricate lichens and mosses that carpet the woodland. Helen is in the Peak District with a party of schoolchildren undertaking their bronze Duke of Edinburgh, and she walks a stretch of Kinder Scout with HRH Prince Edward, himself a Gold Award holder and trustee of the scheme.

And as the red grouse shooting season gets underway, Charlotte Smith meets the supporters and critics of one of Britain's most controversial country pursuits.

The first ever Countryfile Live took place in the magnificent grounds of Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire - four days in the sunshine celebrating the best of the British Countryside. Matt kicks the programme off with a whistlestop tour of the show, mixing and mingling with exhibitors and visitors, and he calls in at the Craven Arms, Countryfile Live's very own pub.

Ellie goes behind the scenes to see what goes into setting up a show on this scale, and she also grabs a quick chat with the Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim's owner, to find out what it's like having such a big show in your garden.

Anita steps away from the showground to get up close to some truly magnificent oak trees, many of them more than a thousand years old. John takes to the water to see how ducks are helping restore Blenheim's beautiful ornamental lakes, while Tom and Adam go head to head at the timbers sports arena in a test of strength and speed.

And Charlotte Smith looks at what might happen to British foods protected under EU law and catches up with some producers who are worried they will lose a vital protection and others who see a real opportunity.

Countryfile has been given access to an excavation at the Stonehenge World Heritage site, and Joe Crowley meets the team who have discovered strange items buried in the soil at Durrington Walls, not far from the famous stones of Stonehenge. Joe meets archaeologist Julian Richards, a world authority on the stones, and then Hugh Morrison, a tenant farmer at Stonehenge, to see just what sort of problem he faces farming on a World Heritage Site. Anita finds out how Neolithic farmers lived by visiting reconstructions of the types of houses they lived in, and she learns to bake bread the Neolithic way. She also meets the modern-day farmer who has built a Stone Age longbarrow on his land where people can inter the ashes of loved ones. John is joined by fellow judges Deborah Meaden and Simon King to select the final 12 pictures in the Countryfile Photographic Competition, and in a nod to the competition's theme, we spend a day with Adam seeing what happens on his farm 'From Dawn til Dusk'.

It is harvest time, and the countryside is buzzing with activity. The Countryfile team are getting stuck in as crops are brought in across the country. Matt Baker visits the Gaddesden Estate to discover how the harvest here has changed over the years. Anita Rani picks peppermint and concocts cocktails. John Craven is meeting a group of 'nutters' to gather in the cobnut harvest ready for a nutty feast. Joe Crowley investigates the farm brands on sale in supermarkets and asks when is a farm not a farm. Countryfile also plays host to the fortieth anniversary of One Man and His Dog, as England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland send their best shepherds and their dogs to compete for the trophy, and Adam has been meeting the teams to see how they are preparing. This week he is travelling to Wales and Ireland to meet the competitors and their dogs hoping to be crowned champions.

Anita Rani explores Anglesey. She navigates the notorious Menai Strait and meets the fisherman who bought an island. She also gets up close with a wild, bloodsucking creature. Adam Henson has been meeting the teams preparing for the 40th-anniversary edition of One Man and His Dog. The best shepherds and their canine companions from England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland will be competing, all hoping to be crowned champions. This week he catches up with the English and Scottish contenders. Matt Baker launches this year's Countryfile Ramble for BBC Children in Need. Taking place over one weekend in October, the event aims to cover the countryside in Countryfile viewers, all rambling across rural Britain to raise vital funds for the charity. Matt and his fellow presenters John Craven, Anita Rani, Ellie Harrison and Adam Henson will be leading the way on rambles of their own, where they will be joined by youngsters who have benefited from Children in Need funding.

Countryfile marks the 100th anniversary of Roald Dahl's birth by discovering his passion for the great outdoors and how it inspired his writing. John Craven explores Great Missenden, the village where Dahl lived for much of his life. He meets the children's author Piers Torday, who is inspired by both the countryside and by Dahl himself. There is also a look back through the Countryfile archive to the times we have met others inspired by the beautiful countryside, from underwater painters to graffiti artists. Matt Baker has more news on how viewers can take part in the Countryfile Ramble for BBC Children in Need. Last year, thousands of Countryfile viewers took part, helping to raise over ú850,000 and transforming the lives of some of Britain's most disadvantaged youngsters. With a fortnight to go until the 40th-anniversary edition of the legendary One Man and His Dog sheepdog trialling competition, Adam Henson meets the English and Scottish teams hoping to win the trophy.

Matt Baker and Anita Rani preside over proceedings as the best shepherds and their dogs from England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland battle it out for the trophy. While Matt takes to the commentary box, Anita explores the history of the estate and catches up with the friends and family of the competitors.

Anita Rani travels to Surrey to explore the revival of interest in growing hops there. She meets the brewers bringing back the county's fabled white bine hop, helps to get the hop harvest in and gets to sample an unusual brew made with fresh undried hops. She also joins Surrey Wildlife Trust, who are carrying out a survey of small mammals to see how effective wildlife corridors are. Adam Henson is hoping for the right conditions to get the last of his wheat harvest in, and John announces which photograph the public voted winner in the Countryfile Photographic Competition. Tom Heap is on the trail of one of the UK's most loved animals, the red squirrel, and finds out what can be done to halt its decline.

The team look at how rivers and waterways have shaped our landscape. Matt Baker is on the Thames Estuary to meet a writer who draws inspiration from the estuary and its people. He also meets the Port Authority staff who oversee some 30,000 annual ship movements, jumps on the foot ferry that once would have brought livestock into the city and meets an artist making beautiful things from the flotsam brought in on the tide. Sean Fletcher is just a few miles from Matt, finding out what it takes to turn a landfill site into a thriving nature reserve. And Naomi Wilkinson is in Devon at the beautiful Lydford Gorge, meeting a photographer captivated by its waterfall and whose pictures have become an internet sensation. Naomi then takes to the oldest shipping canal in Britain on a paddleboard! Meanwhile, Adam visits Widecombe Fair in Devon - one of the country's last traditional country fairs. And with the badger cull once again well underway, Tom Heap explores the science around bovine TB.

Matt and Anita explore the Isle of Wight. Matt dons a harness and abseils down the walls of Carisbrooke Castle to help root out the overgrown ivy. He then heads to the castle's well, the deepest on the island, to meet Jack and Jill - the Carisbrooke donkeys. Donkeys have been used to draw water from the well for centuries, but when Jack refuses to budge, Matt has no option but to do it himself.

Anita has her hands full on Ventnor Downs. It's the day of the annual feral goat round-up, and Anita is joining the human chain of volunteers trying to catch the animals. She also visits the vineyard where the owner is growing red grapes - only possible because of the island's mild climate.

That mild climate has also made the Isle of Wight a great place for exotic plants. Naomi is at Ventor Botanic Gardens, where the backdrop is more like southern Europe than southern England.

Adam meets the commercial deer owner looking to genetics to breed the best deer he can and, as supermarkets and catering companies pledge to put an end to eggs from caged chickens, Tom Heap asks if this victory for animal welfare is all it's cracked up to be.

To celebrate nature's final flourish before the slow descent into winter, the team pulls on its wellies, kicks through the crisp leaves and explores the fruits of our forests.

Anita heads to Somerset for a rare autumnal sight - walnut woodland with laden branches. We meet walnut farmer Roger Saul as he reaps one of Somerset's newest crops, borrowing technology from one of its oldest.

Matt is in the wilds of East Sussex to meet Nick Weston, a writer, woodsman and chef who spent six months living off-grid in a tree house built from wood and recycled materials.

Tim Shepherd is a botanist who specialises in timelapse filming. We gather young fungi on deadwood from Tim's local woodland to take back to his studio to film them growing.

We join Adam as he delivers some of his pigs to a Gloucestershire farmer using this traditional way of animal and woodland management.

John investigates the hibernation of dormice on the Isle of Wight.

Matt Baker, John Craven, Anita Rani, Ellie Harrison and Adam Henson take on the Countryfile Ramble for BBC Children in Need.

Heading to all corners of the UK, the presenters are joined by members of the public as well as children and young people who have benefited from the charity. Thousands of viewers also join the call and head out in support of the cause.

John heads to the coast and Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland with 16 year-old Zahra, who has arthritis. Anita takes to the hills of Wales's Sugar Loaf Mountain in the Brecon Beacon's with 15 year-old Olivia, who has Down's Syndrome, Ellie visits Holyrood Park in Edinburgh with young people from the Jeely Piece Club.

Adam walks through Alice Holts Forest in Surrey with the Shilston family, and Matt takes on an epic challenge in the hills of the Lake District with 15 year-old double amputee Levana.

