Open Country

Thousands of historic buildings and monuments are at risk of being lost through damage or neglect. Jules Hudson tours sites in the West Midlands to assess the level of damage, to ask what's key to helping preserve or restore them and ask if some merit the cost and effort involved. Many walking through Bubbenhall village in Warwickshire may not know about the scheduled ancient monument under the earth because even signs of it are only visible for two weeks in the year but experts say it's key to understanding our ancestors. He travels to Fazeley near Tamworth which has clusters of Grade 2 listed buildings but some have been destroyed by fire and others virtually abandoned by owners who can't afford the development work. He helps assess one of the buildings with experts from English Heritage who want to produce a database on the state of Grade 2 listed buildings. Jules also explores nearby Middleton Hall which was so neglected it was used as a motorbike track. Volunteers set up a trust and have spent 35 year

Helen Mark visits the ancient town of Hastings to meet the people involved in the fishing community there. The fishing fleet is made up of small wooden boats which are all under ten metres long. This is important as, unusually, they are launched each day from the beach. This involves pushing them down the shingle bank, by tractor nowadays but traditionally by hand, and winching them back up again out of the sea when they return. Helen meets Paul Joy, a fisherman, who can date his family back as far as the 1000s, all launching their boats from the beach in Hastings as he does today. This is true of lots of the fishing families working there. But even with such a long and thriving history behind them the Hastings fishing industry is now in trouble. Their crews are in their seventies and there's no sign of new blood, and their wages are falling. Before 2006, under ten metre boats weren't subject to any EU fishing quotas as they were deemed exempt, but new legislation brought in six years ago changed all this. Si

Helen Mark takes us on a journey to the real Never Never Land.Peter Pan first came to life on the glittering stage of London's Duke of York Theatre on 27th December 1904, but he began life far away from the hustle, bustle and glamour of the West End in the market town of Kirriemuir near Dundee. Helen Mark visits the birth place of J.M. Barrie who immortalised this "wee red toonie" as "Thrums" in his popular (pre-Pan) novels Auld Licht Idylls, A Window in Thrums, and The Little Minister. Helen also takes us out into the landscape that is believed to have inspired Never Never Land and the adventures of Peter Pan himself. Producer: Nicola Humphries.

Helen Mark is in Norfolk where preparations for Christmas are underway. In Great Hockham Helen meets Vincent Thurkettle whose life has been defined by a love of trees and the great outdoors. During the early part of the year, Vincent tends his fields of Christmas trees, which are allowed to grow with wild flowers at their roots, before spending his summers diving for sunken treasure off the coast of Britain. Returning to Norfolk later in the year, Vincent begins his Christmas tree deliveries and Helen joins him as he sets off. In the coastal town of Cromer, a rather more unusual Christmas tree has appeared in the churchyard and Helen meets fisherman, John Davies, to find out about the 150 lobster pots that were used to build the tree which now lights up the town and celebrates the town's fishing heritage. Helen also finds out how to decorate a Christmas tree for garden birds before heading back to Great Hockham where Vincent Thurkettle has finished the day's deliveries. Vincent, who also spends a week each y

A spectacular aqueduct hangs in limbo above the village of Coleford whilst deep green ridges carve their way through forest and fields. Tucked away at the eastern end of the Mendips in Somerset, Jules Hudson discovers the secrets of 'The Canal that Never Was'.Started in the late 1700s, the Nettlebridge branch of what would have been the Dorset and Somerset Canal, stretches eight miles though a quiet valley between Edford and Frome. The canal itself was planned in order to link the Bristol and English Channels and to connect the counties of Dorset and Somerset into the canal network. The Nettlebridge branch was planned to have boat lifts instead of locks and in a feat of extraordinary engineering one balance lock was built by James Fussell as a trial. The site of Fussell's Trial Balance Lock was located and excavated by The Dorset and Somerset Canal Society who revealed an almost completely conserved masonry chamber.The route was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1796 but unplanned factors including undere

Helen Mark visits Brighton to find surprising wildlife in the city. She finds an urban flock of sheep grazing on ancient chalk downland areas in the city. Their gentle nibbling is kinder to wildlife than mowing and ensures that green spaces stay clear for wildlife and people. Helen meets a volunteer shepherd in charge of watching the sheep through the winter months.Nearby, Moulsecoomb Forest Garden and Wildlife Project works with excluded school pupils growing vegetables and gardening for wildlife. Helen is shown the project's tree house, outdoor clay oven, turf sofa, and traditional bee hive. Now a thriving garden run by an army of volunteers the original piece of land, hidden away behind Moulsecoomb railway station, had been left overgrown and derelict for nearly twenty years. Down on Brighton's beach Helen joins Huw Morgan from Sussex Wildlife Trust as he splashes around in rock pools with children from a local school. Their city centre school lacks green space for them to explore so the beach is the perfe

The 12th century St Donat's castle in South Wales was once home to media mogul William Randolph Hearst - subject of Citizen Kane. Fifty years ago it became the home of Atlantic College, a unique educational establishment bringing together students from around the world in the hope of promoting peace and understanding and to overcome the problems of the Cold War. Felicity Evans explores the campus grounds, meeting students past and present, to find out how an alternative education has influenced their lives. She asks how serving the community and working on the land - including running the organic farm and lifeboat unit - has helped shape their views and plans for the future.

