Open Country

Look at any map of the district around Northwich in Cheshire and you'll see that it's dotted with numerous lakes, called flashes. What have these got to do with salt? Felicity Evans is astonished to learn that they've been created by the unregulated extraction of rock salt, which has been exploited for industrial as well as culinary purposes since the 1700s.

We'll hear that salt crystals were evaporated from brine in huge pans at numerous salt works across the county, the firewood for which saw the loss of the county's forests. Meanwhile, the rock salt was hewn deep underground then, just as it is today. In fact, Felicity goes underground at Winsford when she visits the Salt Union's massive caverns, so vast they have a similar volume to that of fifty St Pauls cathedrals.

Felicity meets salt historian and archaeologist Andrew Fielding, as well as Kelly Fletcher, Heritage Officer with Middlewich Town Council. Industrial archaeologist Chris Hewitson shows Felicity around the Lion Salt Works, which open to the public next year, while at Winsford rock salt mine, Felicity goes underground with mine manager, Gary Sinclair.

Producer: Mark Smalley.

Revered by fly fishermen, Helen Mark visits the famous chalk streams of Hampshire and Wiltshire to find out about their particular ecology. With their trademark gravel beds and gin-clear waters, chalk streams are one of the very few habitats that are almost entirely exclusive to England.

Helen begins at Salisbury's Harnham Water Meadows, close to the city's cathedral, with its well known limestone spire, from the spot where Constable painted his view of the scene. She hears that the meadows act like a sponge, and without them absorbing the heavy rainfall last winter, flooding in the Salisbury area would have been considerably worse.

She meets Jan Fitzjohn and Tim Tatton-Brown, Trustees of the water meadows, who tell her about the winter 'drownings' of this low-lying land, which gave a distinct economic advantage to southern England's once vital sheep and wool industry. The irrigation of the water meadows achieved this by encouraging the early growth of spring grass, known as the 'first bite'. We also meet grazier Rob Hawke, whose sheep today feed on the pastures, in the shadow of Salisbury's spire.

Then, in the Hampshire village of Nether Wallop (the Wallop being a tributary of the celebrated trout stream, the Test) Helen finds out about the patient art of fly fishing from writer Simon Cooper.

Producer: Mark Smalley.

As the Cadbury family sought to expand their growing chocolate business in the late 19th century they also developed their vision for a better quality of life for the people of Birmingham. Buying 300 acres of land they created a model village they called Bournville, helping people escape the slums to good quality housing with gardens and fruit trees, green open spaces, churches and sports facilities.

Today the Trust that runs the estate has expanded it to a thousand acres and residents often speak of being able to smell the chocolate from the factory. Felicity Evans visits the South Birmingham town to see how George Cadbury's work and ethos continues today. She visits some of the first houses built and talks to lifelong residents and former Cadbury workers about what made the area special. She visits Rowheath Pavilion, 90 years after its creation, to hear how it still hosts sports teams and community events but also looks out for those in need of support.

She also ascends the village's carillon tower, built by George after an inspiring trip to Belgium. The 4-octave, 48 bell instrument is still played each Saturday. Carilloneur Trevor Workman explains how it's one of only a handful in the UK and gives a demonstration of how it should be played - with gusto!

But modern residents of Bournville aren't the only ones to benefit. The new village of Lightmoor is being developed near Telford to establish the same community benefits George envisioned. But can community still be formed in the modern day and without the original chocolate factory.

Presented by Felicity Evans

Snowdonia's slate once roofed the world, employing thousands of workers across scores of mines in North Wales. But that was in its heyday, in Victorian times. Today, whilst the industry still exists, it employs just 350 people.

Helen Mark finds out what's become of the abandoned slate quarries and caverns today. Some are now places of leisure, with zip wires above ground, trampolines in underground slate caverns, and with scuba diving opportunities in flooded quarries, but others, as Helen discovers at Dorothea mine, are rapidly being reclaimed by nature.

Producer: Mark Smalley.

How did people live on the land 2,000 years ago, during the Iron Age? Helen Mark finds out when she visits Butser Ancient Farm near Petersfield in Hampshire, very much a living experiment in practical archaeology.

Founded 42 years ago by Peter Reynolds, Helen hears that Butser still operates as a kind of laboratory that looks into how our ancestors lived. For example, Butser's thatched roundhouses are built according to the exact dimensions found at digs in the vicinity, along the wooded hills and valleys of the South Downs. Butser director Maureen Page shows Helen the sheep they keep, which are genetically close to those kept by Iron Age farmers.

Experienced thatcher and roundhouse builder, Dave Freeman, demonstrates how to lay Norfolk reed as a roofing material. However, we hear the reed isn't from Norfolk or anywhere in the UK, but from Turkey. This is because our reeds simply aren't up to the job, affected by chemical runoff from the fields into our waterways.

Meanwhile Butser's resident experimental archaeologist, Ryan Watts, shows Helen the canoe he successfully made last summer from a fallen oak, hollowing it out with fire, and finishing it off with bronze axes that they cast on site.

Producer: Mark Smalley.

Once, the Hafod estate near Aberystwyth was one of Wales' most popular attractions, but that was 200 years ago. Then the grand stately home burnt down, and by 1950 the landscaped grounds (inspired by visions of classical Italy - unlikely as that might sound, given the extremely high annual rainfall in mid-Wales!) had fallen into disrepair, off the map, and out of the guidebooks. That's when the Forestry Commission bought the estate and planted it with conifers.