Helen Skelton is on a cycle ride across northern France to commemorate 100 years since the Battle of the Somme. She finds out about the brave cycling battalions that travelled from many parts of rural Britain, to fight there. Helen also meets fellow riders to hear their personal reasons for taking on the cycling challenge. Plus a look back through the Countryfile archives to the times Britain's countryside connections to war and the role of nature in remembrance and rehabilitation were explored. John Craven reveals the role of the humble tractor in the development of the tank, Ellie Harrison experiences the tranquillity of the National Memorial Arboretum and Jules Hudson witnesses the impact of the outdoors on one soldier's recovery from war.

Countryfile visits West Yorkshire, where Matt Baker meets the youngsters who have become RSPB rangers. Anita Rani explores Bronte country and meets an author who literally immerses himself in the landscape. Anita also finds out about an award-winning halloumi cheese producer from Syria. Naomi Wilkinson discovers the challenges facing the fire brigade at Ogden Water, and Adam raises a glass to English wine. Tom Heap investigates claims that sheep farming could become impossible in some parts of Britain within just a few years.

The Countryfile team explores the Brecon Beacons. Matt Baker discovers geocaching, a treasure hunt with a modern twist, and meets an artist whose canvas is the night sky. Helen Skelton is sheep trekking across the landscape and taking part in a rather muddy fish rescue. Sean Fletcher jumps on his bike to meet the farmers who have taken diversification to the extreme, and Adam Henson finds out about a cancer cure for man's best friend. Tom Heap asks how safe horses and riders really are on country roads and if more should be done to protect them.

John, Anita and Ellie are in Lincolnshire, where it's all go in the vast fields of winter veg. John visits a farm where they are harvesting tonnes of caulis and sprouts in readiness for Christmas, and he visits the trial plots where new types of vegetable are being developed, including the kalette, a cross between kale and a brussels sprout. Anita sees how robot technology designed to pull up weeds could cut down on herbicides and even cut down on human labour. Ellie visits the ancient woodland at the edge of an old RAF base where bats have set up home in old wartime buildings, and she discovers that it's not just bats hibernating there - butterflies do it too. Adam talks about his lifelong passion for ducks - one of his favourite farmyard animals. Tom Heap finds out why many of our rivers and waterways are suffering and what farmers can do to help bring them back to life.

Helen, Joe and Sean explore the varied landscapes of Aberdeenshire. From the solitude of the rugged north coast to the deep dark forests where wildcats dwell, it's a surprising county. Helen discovers the only village on mainland Britain where cars can't go. She also visits an open-air aquarium where they hand feed the fish, and she makes lino prints with an artist who takes inspiration from this remote coastline. Joe looks at a project mapping the diminishing wildcat population. Sean visits a turkey farm where the guard dogs are alpacas, and Adam catches up with One Man and His Dog winner Dick Roper. Tom Heap investigates why so many council farms are disappearing from the landscape.

Countryfile celebrates Christmas in style at Bamburgh Castle on the wild and beautiful Northumbrian coast. Anita goes on a festive forage with the jewellery maker who turns natural materials into stunning decorations. Anita also sees what it takes to make an award-winning Christmas pudding. John is on Lindisfarne discovering what the first Christmases in these islands would have been like, before meeting the makers of mead. Ellie gives some hints and tips on how to look after wildlife when the temperature drops. Adam is with the hill shepherd watching her flocks, and Tom wonders if a lack of bell ringers could cause some churches to fall silent this Christmas.

Ellie Harrison visits Thirsk in Yorkshire to celebrate the centenary of vet Alf White, known to the world as James Herriot. Ellie meets his daughter and his son, as well as the vets running his practice today. She learns of the landscapes and people that inspired James Herriot's books and finds out what life was really like for a rural vet. She also meets up with actor Christopher Timothy, who portrayed James Herriot in the television series All Creatures Great and Small. Plus a look back through the Countryfile archive to rediscover the people who dedicate their time and efforts to helping animals, including the time when John met the team giving hedgehogs a helping hand through Christmas and the winter months, the dramatic moment when Joe assisted a stag caught up in fencing, and when Ellie met the woman who paints horses to help others understand them.

Anita Rani travels to one of her favourite places in the British countryside, Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales. She learns more about this unique landscape and how it was formed thousands of years ago. She meets an artist whose passion, like her mother's and grandmother's before, is painting nearby Gordale Scar. In the village of Malham, Anita catches up with the latest incumbent of the local smithy, who used to be a tax accountant. Anita has been to Malham Cove many times but she's never climbed the walls of this famous limestone amphitheatre. She also looks back through the archives as we re-visit some famous faces who shared with us places in the British countryside that were particularly special to them. Like the time comedian Ed Byrne tried to bag a munro on there Isle of Skye; when England test cricket captain Alistair Cook invited us to the family sheep farm and when Olympic gold winning boxer Nicola Adams took Adam Henson through his paces in her training ground in Leeds.

Countryfile is in Shropshire, where Matt Baker is exploring the highs and lows of a landscape shaped by the miners who once called this place home. Anita Rani is discovering the most unlikely site for a nature reserve - a scrapyard. Chef Michael Caines heads out into the wilds of Dartmoor on a camping trip, and in the first part of a special series, Adam Henson is in New Zealand to find out how they farm on the other side of the world. Charlotte Smith investigates the growing problem of dementia in the countryside as a new report highlights the dangers, isolation and lack of services facing farmers living with the condition.

Countryfile is in Carmarthenshire, where Matt Baker explores the explosive history of the sand dunes. Helen Skelton visits the National Botanic Garden of Wales, discovering how they're mapping the DNA of every flower in the country and how they're preparing their bees for winter.

Falklands veteran Simon Weston shows Countryfile around his beloved south Wales and, in the second part of a special series, Adam Henson is in New Zealand to find out how they farm on the other side of the world. What happens when a protected species recovers to the point it impacts rural businesses and other wildlife? Tom Heap reports on a new initiative aimed at saving fisheries from otters.

Countryfile is on the Jurassic Coast, where Matt Baker meets the man who's been digging for fossils for more than thirty years, with extraordinary results. Ellie Harrison visits the family who've been photographing their farming life for generations, with the captivating images making up an important part of promoting their business.

In the third part of a series of special films from New Zealand, Adam Henson helps with a sheep muster on an impressive scale. Plus comedian Susan Calman voyages across the Firth of Clyde to the beautiful Isle of Arran, in search of an elusive creature.

Countryfile explores the Peak District. Matt Baker joins the team on a mission to restore the scarred moorland. Ellie Harrison meets the climber and photographer who are coming together in an unusual collaboration. And Adam Henson is in New Zealand for the final part of his journey, discovering how they farm on the other side of the world.

DJ Edith Bowman returns home to the rugged coastline of the East Neuk of Fife where she shares her passion for photography. As more of our lives move online, Tom Heap looks at broadband in rural areas and meets those who feel they're being left behind - but could there be hope on the horizon?

In this programme the focus is on our feathered friends. Matt is up at the crack of dawn at the RSPB reserve at Snettisham on the north Norfolk coast. There he witnesses thousands of pink-footed geese taking flight and joins warden Jim Scott and scientist Dr Mark Eaton in a bird count. He also visits a school where the pupils are taking part in their own bird count.

Helen is at the other end of the country in Cumbria, where she catches sight of perhaps the most stunning sight in the bird world, as tens of thousands starlings perform dizzying aerial acrobatics. Helen also meets artist Clare Brownlow, who paints stunning lifelike pictures of birds using feather quills.

Tom Heap looks at the latest outbreak of bird flu to hit Britain, finds out what can be done to minimise the impact and asks how long this crisis might last. Adam is back on his farm taking stock of his animals and showing us what measures he is taking to combat the threat from avian flu.

Ellie Harrison is on a winter wildlife safari in the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland, hoping to spot the elusive mountain hare.

Ellie is helping to give Cheddar Gorge its annual clean-up.

Matt takes a trip back in time on the last horse-drawn tram in the world. He also gets to visit the farm where the magnificent Clydesdale and shire horses get to live out their dotage once their tram-pulling days are done. Ellie dwells among the haunting ruins of the Isle of Man's tholtans, the abandoned homes and farmsteads that tell the story of the island's agricultural past. She also gets to make and bake a loaf of traditional Manx bonnag bread under the expert eye of 11-year-old Tom Keig, the bonnag-baking world champion. Adam is putting his new working dog, Olive, through her paces. Tom Heap is in St Ives in Cornwall looking at a new ban on the building of second homes. But is it really the answer that many rural communities are looking for?

The team explore the magnificent South Downs. Matt Baker meets the pony who's blazing a trail across this landscape. Helen Skelton discovers why dark skies are so important for our wildlife. John Craven visits Charleston House, the rural retreat of the Bloomsbury Group. And Adam Henson looks at a new and novel way to stop cattle from roaming.

A courgette crisis, a lack of lettuce and rationing on our supermarket shelves, just what is going on behind the scenes of Britain's veg crisis? Tom Heap heads to Spain to find out what's gone wrong and to discover what we can do keep our food supply secure.

