At this time of year, much of the UK’s wildlife is battling just to survive the cold winter months. But along the north Norfolk coastline, during the harshest of seasons, one marine mammal is bringing new life to these windswept shores - the grey seal. Anita Rani and Matt Baker head to Blakeney National Nature Reserve, a four mile long shingle spit that offers protection and provides a perfect habitat for seals to come ashore and breed. Anita joins the beach warden on his rounds, as they count the seal population and ensure the numbers indicate a healthy population. Anita then lends a hand at a nearby seal rescue centre where it’s feeding time.

Charlotte Smith and Sammi Kinghorn are in the west country to experience the landscape, heritage and wildlife highlights of a new 87-mile route – the Tamara Coast-to-Coast Way – connecting the north and south of Cornwall’s coastal paths for the very first time. Starting on the Devon side of the River Tamar, Charlotte meets Will Darwall, one of its team of caretakers, to find out why the route was created and what it offers to those who travel along it. Charlotte ends her journey at the UK’s smallest National Trust property, in the hamlet of Morwenstow, where she helps repair a historic hut built from shipwrecked wood and hears the tale of a surprising historic resident, the colourful Rev Robert Hawker. Just a stone’s throw from the way, Sammi is at the 700-year-old Cotehele estate on the River Tamar to join a pair of local young rangers learning on the job. Sammi gets stuck into winter tasks in the estate’s heritage orchard and riverside wetland.

The Newport Wetlands National Nature Reserve is one of the best sites in the country to view birdlife, and Sammi Kinghorn and Matt Baker are on the lookout for one of nature's greatest displays – a starling murmuration. Located along the beautiful south Wales coast, nestled between the Severn Estuary and the River Usk, the wetlands may look like as if they have always been a vibrant place for nature, but the reserve itself was created from the ashes of a neighbouring coal-fired power station back in 2000. Matt discovers how the wetlands were created and help maintain vital channels for the birds amongst the reeds. Sammi meets a group of female wildlife film-makers, who regularly can be found documenting the reserve’s incredible wildlife. When dusk falls, Matt and Sammi get ready for the spectacle of thousands of starlings taking to the skies for a beautiful winter murmuration.

Joe Crowley is in the Somerset Levels to experience the history, heritage and farming of this unique wetland environment that stretches from the Mendips to the Blackdown Hills. Joe meets farmer Rich Roberts for his wintertime harvest of Somerset willow before getting hands-on to cut and prepare this versatile crop ready for sale. Just down the road, Joe sees how the harvested willow whip is crafted into luxury hampers, hot air balloon baskets and even eco coffins as he meets a Somerset family with long ties to the willow trade who are training the next generation of willow apprentices in this ancient heritage craft. Up in the Cotswolds, Adam Henson is busy restoring his ancient orchard with the hope of a fruitful apple harvest later in the year. And Charlotte Smith is investigating the return to Britain of the animal disease bluetongue.

At the heart of Cornwall lie the rocky uplands of Bodmin Moor, home to the county’s highest point. A wild landscape of moorland, granite tors and waterfalls, Bodmin moor has been an inspiration for myths and legends for centuries – it’s also home to prehistoric settlements, standing stones and mines bearing a wealth of raw materials. Matt Baker and Charlotte Smith explore Cornwall’s rich history and its wild present by seeing how this National Landscape, a windswept terrain scarred by its industrial past, is gearing up to welcome back wildlife. Matt tracks down some newly arrived native pigs, part of a project to rewild the landscape, and helps out first-time farmers milking their herd of goats. Charlotte meanwhile hears about plans to return beasts to Bodmin, in the form of wild cats, and we delve into Cornish folklore by exploring the places behind local legends.

It’s been a century since a fictional bear called Winnie-the-Pooh made his first ever appearance in the children’s poetry book When We Were Very Young. One hundred years later, Matt Baker and Charlotte Smith have come to Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, the inspiration for Winnie-the-Pooh’s magical home, 100 Aker Wood, to learn more about this ancient woodland and its infamous honey-loving bear. After a game of Pooh sticks with Charlotte on the real-life Pooh Sticks Bridge, Matt goes on a bear hunt with Pooh fanatic and local museum curator Neil Reed to hear about the life of writer AA Milne and the forest’s magical landmarks that feature in his iconic stories. Matt also joins a group of volunteers who are protecting the forest’s precious lowland heaths.

