Coast and Country
Summary: Countryside magazine featuring people, walks and wildlife from rural Britain. Clare Balding’s ‘Ramblings’ and ‘Open Country’ with Matt Baker and Helen Mark join forces to bring you a weekly tour of the best of the British countryside. In ‘Ramblings’ Clare joins her guests on a country walk that’s been significant in their lives. ‘Open Country’ travels to a different corner of the British Isles every week, seeking out the wildlife, the landscapes and the controversies that excite the passions of local people. Each twenty-five minute programme is broadcast on Saturday at 6.07am and repeated on Thursday at 3pm. New episodes are added every Saturday morning.
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- Artist: BBC Radio 4
- Copyright: (C) BBC 2014
Podcasts:
Helen Mark discovers the Salcey Forest in Northamptonshire by geocaching - a technical treasure hunt that's become increasingly popular.
The 'crazy' idea of one man to restore a forgotten quarry railway track in Mountsorrel in Leicestershire brings locals and volunteers from further afield together.
Helen Mark joins comedian Alistair McGowan at the annual Pershore Plum Festival to learn about the special place the fruit holds in the area's history.
Helen Mark explores the newly safegaurded 'Laurie Lee Wood' and meets the people that inhabit Laurie's 21st Century ‘Cider with Rosie' landscape.
Helen Mark goes underground to hear the vivid stories of Devon's Beer Quarry Caves that supplied Exeter cathedral with the highest quality limestone, used for intricate carvings.
Skiff racing has long been declining in Scotland but kit boats are now being built and rowed by communities up and down the coast. Helen Mark is in Ullapool to see them in action.
Helen Mark visits Longshaw Estate in Derbyshire and discovers a pioneering project in which 1,000 northern hairy wood ants are being fitted with tiny radio receivers.
In a few years' time, there'll be three bridges across the Firth of Forth near Edinburgh. Helen Mark explores their significance to locals and to the people who work on them.
Felicity Evans visits Imber village, part of the MoD's defence training grounds on Salisbury Plain.
Helen Mark explores why woodlands are so important to us by heading to Gloucestershire.
James Herriot's stories about his vet practice in Thirsk made the town famous. Felicity Evans meets the son of the real James Herriot, Jim Wight to talk about his father's legacy.
Felicity Evans visits the Teifi Valley in West Wales where the River Teifi supported the growth of the 19th century woollen industry and sustains traditional coracle making.
Timothy West and Prunella Scales join Helen Mark in North Somerset to explore why piers are so dearly loved yet why so many are at risk.
Helen Mark visits the Reay Forest estate in Sutherland to find out what ponies can offer which even the toughest off-road vehicle cannot.
Jules Hudson visits Cannock Chase in Staffordshire to find out about its military past. He sees a mockup of the Western Front at a major training camp during the First World War.