Countryfile is in Snowdonia where, with the help of some recently unearthed BBC archive, Adam Henson is discovering how farming has changed in the past 60 years. He also looks back through Countryfile's own archive to the times the programme has explored farming then and now. From when Matt Baker put a Little Grey Fergie tractor to the test to when Adam discovered a space-age underground farm in the heart of London.

Matt Baker and Anita Rani are on the Hoo Peninsula. Matt hears how it's a landscape that's been shaped over the years by 'saltshepherds' and 'muddies', whilst Anita sees how fleece and feather work together to protect the huge numbers of birds that flock to the area. And there's a sense of spring in the air with lots of new arrivals down on Adam's Farm. Tom Heap looks at what leaving the EU could mean for the UK's agricultural migrant labour force and the farms that employ them.

Matt Baker and Ellie Harrison visit Denbighshire in north east Wales.

In this programme the focus is on forests. Matt is in the New Forest taking part in the biggest inventory of trees ever undertaken. He also takes to the heights with climbers from the Forestry Commission as they carry out a wildlife survey high in the treetops. Ellie in Inverness-shire seeing what industrial-scale timber production looks like. She also looks at new scientific research that shows the impact of forestry activities on native red squirrels. Sean is in Stirlingshire exploring the Scottish tradition of hutting, and he hears about the part these houses in the woods played during the Clydebank Blitz in World War II. John is in Kent looking at the revival of working with horses in forests. He also meets the artist whose magnificent woodcuts of forests capture perfectly the spirit of these magic places. And in a step away from the woodlands, Adam meets the farmer who has found a new market for his male goats due to the rising demand for goat meat.

Matt, Anita and John are in Holderness in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Matt is on Spurn Point, or rather Spurn Island - the country's newest, formed by the big storm surge of 2013. He meets the RNLI crew who had to relocate further up the coast as a result and then goes on manoeuvres with them as they look for safe passages around the point. Anita finds out how Spurn's wildlife has responded in the wake of the surge, and she meets the next generation of birdwatchers helping to spot the rare species on display. John, meanwhile, is on Sunk Island, an area of rich farmland attached to the mainland but which once stood cut off in the Humber. He is there with photographer Fiona Caley, who is recording this mysterious landscape and the farming communities who live there. Adam helps a friend choose some rare breed white park cattle.

Matt Baker learns about the Easter tradition of pace egg rolling in Lancashire.

Countryfile is in County Durham, and Matt is on his old home turf, showing us how to make panackelty, a traditional north eastern dish. He gets veg from prize-winning allotments and meat from a local farm and cooks it all up with the locals.

Ellie is a few miles away in the heart of Weardale meeting the designer whose passion for rescuing sheep has spun out into a sideline making high-end felt goods. She also takes a trip along one of the most beautiful stretches of the River Tees, taking in the stunning High Force and Low Force waterfalls, discovering its wildlife and getting a drenching as she throws herself headlong into it.

Sean is in Stockton, where he meets a Scout troop involved in all sorts of projects to encourage wildlife. And he witnesses them renewing their Scout vows - something traditionally done on St George's day.

Tom asks if we are in the midst of a fly-tipping epidemic and what can be done to stamp it out.

And at the start of British Beef Week, Adam is meeting the farmers raising their cattle on nothing but fresh grass all year round.

It is Hedgehog Awareness Week. Populations of wild British hedgehogs have declined rapidly since the turn of the century, and Ellie Harrison meets three schoolgirls who on a mission to keep the hedgehogs of Warwickshire safe from harm. She pays them a visit in their back garden hedgehog rehab centre!

Ellie Harrison reveals how the landscape has been shaped by rivers, meeting those who live, work and play on the banks of the Severn.

Matt Baker hears about plans the Suffolk Wildlife Trust are making for their biggest ever land purchase in the charity's 55 years. He'll also meet the dog ambassadors teaching good practice for owners and their four-legged friends when out in the countryside around wildlife and cattle. Ellie's on a farm run by the community and fuelled by waste! Dredgings from the bottom of a property developer's pond help fertilise the fields; hazel poles for the runner beans are scraps from a woodland project and the pigs get fed on left over barley from the local brewery. She'll also meet a craftsman making bread saws out of locally 'spalted' wood. To celebrate National Mills Weekend John Craven visits Bardwell, a fine example of the 500 or so windmills that once dotted throughout the county and meets the Wooster family and explores their love affair with their 'Forth Bridge' of windmills and see what work has gone into getting it - almost - up and running again.

Matt is in the Clyde valley in Lanarkshire, once known as the 'fruit basket of Scotland'. Also in HD. [S] Including Weather for the Week Ahead.

In a spring special edition of the programme Countryfile goes in search of the secret and often overlooked wonders of the season.

Matt and Ellie are in Essex where Matt jumps aboard the Pioneer, a fully restored Essex oyster boat. He learns about its maritime past whilst some rarely seen archive gives us a flavour of the county's oyster fishing heyday. Matt then meets a group of young people learning the skills to build racing gigs which are small fast rowing boats built for competition and Matt is put through his paces in one of these gigs out on the open sea. Ellie is at the country's only nature reserve managed specifically for dragonflies, where she gets up close to these highly coloured and fascinating insects. She then travels to Hamford Water, were the creeks and inlets are home to an unusual colony of common seals - they're bright red!

Ellie Harrison and Joe Crowley are in Northern Ireland, where Joe is up at the crack of dawn in woods just south of Belfast. He joins the RSPB team who are tagging swifts to find out where they feed, and he heads to the arts centre where the biggest swift colony in the city can be found to see how sensitive building benefits the birds. He also meets the locals doing their bit to help Belfast become 'swift city'. Joe then heads to the farm where you are as likely to find physalis, mustard flowers and Asian radish as you are spuds, carrots and caulis. Meanwhile, Ellie takes a canoe trip down the beautiful River Bann. It is a great place for wading birds, is steeped in history and is said to be the river St Patrick took before arriving at the island where he built a monastery. Ellie also visits Church Island and sees the sites associated with St Patrick, and she hears that it was also the poet Seamus Heaney's favourite place in the world.

Ellie Harrison and Sean Fletcher are at the Hay Festival, one of the UK's biggest literature and arts festivals.

Ellie goes behind the scenes to meet some of the writers and artists, the organisers and many of the thousands of visitors who flock here each year. She then heads out to the country for a special wildlife safari inspired by one of the books on show. She also joins the team spotting and tagging adders using radio tracking devices.

Sean is on a literary adventure of his own with a group drawing inspiration from the beautiful Wye Valley countryside. He also meets some local food producers at the festival, including one who's putting a whole new spin on ice cream.

Adam Henson looks at how new technology can help in the fight against drought, and John Craven is here with new news of this year's Countryfile Photographic Competition.

Sean Fletcher is in Carmarthenshire in west Wales taking a look at working animals. He meets Dr Nick Fox, OBE, who is one of the world's leading experts on birds of prey. Nick breeds falcons and has a very special way of training them - using robots. Sean is shown round the workshop where these 'robofalcons' are made. These are precision engineered drones built to look like falcons which are used to train real live birds to hunt. Sean takes the remote controls and sees for himself just how realistic these decoy birds are. He also visits the breeding units and gets to handle fluffy little peregrine chicks. Elsewhere on the site Sean discovers that Nick has drafted in beavers to help manage his woodland. And there's a good chance Sean will be treated to the sight of some beaver kits.

Also in this programme we'll be going back through the Countryfile archives to look again at times when we've featured working animals.

Ellie joins the Rollett family who have set up a traditional cottage industry producing natural elderflower cordials and presses.

Anita Rani's in the Nene Valley, where a pioneering project is just about to launch.

Our Scottish journey starts just off the mainland - on the Isle of May. It's home to the largest puffin colony on the east coast of Britain at this time of year. Ellie Harrison crosses the Firth of Forth to see the seasonal spectacle. With guillemots, kittiwakes and puffins all jostling for position on the islands ledges and perches, Ellie finds out from David the island manager about the work they do to make it a five-star stay for seabirds.

Sean Fletcher discovers Fife's importance as a (soft) centre of excellence when it comes to fruit growing. He looks at the history of the connection between fruit and the east coast of Scotland. Sean then plays 'scientist' at the James Hutton Institute, a lab that has been creating a raspberry-breeding programme to produce new breeds for local growers. He visits the 'crumbly fruit house', checking that new breeds hold up to picking without crumbling, and then asks fruit breeder Nikki Jennings just how Fife can create raspberries with a fuller flavour and less sugar than its southern counterparts.

Adam takes to the skies with Roger Nock from Ordnance Survey to map his field margins, and Tom Heap looks at the unseen side of TB - its effect on goats, asking why the disease isn't being dealt with the same rigour as it is in our cattle herds.

