Open Country

As the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal celebrates its 200th anniversary, Helen Mark takes a boat trip to find out about the canal's importance to the South Wales landscape. Helen is joined by David Morgan from British Waterways to find out more about the canal's history and Helen and David help local brewer, Buster Grant, to deliver his celebratory ales to local pubs in the way that they would have been delivered 200 years ago. Stopping off en route, Helen finds out more about the lime industry in the area from Nigel Gervis who still produces lime today which is used in maintenance work on the canal's locks and bridges. Helen also meets Ceri Cadwallader from the Blaenavon World Heritage Site to find out about the Forgotten Landscapes Project and the importance of the canal's industrial heritage and its place within the communities of Monmouthshire and Brecon today. And Helen jumps aboard a second boat with ecologist, Mark Robinson, to find out about the wildlife that now inhabits the banks of the canal. Final

Where might you find the spot where Saint George killed the dragon and the oldest complete set of medieval bells? The answer lies in the Herefordshire countryside and in the history and legend attached to just some of the beautiful churches that can be found there. The Bishop of Hereford once said that 'The Diocese of Hereford is blessed with so many beautiful church buildings. Most of them stand at the centre of communities they have served for a thousand years or more." Helen Mark travels around the Herefordshire countryside to meet some of the people involved with the churches that are still at the heart of of the rural communities that they serve. She finds out about their history and heritage, the legend and folklore, their past, their present and what the future holds for them.Presenter: Helen Mark Producer: Anne Marie Bullock.

As parts of the country face a hosepipe ban for the first time in 20 years, Jules Hudson is in Berkshire to find out how the drought is affecting the county.Presenter: Jules Hudson Producer: Helen Chetwynd.

Flat Holm is the most southerly point in Wales. The Island sits just off the Cardiff Coast. In 1982, the Flat Holm Project was established. The aim was to manage Flat Holm as a local nature reserve and to encourage visitor access and opportunities for education. The Island has a long and varied history having been used by man since prehistoric times. It was farmed for some 800 years and stopped in 1942. It has been fortified twice, most recently during the 2nd World War. The Island has many buildings and structures of historic interest, many are listed buildings and scheduled ancient monuments. In this week's Open Country, Helen Mark finds out what life is like for the wardens and volunteers who live on the Island all year round and what is done to prepare the Island for the influx of tourists in the summer. Presented by Helen Mark and Produced by Anna Varle.

To celebrate the bicentenary of Charles Dickens, Helen Mark visits the Medway towns to find out how important a part the Kent landscape played in Dickens' life and works. Except London - no part of the British Isles features more prominently in Dickens' life than Kent. "Kent Sir - Everybody knows Kent - apples, cherries, hops and women" Mr Jingle, Pickwick Papers. Anyone who's ever thumbed through the likes of Oliver Twist, David Copperfield or The Pickwick Papers will know that the landscape and people of 19th Century Kent provided rich pickings for Dickens. In particular, the clutch of towns around the River Medway including Chatham and Rochester are referenced frequently in Dickens' works. It was growing up here that the author was at his happiest, stockpiling memories he would recycle in later years. Presented by Helen Mark and Produced by Anna Varle.

Jules Hudson discovers an ancient landscape buried deep beneath the East Anglian fens which gives, possibly, the best idea yet of what life was like here thousands of years ago. Several wooden boats, spears, swords and other items have been found on the site of a brick quarry, preserved in silt and peat, and researchers say that this is one of the most important Bronze Age sites ever to be found in Britain Jules hears from David Gibson and Mark Knight of Cambridge University's Archaeological Unit about the history of the Fenland environment and what the discovery of the six boats tells them about the utilisation of the landscape's river system. Amongst the objects that have been found are ancient eel traps, used by some of the first fishermen, and Jules meets Peter Carter who is possibly Fenland's last eel fisherman. Peter takes Jules out on the fens to explain how the the eel traps that have been unearthed at the dig site were made and used and how little this ancient technology has changed over the years.

Deep in the countryside of eastern England, British troops train in a mock Afghan village designed to look, feel, and sound like the real thing. The 30,000-acre training complex allows soldiers to prepare themselves for the cultural and tactical challenges operating in Afghanistan. The facility, built in 2008, is meant to replicate a typical village in Helmand, with houses, shops and open markets, and the exiles playing the role of villagers. In July 1942 about a thousand men, women and children were compulsorily evacuated from the site north of Thetford. It is an area of heath forming a large part of the unique Norfolk- Suffolk Breckland landscape which was cleared to make way for an army training area where troops could manoeuvre using live ammunition. On today's Open Country, Jules Hudson visits the site to investigate how important the village is in preparing the troops for Afghanistan and finds out how those displaced from their villages in 1942 feel about the evacuation 70 years on.

