Open Country

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 father bought the estate, and estate gardener Ian Lamb, tell Helen why change and continuity can go hand in hand in the Highlands.

Producer: Moira Hickey.

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-Whittingstall

It is the popularity of TV chefs and cooking shows that Forestry Commission Keeper, Howard Taylor, thinks has increased the public's passion for fungi. He joins Richard to explain the importance of the relationship that fungi have with other trees and plants in the forest and the dangers of over-picking the many wild mushrooms that grow there. As well as the obvious dangers of picking poisonous fungi, Howard's remit as a Keeper is also to protect the landscape of the New Forest and the rise in numbers of wild mushroom pickers may lead to an upsetting of the delicate balance of the Forest.

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 Aire where a special project is underway to improve the habitat for otters, before meeting up with John Fairweather at the unique 5 Rise Lock at Bingley for an insight into life as a lock-keeper on the longest canal in the UK.

Producer: Helen Chetwynd.

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.

Producer: Helen Chetwynd.