Open Country

The shores of the Durham coastline were once as black as the coal that was tipped into the waves that crashed onto them. But in recent years an amazing transformation has taken place. Helen Mark finds out about the Durham Heritage Coast.

Richard Uridge explores the Edgelands around Manchester with poets Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts, who urge us to love the disregarded spaces between the city and countryside.

Ponies have roamed the moors of Dartmoor and Bodmin for years and are as much a part of the moors as the heathers that grow there. But is the very survival of the Dartmoor pony, which is the symbol of the National Park, now under threat? Helen Mark is on Dartmoor to meet some of the people whose lives revolve around the ponies and who are fighting to preserve them and ultimately the moorland on which they roam.

As a nation, we are obsessed with the weather. Studies have shown that over half of us talk about the weather at least once day and check the forecast regularly before making plans and heading out. We despair when it rains, we swoon in the sun, we can't bear the sight of clouds in the sky, yet we hate the thought of hosepipe bans and appear to be spectacularly unprepared for extreme weather events, even when expected or forecast. The weather certainly seems to matter to most of us, but is extremely important to some those whose livelihoods and way of life can depend on the forecast. And for centuries, we've tried to predict the weather by looking at the sky above us and the landscape around us - the different ways in which plants, animals and the countryside around us can give us clues about what is coming and reflects what has been. For this week's Open Country, Helen Mark is in Wiltshire to find out about the ways in which the weather gets under our skin and impacts on our lives and on the landscape around

Portbury Wharf lies on the land between Portishead and Royal Portbury Dock, adjacent to the Severn Estuary. Helen Mark visits the area's newest developing nature reserve and discovers how local residents are making a unique investment to their natural habitat. Look one way and you'll see a new housing construction, look the other and your eyes will be met with acres of grazing marsh land, hay meadows, and hedgerows rich in insect life stretching out to the Gordano Valley. The two are not only linked by their proximity but also by what is thought to be a first of it's kind investment arrangement. In signing up to live in the new Portbury Wharf housing development, residents are also signing up to pay an annual levy that buys them a stake in the nature reserve on their doorstep. The residents contribution allows Avon Wildlife Trust to employ a warden and a community officer to pass on wildlife knowledge and organise activities for the Portishead community. But not everyone wants to pay the levy and there's a fi

Snow, biting winds and a tent made to the design used by nomads in Ulaanbaatar ... but Richard Uridge hasn't travelled to Mongolia for this week's Open Country, he's high up on Exmoor.He meets Hen and Leo - who are braving winter on the moor in pursuit of their dream of a low impact, but not entirely low-tech lifestyle - their pig-farming neighbour and the man who made their yurt.Producer Steve Peacock.

Richard Uridge travels the route proposed for high speed rail in Buckinghamshire to find out what is so special about the countryside there that inspires people to battle to protect it.

The River Thames was recently selected as the winner of the international Theiss River Prize, an award which celebrates outstanding achievement in river management and restoration. Fifty years after being declared biologically dead, the Thames scooped the prize thanks to a dramatic turnaround in its environment. Environment organisations now say that the Thames is the cleanest it has been in more than 150 years, with almost 400 new habitats being created to allow wildlife back to the river which is now teeming with fish, and home to returning salmon, otter and sea trout populations. Helen Mark begins an exploration of the Thames at Woolwich in South East London with author, Iain Sinclair, who has described the river as a story of ruin and revival and the very lifeblood of London. Travelling west along the river to the Millennium Bridge, Helen meets up with Fiona Haughey. Fiona describes herself as an inter-tidal archaeologist and the river as one of the world's largest self-excavating sites and Helen joins h

Owen Sheers is in Worcestershire to learn about the Druidic custom of gathering in the mistletoe. Each year it is harvested and blessed at the Mistletoe Festival in the town of Tenbury Wells.Producer: Maggie Ayre.

Helen Mark is in Dorset to hear how the area around Studland Bay could be affected by a proposed Marine Conservation Zone and how one fishy resident has stirred up passions locally. As parts of the sea around Studland and Swanage are being considered as a possible Marine Conservation Zone, Helen finds out about the possible impacts on the local community; in particular to some of the residents of Studland Bay The bay is home to a colony of breeding sea horses and opinions are divided as to whether the delicate seagrass which is home to these creatures can be harmed by the anchoring of boats. Helen hears from the Seahorse Trust, a charity which has been researching and monitoring the seahorses, and Dr Ken Collins, an expert in seagrass. Helen also hears from some members of the local community who are concerned about the effects a possible no anchor zone could have on the economy of the area and their way of life.

Richard Uridge joins South Cumbrian Wildlife Crime Officers, volunteers and members of the local community on the trail of poachers in an attempt to crack down on wildlife crime. Wildlife Officers receive several wildlife crime reports a month, many of which relate to deer poaching which is becoming big business for criminals, particularly in the run up to Christmas. This year has also seen hundreds of sheep rustled across Cumbria and hundreds of ewes and lambs have been stolen in several separate incidents. Richard hears from Bob Jarratt, of the local Deer Management Group, about the extent of the problem of deer poaching in the area and meets up with some of the people affected by wildlife crime and poaching including Keith Loxam, Warden of Hay Bridge Nature Reserve, who recently lost a prize stag, and farmer Andrew Allen who has been the victim of sheep rustling twice in the last 6 years. Estate owner, Myles Sandys of Graythwaite Hall tells Richard about how the success of 'Poacher Watch' has helped put a

In this weeks Open Country Richard Uridge visits the Norfolk Coast.Better known as an area of coastal erosion, Happisburgh is proving that community spirit is far from eroded as teams of volunteers work tirelessly to protect the local landscape and those who come to enjoy it. Navigation reform could've seen the Happisburgh lighthouse fall into disrepair but a team of volunteers campaigned to keep it working and 20 years on it's still beaming across the Norfolk high seas. In view of the red and white tower, a small porter cabin is home to 'Coast Watch' and it's revolving volunteers who daily scan the cliff tops and ocean for ramblers or ships in distress. And should the alarm be raised, the lifeboat station is on call 24 hours just as it has been for over 40 years to rescue those in need.Produced by Nicola Humphries.