Helen Mark discovers the myths and legends of the landscape of Snowdonia. A recent million pound appeal by the National Trust successfully enabled the Trust to buy one of Wales' most iconic farms, Llyndy Isaf, and the land around it on the shores of Llyn Dinas. As well as being important environmentally, legend states that the area is the setting for the mythical battle between the red and white dragon, the red dragon being the victor and claiming the honour of becoming the country's national symbol. Helen also visits Ty Hyll, the Ugly House, a cottage saved from dereliction in the 1980s by the Snowdonia Society. The true origins of the house remain shrouded in mystery, although legend tells of it being built by two outlaw brothers as a 'Ty Un Nos', a house built overnight between sunset and sunrise with walls, roof and a smoking chimney. Under ancient law anyone succeeding in doing this could claim the freehold. What other mysteries surround this stunning landscape?Presenter: Helen Mark Producer: Helen Chet

Helen Mark visits Hicks Lodge, a restored open cast mine in Leicestershire, now a haven for wildlife, walkers and cyclists and other more unusual visitors. Over 100 different bird species have been recorded at Hicks Lodge, which is run by the Forestry Commission and is situated in young woodlands at the heart of the National Forest. Helen meets Area Forester, Alan Dowell, to find out more about Hicks Lodge and the various walking routes and cycle trails that are available and joins local cyclist, Marc Stapleford for a bike ride through the site of what is now the National Forest Cycle Centre. Helen also hears from Chief Executive of the National Forest, Sophie Churchill, about the background to the Forest itself which covers 200 square miles of Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire. They are joined by retired Geography teacher, Dot Morson, and one of her former pupils, Mark Knight. Both are local residents who have seen the landscape around them transformed over the years. And Stuart Malcolmson and Rac

Open Country visits Scotland's Moray Firth, testing the health of its marine mammal population The beaching of twenty six pilot whales in Scotland's Firth of Forth made headlines, and highlighted the importance attached by many of us to the creatures which live, largely unobserved, in our seas. In Open Country this week, Richard Uridge travels further north, to the Moray Firth, to test the health of its mammal populations, and to try to fathom what it is about these creatures which strikes such a chord in humans.

Helen Mark explores the landscape and waters of the Isle of Bute off the west coast of Scotland where, for over 200 years, visitors have gone 'doon the watter' to take advantage of the island's relaxing atmosphere and healing properties. Suggestions have been made that Bute should be designated as Britain's first 'blue space', an area defined by blue sea, sky and fresh air which all have a therapeutic effect. Boarding the ferry at Wemyss Bay, Helen joins Shiona Lawson, one of those whose family would take the ferry each year to go 'doon the watter'. Shiona recalls that back then the beaches seemed to go on forever and the sun seemed to be always shining and remembers an island that had such an effect on her that she eventually moved to live there. At the harbour to meet Helen is James McMillan. James is a 'Brandane', someone who was born and bred on the island. Helen then meets up with Roddy McDowell who runs Kayak Bute and who takes Helen out on the waters around the island and gives her a lesson in sea kaya

The peat bogs of Ireland's midlands have become a battlefield, with opinions divided on how they should best be managed in the future. Helen Mark looks beyond the present-day arguments and travels to Counties Longford, Roscommon and Offaly to find out how attitudes to the bog have evolved over centuries. From the Iron Age Corlea trackway, an oak road discovered just a few years ago, perfectly preserved in peat, to startling evidence of early Christian links with Africa and memories of childhood days spent peat cutting , Helen explores what the bog has to tell us - and what it might have in store for the future.Presenter: Helen Mark Producer: Moira Hickey.

The festival of Lughnasa (pronounced Loon-asa) is an ancient Celtic celebration of the harvest, with its roots in County Meath in Ireland. The god Lugh is said to have established the festival in honour of his foster mother Tailtiu, who had exhausted herself by clearing forest land for agriculture. Helen Mark visits Teltown in Meath, which is said to have taken its name from that of Tailtiu, to see how Lughnasa is celebrated there today. Presenter : Helen Mark Producer : Moira Hickey.