Wiltshire's Salisbury Plain is home to one of England's most successful conservation projects, the first new population of great bustards to be established anywhere in the world. John visits the project's HQ and wears a dehumanisation suit to help keep the birds' behaviour as wild as possible as he helps feed the latest batch of chicks as they prepare to fly the nest.

Anita meets the contestants of the International Young Beekeepers competition at Marlborough College and visits the River Kennet, one of England's most important chalk streams and helps out the volunteers working hard to keep this valuable chalk stream flowing.

Adam meets Simon Stott who runs a co-operative of farmers producing sheep's milk, which they turn into yoghurt and cheese.

At the foot of Wiltshire's Marlborough Downs, artisanal flower grower Polly Nicholson is using the rich, fertile soils of the Calne valley to grow seasonal and old varieties of English flowers. This is farmland turned flower fields, and is part of a growing trend for traditional British blooms. Imported flowers are often grown intensively, non-organically and then flown half way around the world to British buyers, with most varieties available year-round. Polly has established a flower farm with environmental welfare at its heart providing species not usually seen in conventional bunches of flowers.

Anita Rani is in London at the Woodberry Wetlands, a wildlife haven just a stone's throw from the tower blocks of Stoke Newington.

Ellie Harrisontakes a look at the part flowers and plants play in people's everyday lives. She visits a herb garden in Bristol to find out about a commonplace plant that is on the front line in the fight against cancer. She heads to a high-end restaurant to hear about fermentation, the latest foodie trend, before meeting a dye maker who has turned her back on synthetic dyes and uses only natural plants and flower dyes to create her colours. Finally, Ellie visits the school where pupils cultivate some of the rarest orchids in the world.

Anita and Sean are in the rugged wilds of Dartmoor. Anita explores the Artisan Trail, a newly created route that links some of the area's best artists and craftspeople. She meets the blacksmith working out of atraditional forge, visits a community-supported farm providing locals with hearty seasonal veg and tries her hand spinning wool on an old-fashioned spinning jenny. We also meet the printmaker who works out in the wild in all weathers.

Sean looks at native Dartmoor ponies and asks if there is a better alternative to culling unwanted foals at birth. He looks at two different options. One involves finding use for unwanted animals as therapy for people with learning difficulties, and the other, more controversially, suggests rearing the animals for meat.

Tom finds out what happens to the male calves born into dairy herds and looks at what can be done to ensure they have a useful and decent life. And with harvest just around the corner, Adam is taking stock down on his farm.

The team head to the Blenheim Estate in the Oxfordshire countryside for a celebration of the best of rural Britain at Countryfile Live. Matt Baker explores the best of food, drink and farming on offer, Ellie Harrison meets an aspiring actress turned cow artist, Adam Henson brings the farmyard to the showground, Tom Heap finds out how the forests of the Blenheim estate help the local community, and John Craven gets a unique glimpse into one of Blenheim Palace's greatest secrets.

Ellie and Steve are on the Llyn Peninsula in north west Wales. Ellie goes snorkelling to explore the rich seagrass habitat beneath the waves, before joining the conservationists netting fish as part of a marine survey. She also meets 19-year-old Urien Davies-Hughes, a third-generation boat builder who uses his grandfather's tools to build traditional Aberdaron beach boats. Steve meets the dairy farmers who both produce and deliver their own milk. He also visits the farmers who have turned their hand to bespoke ice cream and comes up with a brand new flavour of his own. Adam takes part in a mulberry harvest, while John is joined by fellow judges Simon King and Deborah Meaden to reveal the final 12 photographs in this year's Countryfile photographic competition.

Countryfile looks at how food is harvested, from large-scale crops for supermarket shelves to smaller hand-picked harvests for local markets. John Craven is in Oxfordshire meeting the only distillers in the country to use an ancient strain of rye to create a new type of gin. Margherita Taylor is in Norfolk with a farmer keen to prove that the British radish is more than just a bit on the side. Margherita also visits Bardsley Farm. The family have been growing apples and pears since 1892 and have recently branched out into growing apricots. Adam Henson meets the first of the two nations competing to win the coveted title of One Man and His Dog 2017. Tom Heap discovers how little is known about wasps and asks for viewers' help to find out more.

Ellie Harrisonis on Cornwall's Rame Peninsula to visit Mount Edgcumbe, where the UK's first ever native dark honeybee reserve has just opened. Previously thought to be all but extinct in the UK, an almost pure and distinctive population has been identified here, and although they make up only 1% of the bee population, it is claimed they could hold the key to reversing colony collapse - Ellie finds out how. The programme also catches up with Malcolm Baker, the last traditional fisherman in the Rame Peninsula, who features in a film that captures the old traditions of fishing in the region with the idea of passing on dying skills to the next generation. And Tom Heap is on the hunt for traditional British craftsmen and women. With many heritage crafts dying out, Tom is keen to find out what can be done to save them.

Ellie visits the Lake District, the UK's first national park to be a Unesco World Heritage Site, and she explores the three factors that made it an area of international cultural significance - identity, inspiration and conservation. There is also a look back at some of Countryfile's own experiences in the fells and valleys - meeting the people who all play a part in protecting the countryside. Additionally, in the lead-up to the Countryfile Ramble for BBC Children in Need, the programme visits the Highlands of Scotland to meet Logan and his dad Scott, who will be taking part. Logan lost his mum to cancer last year and is supported by Children in Need-funded charity Maggie's, who offer invaluable support to children like Logan. There is also news on how people can join in Ramble weekend by putting on their own sponsored rambles, walking through the beautiful British countryside and raising money to help some of the country's most vulnerable youngsters.

Matt Baker and Charlotte Smith present Countryfile's One Man and His Dog for 2017. The best shepherds and their dogs from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales go head to head for the coveted trophy. Each team is made up of two competitors - the 'singles' who compete with one dog and, the ultimate in sheepdog trialling, the 'brace', working two dogs at the same time. This year's competition is being held in Hampstead Heath, making it the first time that sheep have been on the Heath for 60 years.

Ellie is in South Yorkshire, right on the border of the Peak District, following in the footsteps of the Clarion Ramblers.

Anita and Matt are at Dumfries House in Ayrshire, a centre for training and education. Also in HD. [S] Including Weather for the Week Ahead.

Ellie visits Wakehurst Place to learn about the clear-up after the Great Storm of 1987.

John and Margherita are in Cornwall, where John attends a food festival with a difference. Over four nights local chefs will cook up 12 farm feasts for 1000 guests, all from one red devon animal. John meets the 1000 Mouths festival organiser Steve Chamberlain, to hear that every single bit of the animal will be used with nothing going to waste. Margehrita meets author Chrissie Gittins who's on a mission to stop wild words disappearing from children's vocabularies. She also visits a vineyard that came about by accident, when the owners discovered the ground was better for vines than for farming. We also profile Cornish artist David Hosking who returns to the farm of his birth for the first time since leaving 45 years ago. And Adam finds out if soya could be the crop of the future for British arable farmers. Tom's looking at calls to suspend public rights of way, because of the rising number of dog attacks on livestock, but how will it affect our right to roam?

A special programme celebrating the the Countryfile Ramble for Children in Need 2017. The presenters lead the way on rambles of their own through some of Britain's best landscapes, joined by viewers and some inspirational youngsters who have been helped by the charity. Matt Baker takes on an epic challenge on the hills of Dartmoor with Georgia, who has fought back from a life-changing operation to remove a brain tumour. Ellie Harrison heads to Wales's waterfall country with Amy, who was born deaf and is helped by a local charity thanks to Children in Need funding. Adam Henson leads a mass ramble of thousands through Bristol, joined by the Penn family. Anita Rani rambles along the white sands of Scotland's west coast withLogan, who lost his mum to cancer and is supported by the local Maggie's Centre. John Craven heads to Northern Ireland and the picturesque Castlewellan Forest Park, where he is joined by hundreds on his accessible-to-all ramble.

Matt Baker crunches through the leaves to find out about a new charter to protect woodlands, and Ellie Harrison meets Skomer's new seal pups.

Ellie Harrison finds out about the so-called 'Idle' women of the canals, who played a vital role in the Second World War. She also discovers how the great outdoors helps to heal servicemen and women. John Craven explores how wild plants became medicine during the Second World War. Plus Adam Henson visits a school where farming is helping to shape lives.

Countryfile is in Hertfordshire, where Charlotte Smith meets the man who's made it his sole mission to save the barbel in the Old River Lea. Sean Fletcher is building a home fit for a Kingfisher and foraging for a wild dinner. John Craven is returning to his days as a scout and cooking up a storm on a woodland fire. And Adam Henson is discovering the estate where rewilding and farming sit side-by-side. Now in its fifth year, what effect is culling badgers actually having on rates of TB in our cattle? Tom Heap's looking at the science behind this controversial practice.