In Open Country this week, Helen Mark visits Ardtornish Estate in Morvern, in the western Highlands of Scotland. The estate covers around sixty square miles of hill, woodland, rivers and lochs and has been in the Raven family for three generations. Hugh Raven describes himself as the present 'steward' of Ardtornish, working on behalf of the whole family and the local community, and, along with his wife, Jane Stuart-Smith, is building on groundwork laid down at Ardtornish by his late brother, Andrew Raven. Helen is here to see how the way Ardtornish is managed has changed over the years, and chief among those changes is the way in which the climate is being exploited. The estate is harnessing the power of the rainfall, which is never in short supply in this part of the world, to supply electricity to the National Grid. Estate manager Angus Robertson and farm stock manager James Laurie discuss how Ardtornish's natural qualities and produce can help secure its future, while Faith Raven, who was born as her fathe

In a year that has seen a record rise in the number of people seeking medical help after eating poisonous fungi, Richard Uridge visits the New Forest to hear about the variety of wild mushrooms to be found, the dangers of picking the wrong ones and the problems this can also cause to the ecosystem of the forest. Richard joins mycologist, John Wright, to hear about his lifelong passion for wild mushrooms and joins him on a forage in the forest to find out how to know what to look for when picking fungi. Mrs Brigitte Tee is the only person liced to pick and sell New Forest mushrooms. She tells Richard how her love of wild mushrooms began when she first spotted them from the saddle of her Welsh mountain cob pony over 35 years ago. Today Mrs Tee is one of the leading authorities on edible wild mushrooms, and supplies a variety of top clients including Fortnum and Masons, the Langham Hotel in London and chef, Hugh Fearnley-WhittingstallIt is the popularity of TV chefs and cooking shows that Forestry Commissi

In Open Country this week, Helen Mark visits the Whitelee Plateau in Ayrshire, once a treeless bog grazed by very hardy sheep and cattle but now transformed into a vast conifer plantation of ten million trees. The 'greening' of the Whitelee Plateau was part of a tremendous shift in land use in Scotland, nearly trebling tree cover in just forty years.Historian Ruth Tittensor saw the importance of this change in the Ayrshire landscape and recorded the thoughts and feelings of local people affected by the coming of the forest. She documented enormous social and environmental change, and takes Helen to meet people who remember the plateau before the coming of the trees.Producer : Moira Hickey.

Author and poet Owen Sheers visits South Wales, the setting for his book Resistance, which was inspired by the tales he heard growing up of a secret rural army trained to hold off a potential German invasion during the second world war. Owen meets one of the last surviving members of the rural auxiliary unit and speaks to some of the people who had no idea that members of their family were highly trained to move silently through the surrounding countryside, ensuring it became a difficult and hostile environment for the German army to infiltrate. Finally Owen heads underground into one of the secret bunkers, where ammunition was hidden in the Monmouthshire countryside.

Helen Mark visits Pluckley, a village with the reputation as the most haunted in Britain. While genuine ghosthunters, with an interest in all things paranormal, bring with them a welcome boost to local businesses, this reputation is not without problems. In recent years the village has seen an increased police presence due to the sheer number of visitors, particularly around the time of Halloween. There have been problems of anti-social behaviour which last year led to the parish council cancelling the Halloween festivities. For this week's Open Country Helen meets some of the villagers, both believers and sceptics, about their experiences in Britain's most haunted village and the impact this has on village life. During the course of one evening, Helen chats with several residents and finds out about the 12 ghosts that are said to haunt Pluckley before heading back to her hotel room at the haunted Elvey Farm Hotel.

Helen Mark travels along a stretch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and hears from just a few of the people whose lives revolve around it. Stretching 127 miles the canal crosses the Pennines, and climbing to 487 feet at its summit, the canal has 91 locks including the unique 5-rise lock at Bingley in Yorkshire.Helen hears from Vince Moran of British Waterways about the reason for the recent closure of almost half of the canal from Wigan to Gargrave following the prolonged spell of dry weather earlier this year. She also chats to boaters who have made the canal their home. Mike Clarke of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Society tells Helen about the canal's history and about his involvement with the Short Boat Kennet, one of the last unconverted boats which worked on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. Kennet is on the Register of Historic Vessels and serves as a reminder of the canal's heritage. Helen then joins Don Vine from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust on a boat trip to an area between the canal and the River Air

Helen Mark is in Cornwall to find out why the reintroduction of cattle to graze the Penwith Moors of Cornwall and improve the area's bio-diversity has upset some of the local community. She meets up with archaeologist Craig Weatherhill at the Tregeseal Stone Circle to hear about the damage he says is being caused to these ancient monuments by the horns of the non-native Longhorn breed of cattle being grazed on the moors. Craig also tells Helen about the difficulties faced by horses and their riders from the newly erected gates and fences which they have to pass through. At Carn Galva, one of Cornwall's most unique and pre-historic landscapes, Helen meets up with Peter Bowden from Natural England and Jon Brookes of the National Trust who explain the reasons for the conservation grazing scheme and how important it is to this ancient landscape. This heathland is of national and international importance and the grazing scheme is intended to open up footpaths the natural way, avoiding the need for heavy machinery