Countryfile Spring Diaries

After the dark days of winter, spring is nature's alarm call to bring everything back to life. It seems to come round like clockwork, but is that really so? John Craven and Keeley Donovan investigate what makes springtime weather so special. In the New Forest, there is a sense of anticipation in the air as its most famous residents prepare to give birth - Jules Hudson takes to the saddle to find out why spring is such a crucial time for the New Forest ponies. Few things on the forager's calendar are more sensationally seasonal than the sap of the silver birch. The window to tap into this elusive liquor lasts just a couple of weeks. Margherita Taylor reports on the best way to turn to the trees for a springtime pick-me-up. Paul Martin breathes new life into his Victorian smallholding in Wiltshire. His spring diary starts with a hunt for the perfect breed of sheep to help restore his fields.

Keeley Donovan discovers how just one in twenty three people in the UK experiences spring as a truly multisensory experience. And one of the most fragrant and emblematic symbols of spring is under attack - Jules Hudson investigates why native bluebells could be extinct in the space of a generation.

The team investigate the arrival of a tiny beetle that can make or break a crop and look at cooking up a storm with a springtime coastal forage. Rookie smallholder Paul Martin gives tips on how to keep bees.

The team finds out how to give toads a helping hand to reach their natural habitat and reports on how Cumbrian communities are working to recover from the winter floods, just in time for the tourist season. Fledgling smallholder Paul Martin provides tips on how to build a watery wildlife haven.

Countryfile spin-off series unveiling the secrets of spring. The team celebrates spring for the final time this year and file final reports of the season.