As Felicity Evans finds out, in recent years there's been an ongoing programme to restore the fine paths through the estate's wooded hills, and preserve the ancient parkland trees that still remain. This makes it a fascinating place to visit.

She's shown around by estate manager, David Newnham, landscape historian Jennie Macve (who's written a history of Hafod, and its remarkable founder, Thomas Johnes) and the botanist Ray Wood. Felicity also visits the nearby Llywernog Silver Lead Mine to meet Peter Lloyd Harvey who shows her how this mine reveals a very different attitude to landscape in the early Victorian period: it was far from being a tourist attraction for visiting gentry.

Producer: Mark Smalley.

"Turn right at the psychedelic hay barn". The new landmark is easy to spot and has brought a smile and a surprise to many passing through Newton Stewart. The British landscape has inspired thousands of artists and Helen Mark travels through Dumfries and Galloway to see how teams of street artists have been working on 'rural murals' adorning old hay barns, slurry tankers and horse coats offered up by locals as a new canvas. While they may divide opinion, those on the Mull of Galloway say it's helped connect them with the rest of the region. She also stops off at the carved 'rosnes benches' - designed to make you stop, lie down and take a very different perspective on your surroundings.

With the whole of Yorkshire gearing up to welcome the pelotons of the Tour de France, Helen Mark heads for the scene of Le Grand Depart in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Travelling at a somewhat slower pace than the Yellow Jerseys, she soaks up some of the history of this beauty spot in 'God's Own County'.

The first stop is to Aysgarth Falls, a cascading flight of tumbling waterfalls carved out by the River Ure. National Parks Ranger Cathy Bergs tells us about the geology of the 'triple falls' and some of the many creatures which call it home, and lets us in on the frantic preparations being made for the coming onslaught of people for the Tour de France.

From there, it's 'on yer bike!' with Gia Margolis and the Wheel Easy cycling club - "a club for those who don't wear lycra", for a trip to the infamous Buttertubs Pass. One of the toughest climbs on the UK legs of the Tour route, Gia explains what makes it such a haven for cyclists and tries to convince Helen that the impossible climb is worth it!

At the top, Helen peers into the 20 metre deep limestone potholes which dot the countryside - the 'Buttertubs' themselves. Historic Environment Officer Robert White helps us separate fact from fiction, and tells us about the history of lead mining in the area.

But while the mining industry might be consigned to history, the mines themselves are not! Our final stop is at Hard Level Gill Mine, where we meet local heroes Pete Roe and Tony Harrison. They are part of a caving group who delve beneath the Dales to explore the ancient mine-shafts, mapping them and repairing them. We venture inside the mouth of one shaft, and imagine life lived kilometres below the surface of the beautiful Dales.

Produced in Bristol by Emily Knight.

Helen Mark visits Coquet Island, a sanctuary for some of Britain's rarest nesting sea birds. It's also home to the world's first 'puffin piano'...

Coquet Island is an RSPB reserve which due to the rarity of some of its winged visitors, is protected under European Law and no-one is allowed to set foot on it without special permission. There's no running water and no mains electricity, but every summer a small, dedicated team of wardens and volunteers lead by Paul Morrison take up residence on Coquet Island to ensure that the thousands of birds who migrate there will thrive and live secularly for the duration of their stay, including Britain's rarest nesting sea bird, the roseate tern.

Just a mile off the coast of Amble, Northumberland, the reserve is also rich in human history and has been occupied since the 7th Century, initially as a monastic cell and later a lighthouse station. The buildings now provide simple accommodation for those who come to care for the birds. There's no running water or mains power but should they become stranded, assistant warden Wesley Davies has created a board game called 'Coquet-opoly' to while away the hours... and that's not all...

Many thousands of nesting Sandwich, Arctic and common terns accompany the roseates in May, June and July, whilst thousands of puffins occupy the main part of the island - and this year they will be treated to their own, fully functioning piano...

Each year Wesley creates new items for these naturally curious creatures to play with (there's also been an Olympic stadium and a pirate ship), the filming of which feeds into social media outlets to raise awareness about the valuable conservation work that takes place on Coquet to protect this precious environment.

With the growing Formula 1 schedule and following, there's an increasing appetite for motor racing. Helen Mark heads to Weybridge in Surrey to visit Brooklands - claimed to be the world's first purpose-built motor racing circuit to hear how one Hugh Locke-King's passion for speed led him to have the track designed and built on his land, almost bankrupting him.

The site was used for land speed records even before the first race and also became a centre for aviation development. It reached its heyday in the 1920s and 30s but World War II saw it taken over by the Ministry of Defence and its decline as a circuit.

Enthusiasts from the Brooklands Society fought to preserve it - both by digging the track free of overgrowing weeds and by getting it listed - and the museum continues to celebrate the records and achievements marked in its history. Malcolm Campbell's grandson Don Wales shares about his family's love of the track.

Helen Mark heads to the track in style - in a 1929 four and a half litre Bentley - to see how it's used today. Members of the Vintage Sports Car Club (VSCC) take tests, both of vehicles and drivers, around planned courses but how will Helen fare on her spin up test hill and the historic banking?

Produced in Bristol by Anne-Marie Bullock.