It's been seven years since hunting with hounds was abolished. But it's claimed the country's hunts, which no longer chase a live animal but a trail of artificial scent instead, are in the best shape anyone can remember. So is the ban working? On Boxing Day, three hundred hunts took place across the country and Agricultural Minister, Jim Paice announced there'd be a vote on whether to repeal the act when there's time in the parliamentary calendar. So on today's Open Country, Helen Mark investigates what the latest is on both sides of the debate.

This is the year of the London 2012 Olympic Games. In just 6 months time, 60,000 people are expected to flood into Weymouth and Portland every day for 2 weeks to watch the sailing events. GB has topped the Sailing medals table at the last three Olympic Games. British sailors will be hoping to repeat the feat at London 2012, battling their rivals in Weymouth Bay. Weymouth and Portland have been preparing for this moment since the location of the sailing events was announced over five years ago. The area has seen major developments in terms of the roads, the marina and the esplanade. For this week's Open Country, Helen Mark visits the area to find out how it has prepared to host such a major event and what impact these changes are having on local residents.Presenter : Helen Mark Producer : Anna Varle.

Knockando woolmill, near Aberlour on Speyside, has produced fabric since 1784. Its original machinery has supported families down the centuries and the mill has retained a place at the heart of the local community, working with wool from local sheep and weaving tweed and blankets for the flocks' owners. A break had to come, though, for renovation and renewal work which, it is hoped, will allow it to continue its work into the next century and beyond. The trust which runs the mill is determined that it should continue to be far more than a living museum, so Helen Mark visits Knockando just as the restoration work comes to an end to ask where it might market its products, whether anyone nowadays has the skills to keep it alive, and how the Knockando community can be involved in its survival. Presenter: Helen Mark. Producer : Moira Hickey.

The fisherman’s gansey (a word thought to derive from ‘guernsey’) is a seamless woollen pullover worn by generations of seamen for work and at leisure. It was comfortable, practical and tough enough to provide some protection from the elements, and every community had its own pattern (possibly in an effort to identify drowned fishermen) although these patterns were seldom committed to paper. The ganseys of the Moray Firth coastline, the 500 miles between Duncansby Head and Fraserburgh, have become the focus of a three-year project aiming to preserve the heritage of the fishing communities and save the gansey from becoming a historical curiosity. Project workers are working to save existing ganseys, helping local knitting groups to create new ones and encouraging modern interpretations of this most traditional of garments. The gansey, it turns out, is more than a fisherman’s jumper: it’s a potent symbol of lives past and of a community in danger of losing touch with its early fishing roots.

This is one of the busiest times of year on the Farne Islands off the Northumberland Coast. Almost 1,500 seal pups are being born and almost half of these will die in their first three weeks. Since 1951, wardens have been counting and tagging the pups born on the Farne Islands. During this time, the number of pups born has trebled, from 500 to 1499, making it the largest English colony of Atlantic grey seals. When the survey began, scientists knew almost nothing about how seals bred, what they ate or where they went during the winter. Those early studies on the Farnes were groundbreaking, setting the standard for all later seal research around the world. The local port, Seahouses, used to be a major fishing town. During the 1960's and 70's, thousands of seals were shot because they were thought to be a threat to local fish stocks. Now the town relies more on tourism than fishing. Jules Hudson visits the Farne Islands to find out more about the research project and to investigate the impact the seals are havin

The Search and Rescue Dog Association (SARDA) Wales is a specialist element of Mountain Rescue in England and Wales responsible for the training and deployment of dogs to search for missing people in the mountains and on the moorlands of Britain as well as lowland, rural and urban areas. When someone is missing in a rural or mountain environment, a dog team can be more effective than 4 teams of people, covering large areas much faster and effectively. For the handlers and trainers who bring their dogs along to be trained in this work, this work is voluntary and something that they do out of their sheer love of the great outdoors and, of course, the reward of working so closely with their dogs to search for missing people. Helen Mark joins some of the experienced, and not so experienced, dogs and handlers at the foot of Cader Idris in the Snowdonia National Park to find out what this work involves, how important it is to the search teams and to the people they help and to hear why 'one man (or woman!) and thei