The programme heads to the Cairngorms, where Joe Crowley is at Britain's largest national nature reserve, Mar Lodge. He is on the search for ptarmigan at the top of one of the tallest mountains in Britain. Helen Skelton meets one of Scotland's most extraordinary creatures - the golden eagle. And Adam Henson is already preparing for next year's new arrivals on his farm. Tom Heap is looking at Britain's favourite meat, chicken, and finding out what goes into supplying almost one billion chickens a year.

Helen and Sean are on the Cleveland Way in North Yorkshire. Helen meets the team of Scouts who have 'adopted' their own stretch of the 109-mile trail and are busy clearing gorse and doing some vitalmaintenance. She then joins the Hardmoors, a group of ultra marathon runners who have also adopted their own stretch, on a run through some spectacular countryside.

Sean explores Yorkshire childhoods through an incredible oral history project, before joining wildlife photographer Glenn Kilpatrick as he attempts to photograph leaping salmon on the beautiful River Esk.

Blacksmith and artist Katie Ventress takes Countryfile to her favourite stretch of coast. Tom has an exclusive look at a major new report into the effects of climate change on our bird populations, and Adam meets the young couple getting into farming despite not having a farm.

Ellie and Matt are in the Brecklands on the Norfolk-Suffolk border. Ellie finds out all about a major conservation effort to save two Brecks species at threat of extinction. She also hears how the Brecks rabbit is playing a key role in this effort. Later, Ellie meets the mum-and-daughter team helping to make Ipswich the most hedgehog-friendly city in the UK.

Matt joins an arable farmer who is able to harvest veg all year round thanks to the Brecks' sandy soils and temperate climate. He also meets the pig farmer who swears by the soil for rearing his livestock.

Margherita joins a shepherd turned artist for a lesson in watercolours out in the Brecks, and Adam has got his hands full with two alpacas who have an unusual job to do.

Tom Heap looks at the animal diseases worrying farmers at this time of year and asks if there is a chink in our armour.

Ellie Harrison sees her home county of Gloucestershire as she has never seen it before. She also looks back through the archives to the time when some well-known faces were asked which part of the county's countryside is special to them. DJ Edith Bowman visits Fife, comedian Susan Calman takes a trip to the Isle of Arran and chef Michael Caines wonders at the wilds of Dartmoor. Plus singer David Essex returns to his beloved Kent, Falklands veteran Simon Weston spends time in south Wales and actress Nina Wadia explores the Highlands.

In this special Christmas programme, Matt, John and Anita are in Castleton in the Peak District, where the celebrated Christmas tree festival is in full swing. Matt helps get things ready for a big carol concert in the world-famous Peak Cavern.

At the nearby Longshaw Estate, John looks for a Christmas tree at one of the biggest Christmas tree sales in the country. And Anita visits a farm that puts on its very own Nativity play, complete with newborn Christmas lambs.

Meanwhile in Norfolk, Adam challenges Ellie to a race with a difference, her flock of geese racing against his flock of turkeys. And in Staffordshire, Tom meets the farmer who hands out food parcels containing his own produce to help those in need this Christmas.

This week on Countryfile, Adam Henson is in New Zealand to find out what makes it one of the most exciting places to farm. Along the way, he meets some old friends, helps with a cattle muster like no other, witnesses sheep farming on a breathtaking scale and goes on the hunt for a rare goat breed with an unbelievable story.

In this edition, Matt Baker is in the stunning Gisburn Forest, where he meets the people who make the most of what nature has to offer here. Anita Rani is on a farm with its roots in the past, but which is looking to the future. She also meets the refugees who are discovering how to farm in the snow. Adam Henson meets the stallions playing a special part in securing the future of rare breeds. And Tom Heap looks into an argument between gun owners and doctors over new Home Office rules on gun licensing.

The programme visits the Somerset Levels, where Matt Baker is on the hunt for the common crane, a bird that has been brought back from the brink. It now thrives in this area, thanks to an unlikely union. Anita Rani meets the farmer who is turning apples into a tempting drink. Adam Henson takes stock on his farm as winter arrives. And in the first part of a new feature, the programme discovers the highs and lows of life as a rural vet. Plus Charlotte Smith finds out why people who swim in the sea are unwittingly exposing themselves to dangerous bacteria.

Anita Rani joins some budding 'citizen scientists' taking in the New Year Plant Hunt. Leicestershire has more than 300 rare species of plant, but they're being lost at a rapid rate. Anita visits Leicester University's herbarium to investigate the city's plants past, present and future. John Craven is at Rutland Water which is a hotspot for birding, with more hides than any other reserve in the country, where every year at least one hide is rebuilt. John joins in with 'raising' the new building which forms part of the trainee reserve officers training for the year. Steve Brown gets to know some of Rutland Water's winter visitors better and looks forward to the Big Garden Birdwatch, as well as meeting the young birdwatchers taking part and revealing how to take part in this years' event. Tom Heap looks at the problems faced by rural fire services.

In this edition, Matt Baker is on the Dorset coastline to meet a man who is championing local, winter produce. Anita Rani finds out how making jewellery inspired by nature can improve the winter blues, while in the Highlands, Steve Brown mushes with a pack of huskies. The programme catches up with Eddie the Eagle, 30 years after his appearance at the Winter Olympics, and meets the artist who loves painting mountains. Joe Crowley meets the man with a lifelong passion for deer, while Ellie Harrison finds out about the UK's long fascination with foxes. And Adam Henson is on a farm where gathering in the sheep is a risky business.

Ellie Harrison and Matt Baker are in Cambridgeshire, where Matt looks at a huge project to turn a quarry into the UK's biggest reed bed. Thousands of tons of sand and gravel are being shifted at Ouse Fen to create the perfect habitat for wildlife, including one of the UK's rarest birds, the bittern. Matt is also on hand to help release some fish into specially-created pools. Ellie is with a team from Cambridge University whose work is throwing new light on the secret life of truffles. She also takes a walk in the woods with botanical artist Caroline Henricksen, who reveals a world of wonder beneath Ellie's feet. Wildlife cameraman Richard Taylor Jones witnesses a wildlife spectacle of a lifetime, Adam Henson meets a young farmer making a go of it in the New Forest, plus the latest instalment from the young vets. Tom Heap has an exclusive interview with Bill Gates about why he's making the most of British agricultural expertise.

Matt Baker and Anita Rani are in Anglesey, where Matt is on the lookout for harbour porpoises. He meets scientist Peter Evans to find out why the waters round Anglesey are so good for a whole variety of marine mammals. He also meets the schoolchildren who've made it their mission to keep the islands beaches clear of plastic. Anita meets 'squirrel whisperer' David Lacey, a man who has red squirrels literally eating out of his hands. Anita then heads out with fisherman John Jones to find out what's behind the boom in Menai mussels. Tom is looking at faux fur and asks how do we know it isn't real. And Adam finds out how the latest facial recognition technology is helping farmers spot problems early with their livestock. When is faux fur not fake? Well, more often than you'd think. Helen Skelton is investigating how real fur is making it into our shops and our wardrobes without us realising.

Matt Baker and Helen Skelton are in Derbyshire where Matt is exploring the boom in farming alpacas. He meets Ingrid Rushton, one of the first people in the UK to own them and visits a blood transfusion drop-in for alpacas where owners have come from all over the region bringing their animals to donate blood which could save baby alpaca's lives. Helen tries her hand at 'weaselling', the latest craze to sweep the Peaks. It's a kind of potholing that happens above ground and joins a party of schoolchildren who squeeze in and out of the rocky tors that dot the landscape. She also meets countryside champion Yvonne Witter who has made it her mission to get more people from ethnic backgrounds into our countryside. Tom Heap looks at illegal abattoirs and asks if the meat on our plates is what we think it is, and Adam is in North Wales meeting the farmer using a special type of working dog to manage his livestock.

Water is our most precious natural resource. There is not a plant or animal on earth that can do without it. Our landscape is shaped by it; livelihoods depend on it. Water provides homes for wildlife and is a source of inspiration and a place for recreation. Helen Skelton is at Kielder Water in Northumberland, exploring the ways in which the wet stuff shapes our lives. There is also a meander through the archives, dipping a toe into previous watery worlds to which Countryfile has been.

Steve Brown is on the trail of an elusive and endangered Scottish creature - the mud snail. They may not be one of nature's glamour species, but these tiny molluscs play an important role in the ecosystem. Anita Rani cycles along the sands of the East Lothian coast on a 'fat bike'. With larger than normal tyres they leave virtually no trace in the sand, having as little impact on the natural habitat as possible. Matt Baker visits St Abbs - a community who refused to let their lifeboat service go under. When threatened with closure they independently took on the community lifeboat, saving 104 years of history. There are ten million cattle farmed in the UK, and it is a well-known fact that livestock like cows produce a lot of methane, which contributes to global warming. Adam Henson is in Edinburgh at an agricultural college where they are working on a solution. Tom Heap looks at companies buying up swathes of countryside and selling it on with planning permission for houses.

