Countrywise Season 1, Episode 22: Birmingham

Introduction

"The countryside is my home. I love the landscape, and share with the people who live and work there, the endless fascination about what makes it tick. Countrywise is going to take me into every corner of rural Britain. Who could turn down a job like that?" This spring a new series for ITV1 showcases the fabric of Britain's rural and coastal life. Countrywise dedicates 36 episodes to the riches which lie beyond Britain’s major cities. It is presented by journalist turned farmer and sailor Paul Heiney. Countrywise highlights exactly what makes our countryside tick. Combining items presented by Paul with features drawn from ITV’s regions, the programme takes in the breadth of Britain's countryside, from its crumbliest coastline and happiest valley, to its secret tunnels, rescued gardens and haunted hills. On his travels around rural Britain, Paul Heiney visits the only place in the UK to grow tea, learns the inside story of Dover's white cliffs, and discovers the country's most bizarre beach huts. In these credit-crunch times, a growing number are now turning their backs on foreign breaks and Countrywise provides an invaluable reminder of what's here on our doorstep. Through the stories of the guardians for our landscape, wildlife and traditions, Paul leaves no stone unturned in his quest to uncover the secrets of Britain’s beautiful countryside. (24 episodes in summer + 12 episodes in autumn.)

30 min

Surrey

Paul Heiney explores Britain's coast and country, and meets the people that make it special. Today, he visits one of Britain's first farm shops which is in Surrey and celebrates its thirtieth birthday with an annual marmalade-making extravaganza. He takes time to try his hand at Victorian farming, and meets some of the champions who keep country traditions alive.

30 min

The Birthplace of Industry

Today, Paul visits "The Birthplace of Industry" where a single event changed the British countryside forever. Paul discovers more about Victorian farming methods.

30 min

Idyllic Hours

Paul Heiney presents a series with memorable scenes drawn from the best of the ITV regions. Paul explores Britain's coast and country, and meets the people that make it special. Today, Paul joins anglers at an idyllic spot for the start of the fly-fishing season, and learns more about Victorian farming methods.

30 min

St Georges day

Paul Heiney celebrates St George's Day on the hill where legend says the dragon was slain. He also explores Britain's oldest footpath, finds out about Victorian farming methods and introduces people who keep country traditions alive

30 min

Some things worth keeping

Paul Heiney explores Britain's countryside, and finds memorable scenes from the ITV regions. Today, Paul meets trainee farmers, farriers and blacksmiths who are learning the old skills for a new generation. Paul also finds out how the Victorians farmed, and introduces another country champion keeping tradition alive.

30 min

Kent

Today we find out how an historic Kent dockyard changed the landscape forever as whole forests were felled for the timber to build warships such as the Victory. We also learns more about Victorian farming traditions, and are introduced toanother country champion who is working to keep traditions alive.

30 min

The Malvern Hills

This week, we visit the Malvern Hills, eight hundred million years in the making and officially one of the best places in Britain to walk a dog. Paul also helps to shear sheep the Victorian way, and Selina Scott visits the most remote railway station in the country.

30 min

Cornwell

Today's adventure starts in Cornwall where Paul meets the crew of the Penzance lifeboat that is celebrating 150 years of service. In Newquay, he visits the 'House in the Sea' and meets a young surfing champion. Meanwhile, Rachel de Thame discovers the only place in Britain that grows tea.

30 min

Northumberland

Today they are in Northumberland, where Paul visits a man-made lake named as the most tranquil spot in the country. Meanwhile Rachel tours the grounds of Alnwick Castle - the Windsor of the North - and discovers that the garden holds a deadly secret.

30 min

The Lakes District

Today, they are in the Lake District celebrating 150 years of the Ullswater steam boats, and watching the annual ritual of salmon fisherman keeping alive a Viking tradition of fishing with wings. Bettany Hughes discovers how the dramatic scenery inspired one of England's most famous poets.

30 min

Constable Country

Today we are in Constable country, celebrating the anniversary of the birth of one of Britain's best-loved landscape painters. We also find out about ambitious plans to create the UK's biggest wetland nature reserve AND Bettany Hughes investigates the landmark feat of engineering which stops this area disappearing under the sea.

30 min

London

Paul Heiney and the team explore the countryside in and around London. Paul meets the ranger who looks after Richmond Park's 600 deer, and talks to the man who mows the grass with the capital's last working shire horses. Rachel de Thame visits a rooftop garden in Kensington, and a wealth of birdlife is discovered in a city centre cemetery

30 min

Elan Valley

Paul Heiney and the team explore the dams and reservoirs of the Elan Valley in Wales, test site for Barnes Wallis's bouncing bomb ahead of the Dam Buster raids in World War Two. Kate McIntyre meets a sheep farmer who helped rescue Britain's red kite population and there is a visit to a model village created to replace homes in the flooded valley

30 min

Cotswolds

Paul Heiney and the team are in the Cotswolds to visit a village that topped a poll of the best places to live in the UK. Rachel de Thame discovers the secret garden belonging to Blenheim Palace, and Bettany Hughes explores an unfinished Gothic mansion that has never been inhabited