Does the British landscape hold the key to a new and revolutionary form of energy? Jules Hudson is in Lancashire to find out about shale gas, a by-product of shale rock which forms much of the geology of the county's landscape. Using a technique known as 'fracking', which involves using a high pressure combination of water, sand and chemicals, the rock is then fractured in order to release the gas. For Cuadrilla, the company responsible for the drilling, these are exciting times. But opponents to the process are concerned about the environmental damage this may cause and also about the possibility of earthquakes after drilling was halted earlier this year following two quakes close to Blackpool. Should we unlock the vast resources of shale gas deep under our landscape? Jules Hudson visits Lancashire to meet the people responsible for the drilling and to find out what is so special about the Bowland Shale.Presenter: Jules Hudson Producer: Helen Chetwynd.

British Waterways is responsible for over two thousand miles of canals and navigable rivers across the country. Next year, it is just one of many bodies preparing to become a charity due to Government cuts. As part of this new status, the organisation is launching a recruitment drive for volunteers to train as lock keepers. Today's Open Country, is from Caen Hill locks in Devizes, one of the most impressive and iconic canals in the country. Jules Hudson finds out how important volunteers will be in maintaining our canals and what the future holds for British Waterways.Presenter: Jules Hudson Producer : Anna Varle.

In the second of two programmes on the Channel Islands, Open Country visits Jersey to find out what it was like to live on the Island during the German occupation in World War 2. The Channel Islands were the only part of the British Isles to be seized and for five years, residents lived under Nazi rule. Now a file of papers which spent decades stuffed in the back of a wardrobe has been found revealing graphic accounts of some of those who were deported to Germany after being caught in acts of resistance. Richard Uridge investigates why these accounts are only just coming to light.Presenter: Richard Uridge Producer : Anna Varle.

Today on Open Country, Richard Uridge visits what's known as the jewel of the Channel Islands. Herm stretches just a mile and a half long. The whole island is leased by one couple, who own everything on it from the hotel to the beach café's and all the houses. 58 people live on the Island and all work for the same employer. Richard Uridge finds out what it's like to live in such a close-knit community and to all work for the same company.Presenter : Richard Uridge Producer : Anna Varle.

It's been dubbed the foot and mouth of the tree world. Phytophthora ramorum or sudden oak death as its commonly known is ravaging forests across the UK resulting in millions of trees being cut down. The disease has spread from the South West to Wales, the peaks and even as far north as the Isle of Mull. But experts say they are finding fewer and fewer new outbreaks. Today on Open Country, Helen Mark visits The South West, the region that's hardest hit, to find out what impact this disease is continuing to have on the countryside and whether there are signs that we are finally getting on top of it. Presenter: Helen Mark. Producer : Anna Varle.

Helen Mark is in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire to find out how horses and the natural landscape of Royal Deeside are helping wounded and serving military personnel. Set up by ex-marine Jock Hutchison and his wife Emma, Horseback UK is a charity aiming to provide a safe and secure environment for soldiers returning from active service or those that have already left, many of whom have suffered injury or acute stress as a result of active service. The charity uses equine therapy and the value of the great outdoors and nature therapy to provide part of the rehabilitation process for serving personnel and veterans from the UK military. Helen hears from Jock about their hope that those who have lived their lives on the edge will benefit from the opportunities available to them in the peace and tranquillity of the countryside and the quality of life this offers. Fundamental to this is the relationship with the horses and the style of Western riding which gives these guys the experience of being a cowboy high up in the sadd

On the 22nd July 1937 the 6 man crew of Heyford K6875 were briefed to carry out a night cross country exercise from RAF Leconfield in east Yorkshire, the weather that night was poor, with low visibility. The crew were seen to fire flares to illuminate the ground beneath to hopefully see a feature they could recognise, this proved fruitless as the aircraft flew up the Vale of Edale striking Broadlee Bank Tor just below the summit. Jim Watson's Uncle Jim Barker was one of the crewmen lost that night and in 2002 Jim set out to find the site where his Uncle had lost his life. He was aided by Douglas Rowland who had witnessed the crash as a young boy in 1937 and could clearly remember the spot which he had clambered up to the next day. Douglas was able to present Jim with a brass plaque which he had rescued from the Heyford all those years ago.Jules Hudson joins Jim and Douglas as they retrace the journey they took to the crash site. Nor is the Heyford the only plane which lost its way in these treacherous peaks.