Ellie Harrison is in Pembrokeshire looking at the effect of recent storms on the coastline. Adam Henson visits Scotland's Rural College, where they are researching ways to reduce farming's impact on global warming. Tom Heap looks at the problems faced by the UK's sheep farmers and asks why people have fallen out of love with lamb.

As the birthplace of the industrial revolution, this is a landscape rich in coal and iron. But the legacy of one of the ancient coal shafts is a river that is colourful for all the wrong reasons - it runs bright orange with iron-rich ochre from the rocks below. Matt Baker immerses himself in Shropshire Wildlife Trust's Love Your Rivers project. It's a huge conservation operation, involving 12 organisations and an army of volunteers inspired to give their landscape some TLC. Ellie Harrison accompanies sniffer-dog Lunar in a search for pine martens. She also meets James Sherwin - a man who set himself a 12-month mission - to cook for a whole year only using ingredients farmed and grown in Shropshire. Steve Brown spends the day with Becky Haywood, an artist who combines her love of nature with molten glass. Adam Henson has a round-up of life on the farm as spring sets in. As the numbers of one the UK's favourite mammals plummets, Tom Heap asks where have all our hedgehogs gone?

Matt, Anita and Joe Crowley are in West Yorkshire where Matt meets Dr Ryad Alsous, a refugee from Syria whose love of bees has helped him forge a new life here. Matt also meets some of the refugees and locals Ryad is inspiring with his love of bees. Matt gets to try his hand at making a beehive and samples a delicious Syrian dessert made with the honey he helps Ryad harvest. Anita is on the moors looking for the Easter Bunny - or should that be Easter hare? She's on the hunt for the elusive mountain hare in its most northerly English habitat. Anita also meets Susan Sroka, a one woman hare rescue service who's been nursing a baby leveret back to health. Joe Crowley explores Emily Bronte's passion for wildlife and finds out that she had her very own Merlin hawk. Tom Heap looks at the reasons for the decline in our hedgehogs and Adam buys some of the rarest native breed cattle there are, Blue Albions.

Sean Fletcher and Naomi Wilkinson are in the wilds around Loch Ness. Sean is on the Erchless Estate, where they are busy tapping birch trees for the next big culinary thing - birch sap. He also meets the sporran maker putting a twist on this traditional item of Scottish clothing. Naomi spends the day with seventh-generation crofter Iain McLeod and his daughter Chloe to get a taste of crofting life. It is lambing time so there is plenty to keep Naomi busy. She then meets Michelle Anderson Carrol, a vegetarian who rears rare breed pigs for meat. Then it is off to Glenurquhart, the home of shinty, where Naomi and Sean take sides and go head to head in this ancient Scottish game. Tom Heap takes a look at the rise in popularity of a vegan diet, and Adam Henson is on the Welsh estate where they keep bison.

Matt Baker and Anita Rani are in West Cumbria. Matt walks along the England Coast Path.

Anita Rani is in Norfolk meeting the people keeping some of the UK's vanishing trades alive. Her first stop is Horsey Windpump which has been restored to full working glory by Tim Whiting, one of the last millwrights in the country. Next she joins the reed cutters making a living on the Norfolk Broads, where she gets to try her hand at cutting. Then she joins Nigel Ford, a man on a mission to restore all of Norfolk's ancient milestones. Finally, she meets David Wolstenholme who makes cricket bats by hand, a skill that's listed by the Heritage Crafts Association as being critically endangered, before she takes her place at the crease to put the bat to the test.

Anita Rani is in Rothbury, being put through her paces with the mountain rescue team and hearing how new technologies are helping search-and-rescue operations. Anita then goes to Amble. She visits the lobster hatchery that is giving the area's shellfish stocks a helping hand. She sees how the baby lobsters are reared before being released back into the waters. Matt is on Coquet Island, the only place in the UK with a breeding population of roseate terns. As peak breeding season approaches they need to make sure everything is in place. Matt gets busy constructing nest boxes for the terns, preparing the shingle (which they like to bed into) and rigging up the nest cams. Steve Brown takes in the wildlife at Hauxley Nature Reserve. He meets James Common, whose wildlife blogging has earned him a place in the finals of this year's UK Blog Awards. Tom Heap looks into the export of live animals for slaughter from the UK and the calls for it to be banned after Brexit.

The team are in Hampshire, where Matt Baker hears about a project championing the use of local wood, as more people using locally sourced timber leads to better-managed woodlands, and that means more biodiversity. John Craven hears how oysters are being reintroduced to the Solent in a bid to revive stocks. The Solent Fishery was once the largest in Europe, but oyster fishing was banned five years ago when annual harvests plummeted from 200 to 20 tonnes in five years. On the shoreline around the Solent, Ellie Harrison hears about an innovative project to study coastal erosion. She meets Sasha, who uses radio trackers placed into stones on the beach to follow their movements. Tom Heap looks at how new technology and smart machinery could put UK farmers at greater risk of cyberattack. Adam Henson and Charlotte Smith travel to the Shetland Islands to meet the third and last finalists for the Countryfile Farming Hero Award 2018.

Matt Baker is whipping up a Welsh spring treat with baker Beca Lyne-Pirkis. Ellie Harrison meets the designer who's creating a celebratory 30th anniversary Countryfile garden for the Hampton Court Flower Show. Anita Rani's in Dorset living life on the edge, in the hope of spotting migrating birds. Steve Brown discovers how a Somerset artist gets an unusual view of our fresh new landscape. In the Norfolk Broads John Craven explores the legacy of the Edwardian naturalist and photographer Emma Turner. We meet the Buckinghamshire farmer who's becoming an internet sensation and the metalworker who's capturing spring in miniature. Adam Henson is getting fit for spring, with a little help from some farm friends.

To celebrate 65 years since Her Majesty's coronation, Countryfile, also celebrating its 30th anniversary, has been given unprecedented access to the Queen's Windsor estate. Matt Baker is at Windsor Great Park finding out about the Queen's countryside retreat and how it was as a young princess that Her Majesty first fell in love with the park. Adam Henson explores the farming history at Windsor as well as looking at the Queen's current farming methods. She has a number of breeds of livestock on the farm. Anita Rani looks at the Queen's love of horses and her passion for native British breeds. Anita meets a farmer who breeds Cleveland Bays, a breed rescued from the brink of extinction by HM the Queen. Sean Fletcher is at the Royal Welsh Show. It's a country show Princess Elizabeth first visited in 1947. John Craven meets the man in charge of a huge new planting scheme across the Great Park instigated by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

To celebrate 65 years since HM the Queen's coronation, Countryfile has been given unprecedented access to the Queen's Balmoral estate. Matt Baker is at Glamis Castle, the family home of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother, where the Queen spent many happy childhood holidays. Ellie Harrison is exploring the woodland on the Balmoral estate and seeing how conservation projects introduced by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are encouraging wildlife. Anita Rani is on the Western Isles where the royal family would travel on board the Royal Yacht Britannia. Anita alights on the Isle of Ghiga where the Queen once made an unannounced visit which the locals still remember today. Adam is back on the Balmoral estate meeting the stockman who looks after the Queen's herd of Highland Cattle and checks out one of the Queen's favourite bulls; Smurf.

To celebrate 65 years since Her Majesty's coronation, Countryfile, also celebrating its 30th anniversary, has been given unprecedented access to the Queen's Sandringham estate. Matt Baker discovers that the Queen's love of her most private rural hideaway comes through her father's side of the family. Adam Henson looks into the farming history of Sandringham which has run as a mixed farm of nearly 6000 acres for many years. Ellie Harrison is at the Royal Stud just half a mile from the main house. It was here that the young princess would accompany both her grandfather and father to spend time with the thoroughbreds. John Craven looks at the great flood of 1953 and meets the local people who were affected in the Sandringham area to hear their stories. Matt Baker also visits the Royal Pigeon Loft and discovers that the birds are a real passion of the Queen. Finally, Anita Rani learns about Her Majesty's love of gun dogs.

Sean Fletcher, Margherita Taylor and Steve Brown are in Northern Ireland. Sean is at the beautiful Lower Lough Erne meeting the two boat-building brothers reviving the traditional clinker boat. He sees the intricate way they are made and gets to sail in one - the first time a wooden clinker boat has set sail on the Lough in decades. Margherita explores the boom in pine marten numbers in Fermanagh and finds that, while it is good news for the local red squirrel population, it is bad news for smallholders. And Steve Brown heads to Killeter, where the local churches are putting on a very special display to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Cecil Frances Alexander, writer of All Things Bright and Beautiful.

Matt, Ellie and Steve are in West Sussex, where Matt explores the phenomenon of 'champing' - where people pay to stay in churches. He also meets the man who listens to trees and discovers the surprising world beneath their bark. Ellie meets Maya Leonard, a self-proclaimed insect activist, to hear how beetles are just as important at pollinating plants as bees. Steve is with the volunteers, calling themselves gleaners, who hope to put an end to food waste. Plus Tom looks at the problem of untreated sewage being dumped in rivers, and Adam and Charlotte announce the winner of Countryfile's Farming Hero Award.