From Dover to Dundee, London to Leeds and Cardiff to Cambridge, there is much more to our towns and cities than concrete and cars. Take the time to listen and look and a world of wildlife is there just waiting to be spotted. As Britain's largest city London is alive with wildlife and Jules Hudson takes a journey across West London in search of just a few of the feathered, furry and winged residents that call the city home.As the day begins, Jules meets David Lindo, aka The Urban Birder, who takes Jules for a walk across Wormwood Scrubs, the 183 acres of open land close to the prison of the same name. This is David's patch, his 'garden' where he says he has had the privilege of seeing Meadow Pipits, Woodpeckers, passing Northern Wheatears, Honey Buzzards and even nesting Skylarks. Leaving David doing what he does best, looking up to the skies, Jules joins Jan Hewlett at the Gunnersbury Triangle Nature Reserve. Cut off from the surrounding area by railway tracks in the late nineteenth century, this reserve in a

In a year in which the world will be looking in on Britain as we celebrate the Diamond Jubilee and host the London Olympics, Helen Mark goes in search of the people whose lives are inextricably linked with the White Cliffs of Dover.We find out about this iconic part of the British landscape which has played such an important part in our nation's history and discovers why it still holds a special place in the nation's heart.Brian Whittaker and Rob Sonnen of the National Trust tell us why it is so important that landscapes like the White Cliffs are preserved for the nation. Jon Iveson from the Dover Museum tells Helen about the vital part that Dover and the White Cliffs have played in Britain's past and geologist Melanie Wrigley of the White Cliffs Countryside Partnership, which was set up to conserve and enhance the coast and countryside of Dover and the White Cliffs as the gateway to England, takes Helen for a walk on Shakespeare Beach in search of fossils. Helen also meets Kaimes Beasley of HM Coastguard wh

Jules Hudson explores the waters of Hampstead Heath which have been used for over 200 years by champion swimmers and year round bathers. How and why did they come to be and what stories can they tell? How has the landscape around them changes and what is it about them that still draws over a quarter of a million visitors a year? And what does the future hold for them? Jules Hudson is joined by Caitlin Davies who has swum in the ponds all her life to find out more about these unique ponds. Presenter: Jules Hudson Producer: Lizz Pearson.

As the excitement mounts around London 2012 Helen Mark visits Much Wenlock, the birthplace of the modern Olympics, and explores the landscape around Wenlock Edge. In the small market town of Much Wenlock in rural Shropshire, Dr William Penny Brookes came up with an inspirational way to promote healthy living to local people by devising an annual Games event which led to the rebirth of the Olympics at its classis home in Athens. The Wenlock Olympian Society has continued with the games which are still a unique annual attraction to this day. Helen Mark hears from some of the people taking part in, and involved with, the Games and also explores the 'living entity' that is Wenlock Edge. This wooded, limestone escarpment stretches for around 17 miles from Craven Arms to Much Wenlock and finds out more about the history, archaeology and wildlife of this incredible landscape.Presenter: Helen Mark Producer: Helen Chetwynd.

Helen Mark is in Gloucestershire to find out more about one of our most fascinating creatures, the eel, and hear why efforts are being made to save this endangered species. When eels arrive in the UK as tiny babies, called elvers, they do so at the end of an exhausting 4,000-mile marathon swim from the Sargasso Sea where they have spawned. For generations, their arrival was greeted with much anticipation by fishermen on the Rivers Severn and Wye where they were caught at night and often used in dishes and delicacies. But the eel is in trouble and has been placed on the Red List of Fish to Avoid by the Marine Conservation Society who class it as critically endangered. However, others believe that the decline in the number of eels is not just a result of over-fishing but is also due to the way in which rivers are managed and flood defences are erected, so blocking the eels migratory route, and that by leaving them to their own defences the eels' fate will be sealed. Helen Mark meets some of the people involv

Jules Hudson shadows a farm vet in Devon. As the landscape has changed and farms have grown larger the role of the farm vet has changed also. A large part of their role is now on disease prevention rather than simply treatment and they can be crucial in spotting disease outbreaks like foot and mouth which have devastated the countryside in the past. Jules shadows newly qualified vet Jen Hall to find out what's involved and how important the relationship with the farmer can be in protecting animals and the countryside. Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock.

Richard Uridge is in Northamptonshire to discover the inspirational landscape around Rockingham Forest.He meets musician, Nick Penny, who explains to Richard how he records the nightingales that frequently return to Glapthorn Cow Pasture and works with these sounds and other birdsong to create sound diaries of the landscape.His friend and collaborator David Garrett, takes inspiration from the Northamptonshire countryside for his poetry which began with 'Rose of the Shires, a tribute to the county he loves. And artist, Claire Morris Wright, takes Richard for a walk in the forest behind her house in the hamlet of Laxton and explains how important the feelings and textures of the landscape are to her in her work, whether in prints or clay. Presenter: Richard Uridge Producer: Helen Chetwynd.