30 min

Northern Ireland

The team travels to Northern Ireland, exploring the natural, industrial and cultural roots of Lough Erne. Paul Heiney visits a mystical island and goes birdwatching, while Bettany Hughes tours a local factory with a worldwide reputation

30 min

Dover

In a programme first show in 2009, the team heads to Dover for a double anniversary. Paul Heiney marks the centenary of the first cross-Channel flight and celebrates the 50th anniversary of the first hovercraft crossing to France. Bettany Hughes visits the White Cliffs, where she explores secret tunnels that have never been opened to the public

30 min

North of Scotland

Paul Heiney visits the north of Scotland and takes a trip on steam train the Jacobite, which follows a route voted the most beautiful rail journey in the world by a travel magazine. Historian Bettany Hughes recounts the tale of Bonnie Prince Charlie, and a local fisherman tells of the day he met a monster in a loch

30 min

Isle of Wight

The team travels to the Isle of Wight on the eve of the world-famous regatta at Cowes. Paul Heiney joins an Olympic champion at the helm of a 60ft ocean racer, Kate McIntyre meets a fossil hunter searching for new species of dinosaur and Rachel de Thame visits the botanic gardens at Ventnor

30 min

Yorkshire and Lancashire

One-hour special in which Paul Heiney journeys through Yorkshire and Lancashire, from Britain's first seaside resort in Scarborough to the vast natural wilderness of Morecambe Bay, looking at whether an age-old rivalry still exists between the two neighbouring regions

30 min

Suffolk

Paul Heiney visits the Suffolk village of Walberswick, where he witnesses the staging of the annual British Open Crabbing Championship. He also calls at a Victorian farm in Norfolk to try his hand at hay-making and meets people who are keeping rural traditions alive

30 min

Rutland Water

Paul Heiney watches ospreys when he travels to Rutland Water for the British Bird Fair. He also joins in with the south London lavender harvest and takes a trip on a steam-driven barge on a canal in the Midlands

30 min

Norfolk Broads

Paul Heiney visits the Norfolk Broads, where he takes a trip on a traditional wherry trading barge. Plus, reports on cowboys in the West Country and a poacher-turned-water bailiff in Hampshire

30 min

Whitby, North Yorkshire

Paul Heiney visits Whitby, North Yorkshire, for the autumn angling festival and meets Rob Green, winner of the Seafood Chef of the Year award in 2009. Plus, reports on fell ponies in Cumbria and a Hertfordshire herbalist

30 min

North York Moors

Paul Heiney visits the North York Moors and meets George Thompson, the 2008 Gamekeeper of the Year. Plus, reports on the campaigners who saved an ancient forest from developers, and the cattle breeders trying to save the Leicestershire Longhorn from extinction

30 min

Exmouth in Devon

Paul Heiney visits Exmouth in Devon to report on the national Beachwatch clean-up. Plus, the sanctuary for wolves deep in a Shropshire forest and the work of a group of Northamptonshire farmers

30 min

Gloucestershire

Paul Heiney is in Gloucestershire to celebrate British Cheese Week, visiting the home of Stinking Bishop and an award-winning vineyard. Plus, a spectacular sailing regatta in Wales and an environmentally friendly quarry in Northumberland

30 min

Isles of Scilly

Paul Heiney visits the Isles of Scilly to celebrate the 25th anniversary of an airlink vital to the region's flower industry. Plus, a report from Teesdale at England's biggest upland nature reserve, and the tricks of the blacksmith's trade are revealed

30 min

Herefordshire

Paul Heiney visits Herefordshire, the largest apple-growing county in Britain, for the start of the harvest. He hears how cider-making has developed from its farmhouse roots and discovers that eating a cider apple can be a bitter-sweet experience. Plus, a report on a ranger who knows every ancient tree in Sherwood Forest

30 min

Dorset's Jurassic Coast

Paul Heiney visits Dorset's Jurassic Coast at the start of the fossil-hunting season. Plus, reports on a swan rescue centre in Yorkshire, steam ploughing on the Victorian farm, and a car that floats

30 min

Essex

Paul Heiney tastes fruits including medlar and quince on a visit to a centuries-old Essex farm and jam factory. Plus reports on the West Somerset Steam Railway and an organic farming pioneer from Wiltshire

30 min

Witley Court in Worcestershire

Paul Heiney visits Witley Court in Worcestershire - once one of the great stately homes of England, but destroyed by fire more than 70 years ago. Plus, Selina Scott takes a trip down the Thames in a converted electric bath chair and a falcon is put to work on the Victorian farm

30 min

Glastonbury Tor in Somerset

Paul Heiney meets a farmer who breeds alpacas on the slopes of Glastonbury Tor in Somerset, and tries his hand at dowsing - looking for the magical lines of energy that some people believe run from the hill. Plus, a report on a Fenland farmer-turned-poet and a demonstration of Victorian carpentry skills

30 min

Episode 35

30 min