Matt Baker and Margherita Taylor are in Dorset, where Matt spends time at Lorton Meadows, a nature reserve renowned for its birds of prey. He meets Sam Dallimore, who shows him some of the nest boxes, before meeting up with Jason Fathers, who is installing web cameras. And the stars of the show are the polygamous kestrels - one male with two females, a rare occurrence in the raptor world. Thanks to the webcams, Matt gets a close-up view of the chicks too. Margherita dons her oilskins and tests her sea legs out with the couple who turned their passion for sea fishing into a thriving business. The programme also features Kieran Peree, who gave up his training as an engineer to dive for scallops off the Dorset coast. Adam visits a care farm that is helping people rebuild their lives. Tom discovers how low pupil numbers and a lack of funds mean many rural schools are facing a fight to survive. And Anita meets the first of the contenders in Countryfile's search for a young presenter.

Ellie Harrison and Sean Fletcher explore the grounds and surrounds of Hampton Court Palace. It is home to the last stable of working shire horses in London, and Sean hears how they offer a natural alternative to modern machinery. While Sean is at the house, Ellie is in the garden, at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, revealing the finished design of the Countryfile Wildlife Garden. Anita Rani and Adam Henson meet the next two Young Presenter finalists. Adam also hears how lupins are being used as an alternative to soya in livestock feed. Tom Heap finds out whether a US free-trade deal after Brexit would mean boom or bust for UK farmers.

Sean Fletcher spells out what it is he loves so much about Wales, with his 'seven wonders of Wales' - the mountains, hill farming, heritage, wildlife, castles, food and the coastline. This final wonder is a particular favourite of Sean's, and he's not the only one to think that. So to celebrate its shoreline, Wales has chosen 2018 as its Year of the Sea. From the 870 miles of pathway that run the whole length of the coastline, many Welsh wonders can be seen. Sean journeys along Pembrokeshire's stretch of the Welsh Coastal Path. On the way he flexes his Welsh language skills as he meets people who live and work on the path with tales to tell.

To celebrate Countryfile's 30th anniversary, John Craven takes us through 30 of the most memorable moments from the programme from the past three decades. Matt Baker meets local legend Joss Naylor, who has been running over Cumbria his whole life and is known as the king of the fells. There's a look back over some of the big news stories covered by the programme, including foot and mouth. Tom meets a farmer featured at the height of the outbreak to see how he's coped. There's also a look at some favourite wildlife encounters and Ellie meets the students who could become the future of wildlife film-making. We revisit some of the quirkier events in the rural calendar, such as the world nettle eating championships and the world tin bath racing event. Steve Brown is on Ullswater meeting those on a quest for the Holy Grail of the boating world. Countryfile has often travelled abroad to see what we can learn from our farming neighbours and Adam is in France hearing how ancient methods of farming could be the future.

The team travel to Exmoor. Matt Baker meets a group of youngsters on the National Citizen Service scheme, a residential course that uses outdoor activities to help children from all backgrounds to build skills for work and life. Exmoor is one of only a handful of places in the country where the UK's most endangered butterfly - the high brown fritillary - can be spotted, and Margherita Taylor meets those doing all they can to restore its habitat in a bid to increase its numbers. This involves using a remote-controlled mini-tractor that breaks down bracken to create runnels that the butterflies can travel though. It also encourages the underlying violets to grow that the caterpillars feed on. Adam Henson meets the Sikh family of strawberry-growers that are uniting farmers around Worcestershire, who have started the Growers United Football Charity. It not only brings local farmers and growers together and raises money, but also promotes agriculture as a key sector of the economy. Tom looks at what is being done to fight lyme disease, a debilitating illness that affects up to 3,000 people a year and is often transmitted through a single bite from an infected tick. Joe finds out how moorland communities are dealing with the impact of this summer's wildfires, looking at how the continuing dry spell is forcing farmers to use up vital supplies of winter fodder to make up for the lack of grazing in the parched countryside. The Young Presenter Talent Search reaches its climax, as Anita is joined by fellow presenters Nick Baker and JB Gill to decide the winners in each age category.

John, Margherita and Steve are in East Yorkshire where John takes a trip down memory lane to the seaside holidays of his youth. He returns to Bridlington where he meets the enthusiasts keeping the traditional coble boats afloat, and is lucky enough to set out in one under sail. Margherita discovers a secret arts trail in the Wolds and meets poet Ian MacMillan to hear about his love of the area. Steve is a few miles inland meeting a farmer who grows hemp and discovers how versatile a plant it is. And to prove this he helps build a wall made of hemp bricks. Charlotte looks at how tourism is having a negative impact on some of best loved beauty spots, and Adam meets the farmer taking to the internet to get his message about farming out.

Matt, Ellie and Steve are in Nottinghamshire where Matt reports on the plight of the original Bramley apple tree. He joins the scientists working to preserve as much genetic material from it in an effort to unlock the secrets of its long life. There's a double hit of wildlife from Ellie as she goes on a night time hunt for one of Britain's rarest bats - the barbastelle. It's appearance this far north is creating a stir amongst conservationists. Then she joins the husband and wife team behind one of the country's most successful barn owl projects, and gets up close to their latest clutch of chicks. Steve heads for the woods to see how nature is helping some of the county's most vulnerable people. Also in this programme Charlotte looks at the threat to our country parks from council funding cuts and Adam's on his farm counting the cost of the continuing dry spell.

The team are at Countryfile Live, set in the stunning grounds of Blenheim Palace. Matt Baker tries his hand scurry racing, where it takes skill to handle the horses and make the scurry take corners at speed. Ellie Harrison meets the artist whose skill is taxidermy without the animals. John Craven takes along his dachshund Dora and explores Churchill's love of dogs. Steve Brown goes backstage at the first ever British charcuterie awards and meets the producers putting British meats on the map. Adam Henson finds out how to manage a flock of 1,500 sheep. Tom Heap looks at the impact plastics are having on the environment. Anita Rani is joined by the winners of the Young Presenter Talent search. Anita and ten-year-old Matilda get hands-on with hedgehogs and discover why, despite being endangered nationally, their numbers are on the rise in the grounds of the Blenheim estate. Thirteen-year-old Archie teams up with Anita to find out why fishing has increased among under-16s.

Matt and Margherita are in North Wales where Matt discovers how miniature technology could tell us more about the habits of one of our best-loved insects. He's shown how tiny antennae are strapped to individual bees which are then tracked by drones. Matt also meets the entrepreneurial young beekeeper already farming her own bees and selling the honey to businesses nearby. Margherita takes a ride on the famous Blaenau Ffestiniog railway along with people living with dementia and their carers. The trip is the brainchild of Emma Jayne Quaeck who saw how being out in nature helped her own mother's condition. Margherita also heads underground to see how old slate mines are being used to help age prize-winning local cheese. John is joined by fellow judges Cerys Matthews and Simon King to announce the final 12 in this year's Countryfile Photographic Competition, and Adam comes face to face with a cattle breed that is shaking up smallholding.

Steve Brown goes on a whistlestop tour of the place he calls home - the Isle of Sheppey. A flat landscape typified by saltmarsh, sea and big skies, this is a wilderness full of wildlife. The programme spends the day immersed in nature at Elmley Marshes on the north Kent coast. It's the country's only family-run farm that is also a designated national nature reserve.

With waders within the wetlands, livestock on the saltmarsh that snakes down to the sea and raptors soaring high in the enormous skies, Steve gives viewers an insight into the landscape he loves. The programme also looks back at some of Countryfile's favourite forays on to marshland, on the seas and in the sky.

Anita Rani and John Craven are in Essex, where there is so much more going on beside the seaside than just sandcastles and seagulls stealing chips. Anita hears how tough old timber that has travelled half way around the world from the tropics to the UK is being up-cycled and repurposed to find new life in the Essex landscape.

John visits a farm which is a leader in the field when it comes to growing niche crops. Peter Fairs was one of the first farmers to grow quinoa back in the 1970s, and an increase in plant-based diets means that Peter's unusual crops are becoming more mainstream. John gets a taste of their latest superfood crops - borage and chia.

In a couple of weeks Countryfile celebrates Britain's best shepherding talent, playing host to the One Man and His Dog sheepdog trial competition. As the competitors and their collies get ready, Adam Henson heads out to meet teams Scotland and Ireland.

Tom Heap looks at why the government has finally given fracking the go ahead.

Harvest is one of the busiest times of the farming year, but this year many farmers are bearing the brunt of the winter storms and summer drought. Helen Skelton visits a farm in York to hear how carrots are in crisis. The extremes of weather have lead to the lowest yields for decades and the highest levels of imports.