Joe Crowley and Anita Rani are at the Colesbourne estate in the Cotswolds, where its gardens at this time of year are home to millions of one hardy flower – the snowdrop. This perennial can handle the frost and snow, but it only flowers for a short while, with them all disappearing by March. Brought from alpine regions to England by monks in the late 16th century, it took almost 200 years to become a wild plant, but now snowdrops are here to stay. Anita meets the latest in a long line of snowdrop specialists, whose family brought some of the first bulbs back into the country, and she learns that whilst snowdrops might not mind the cold, they do still need some help in the garden. Joe discovers how they provide vital food and nourishment for our emerging winter wildlife, and he also discovers how snowdrops provide inspiration for a local artist as he joins in painting and printing these winter flowers.

Britain is home to over 4,000 castles, ranging from scattered ruins and rubble to wonderfully restored fortresses. Charlotte Smith visits one of Wales’s finest examples, the National Trust’s Powis Castle, to explore the impressive grounds and grand rooms of this former medieval fortress. Charlotte finds out about the rise and fall of the castle’s battle-scarred walls and discovers how the 25 acres of formal gardens were created over the centuries. Charlotte also joins the castle’s conservationist to get a hands-on experience of a typical day maintaining its maze of rooms. Along the way, we open the Countryfile archive and revisit stories from across the UK’s finest strongholds. Anita Rani uncovers Saxon treasures buried at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland, Adam Henson droves goats through Tintagel Castle in Cornwall, and Matt Baker rides a cherry picker to trim Powis Castle’s giant yew hedges and gets a lesson in falconry at Leeds Castle in Kent.

Matt Baker and Charlotte Smith head to the UK's longest and highest aqueduct, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in north Wales. Built in 1795, it is one of 26 cast iron aqueducts in the UK and part of the country's vast canal and river network. Now, for the first time in two decades, it’s going to be drained as part of a major project by the Canal and River Trust. Matt and Charlotte are on hand to see what it takes to maintain this massive landmark. Charlotte learns about the history of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and helps the team start the mega engineering process of draining the canal. She then joins the repair team to see how they fix the thousands of iron railings spanning the aqueduct. Matt helps repair part of a nearby canal bank before discovering the species that call it home.

As the RNLI celebrates its 200th anniversary, Matt Baker and Sammi Kinghorn meet some of its volunteers at the charity's station in Minehead, Somerset.

Charlotte Smith and Sean Fletcher explore Marlborough Downs, which is home to one of the UK’s newest nature reserves – Bay Meadows.

Anita Rani visits Hinton Ampner in Winchester, a medieval village and Georgian country estate that is also the site of both Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements and burrows

Margherita Taylor and Matt Baker head to the Trent Valley, where over the past two centuries, industrialisation along the river Trent has taken its toll on the landscape.

Hamza Yassin and Charlotte Smith celebrate the arrival of spring at the majestic 600-acre National Arboretum at Westonbirt in Gloucestershire, home to a collection of 2,500 different tree species.

Buckle up as Anita Rani and Matt Baker are on a road trip along the Hardknott and Wrynose Passes in the heart of the Lake District.

From the blooming gardens of RHS Wisley in Surrey, Hamza Yassin and Sammi Kinghorn celebrate one of nature’s heroes – the not-so-humble bee!

Sean Fletcher and Margherita Taylor travel to Rutland, historically the smallest county in England. Despite its size, it is home to the largest man-made body of water in the country - Rutland Water.

To wrap up this year’s lambing season, we’re at Adam Henson’s farm in the Cotswolds to see what’s next for his new spring additions. As well as the mischievous lambs, Adam checks in with his Highland calves, Gloucester old spot piglets and a brand new Exmoor pony foal. With ewes and lambs to sell on, and one-year-old rams to shear, there’s plenty to be getting on with.

Ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week, Sean Fletcher and Margherita Taylor travel to the Sharpham Trust, located in the beautiful wilds of south Devon.

Joe Crowley celebrates the 60th anniversary of the National Nature Reserve at Lindisfarne and joins the ranger team protecting nesting ringed plover on the shore.

Adam Henson and Charlotte Smith travel to North Cornwall to explore the history of the Camel Trail, encounter local wildlife and meet the people that live and work along its route.

Anita Rani and Charlotte Smith travel to Dorset, where 80 years ago, tens of thousands of troops amassed as the Allies’ combined forces prepared for D-Day.