Steve Brown is in Cornwall looking at a much smaller harvest. He meets Seth Pascoe, a man who wants to bring the nutritional benefits of sea berries to the wider public. But it is a delicate fruit with many sharp thorns to bypass.

Adam Henson meets the Welsh and English contenders for this year's One Man and His Dog. Have they got what it takes to be crowned champion?

Charlotte Smith investigates whether farmers can really trust their banks when it comes to their future financing.

Matt Baker has all the information on how to take part in this year's Countryfile Ramble for BBC Children in Need.

The British Isles' top shepherds and their collies descend on the small village of Llansteffan in south Wales as we host Countryfile's One Man and His Dog 2018.

Teams from England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland are all competing for the coveted trophy, each team made up of a senior shepherd and the up-an-coming talent of a youngster.

This year the seniors take on trailing's most difficult discipline, 'the brace' - working two dogs at the same time, and our youngsters have an average age of just 11 years.

Whilst Matt Baker takes to the commentary box, Anita Rani explores the Llansteffan ferry, making its return after 60 years, and which for generations has connected two communities across the Tywi estuary. Anita also hunts for one of the area's richest natural resources - cockles.

This week we're in Herefordshire where Sean is at Bodenham Lake, site of a huge habitat creation project. When work is complete there will be new spaces for otters, water rail, bitterns and the lake's best known inhabitant, the grass snake. Sean joins Sophie Cowling, the warden here, and her volunteers as they seek out these slippery creatures as part of an ongoing survey.

Margherita meanwhile is in a traditional orchard looking to turn its fortunes around with the help of a brew popular in medieval times - verjuice. Made from the juice of unripe apples, verjuice is proving a hit with foodies and top chefs alike.

Adam is also in Herefordshire, helping to get another of the country's famous crops in - hops. Matt's getting ready for this year's Countryfile Ramble for Children in Need by meeting Josh, an inspirational 14-year-old whose ambition is to climb a mountain. John is here to announce the winner of this year's Countryfile photographic competition, and Tom is investigating how city-based drug gangs are targeting some of the countryside's most vulnerable children.

Ellie Harrison takes an unflinching look at the state of the country's wildlife - the pressures it is under, the challenges it faces and the prospects for some of the most vulnerable species. Ellie visits Devon to see the efforts being made to save one of the rarest insects, the narrow-headed ant. She also visits the Exmoor estate where water voles haven't been seen in 30 years. Matt Baker is in Cornwall to see how a project to rear lobsters sustainably could have benefits for other threatened sea species. Steve Brown visits a seabird sanctuary still dealing with the after-effects of the Torrey Canyon disaster 50 years ago. And Adam Henson is in Northern Ireland to see how farmers are working with the RSPB to bring back farmland birds.

Ellie Harrison is in Derbyshire to explore some of the things people can do on a different day out. Her first stop is Carsington Water, where she learns how to build a makeshift raft before taking to the water and racing it. Then she takes in an arts trail that features chainsaw sculptures, including a giant frame in which the landscape becomes the art. She heads to a limestone quarry to do some daytime moth-spotting and learns that this unusual habitat is the ideal home for some of the country's rarest moths. Finally, she takes part in the world-famous Bonsall Hen Racing Championships, meets the current world champion, eight-year-old Jack Alsop Smith, and gets some hen-racing tips before competing to see who will be crowned 2018 champion. Ellie also looks back through the Countryfile archives to come up with other ideas for a different day out.

Countryfile celebrates all things autumn. Matt Baker is on the Isle of Skye otter spotting. Anita Rani meets a potter on the Ards Peninsular who is capturing the essence of the season in her work. Steve Brown experiences the beauty of autumn leaves in miniature and all their mighty magnificence. In north Wales John Craven visits the kitchen garden where autumn produce is coming to a sticky end. Adam Henson meets a couple making the most of autumn's random apples. In South Yorkshire Margherita Taylor gets her hands dirty with a third-generation forager. The programme visits a pumpkin farmer at his busiest time of year, and beauty expert Liz Earle explains why autumn is her favourite season on the family farm.

The fourth annual Countryfile Ramble for BBC Children in Need features the show's presenters leading rambles across the UK, joined by viewers and inspirational youngsters helped by the charity. Anita Rani heads to Northern Ireland's Mourne Mountains, Adam Henson takes in Scotland's Galloway Forest Park, Ellie Harrison leads a mass ramble of more than 1,000 round the cathedral city of Ely, John Craven and Steve Brown team up to take a group of ramblers through Padarn Country Park in north Wales, and Matt Baker heads to the Isle of Skye, hoping to fulfil a young boy's dream of scaling a mountain. Meanwhile, roving reporter Tom Heap catches up with some of the thousands of public rambles which took part across Britain in aid of the cause.

Countryfile visits Worcestershire, where Matt Baker finds out about plans to save Pershore Lock Island and encourage more wildlife to live there. He also meets a group of visually impaired children who are experiencing nature from the water. Anita Rani meets the couple who fell in love over their passion for Holstein cattle. She also uncovers the mysterious history of the county's black pear. John Craven discovers Ruskin Land and meets the architecture students getting hands-on with oak. Tom Heap looks at whether enough is being done to keep the great British oak tree safe from disease and parasitic pests, and Adam Henson meets the farmer whose chickens only lay white eggs.

Countryfile visits East Sussex, where Sean Fletcher meets the family with a passion for poultry. Ellie Harrison discovers the life and work of a little-known British landscape artist Eric Slater and she also meets the woman keeping the age-old craft of trug making alive. It is an emotional day for Adam Henson as he tests his cattle for TB, plus, on this very special Armistice Day, John Craven is in the village of Rotherfield honouring the parish's war dead, 100 years on. And Tom Heap investigates the outbreak of a mystery disease that could take the UK's hare population to the brink of extinction.

Countryfile visits Cambridgeshire, where Anita Rani is at the 40th annual hedge-laying competition and meets a painter that finds trees totally inspiring. Sean Fletcher meets two water buffalo helping in the battle against invasive pennywort. Margherita Taylor is bowled over by a group of woodworkers. And it's a big day for Adam Henson as he finds out if his cattle are TB free, and Charlotte investigates claims that hundreds of villages have been condemned to an early grave.

Countryfile is in Suffolk, where John Craven takes to the water to meet the Walberswick ferrywomen. He also finds out about the age-old craft of pargetting.

Countryfile is in County Durham, where Helen Skelton finds out about the traditional rapper dance of the region and Steve Brown finds out about fancy pigeon showing.

John Craven, Helen Skelton and Margherita Taylor are on the Isle of Wight, where John meets the amateur dinosaur hunter finding new prehistoric creatures along the coast. He also visits the miniature village where traditional building skills are being applied on a tiny scale. Margherita takes to the waves to see how artificial rock pools are throwing a lifeline to some of the islands most vulnerable sea species, and Helen hears about the challenges of farming in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. She also meets the young farmers who is also a wiz in the mountain-biking world. Tom Heap looks at the problem of hidden waste being revealed by coastal erosion and, with the recent legalising of cannabis for some medical use, Adam Henson visits one of the biggest growers in the country.

Matt Baker, Sean Fletcher and Margherita Taylor are in the Cairngorms, where Matt meets Tilly Smith and her herd of 150 reindeer. The reindeer roam wild and free and a team of scientists are studying their grazing habits to assess its impact on the environment. Sean spends the day with ten-year-old Xander Johnson, who is part of a big effort to save one of the UK's rarest insects - the pine hoverfly, found only in two places in the Cairngorms and under threat in both of them. Margherita learns all about mountain safety and why smartphones should not be trusted out in the wild. She also hears from Amanda Thomson, an academic who is on a mission to preserve disappearing Scots words and whose work has inspired Marina Dennis, a crofter keen to preserve old crofting traditions and the language used to describe them.

Matt Baker and the team are in the small village of Elsdon in Northumberland, where preparations are in full swing for a big Christmas bash. Matt helps get the Bird in Bush pub decked out for the party and meets some of the locals for whom the pub is more than merely a place for a quiet drink. Steve Brown picks sloes for a festive tipple with a difference. Anita Rani turns to blacksmithing for an unusual Christmas decoration. John Craven joins foragers looking for pine needles to give their cookies a seasonal twist. Ellie Harrison heads to Wallington Hall to see some red squirrels. Tom Heap joins the choir going from door to door in a bid to combat isolation among the more elderly in the community. And Adam Henson is in Worcestershire at the biggest mistletoe market in the country.

Anita Rani is in Yorkshire celebrating some of the many remarkable women who have been featured on the programme over the years. She revisits stories of courageous and determined women - from those who stepped into male shoes, working the land during the First and Second World Wars, to a female polar explorer with a big attitude. Anita also meets the women making their mark on the countryside today, from a champion tree climber to an ornithologist whose passion for birds has a long lineage. Plus the graffiti artist with big and bold ideas about flora and fauna, and farmers of the future.