Country Tracks (1998)

The offbeat guide to the great outdoors returns for a ten-part series. Tonight, presenter Pete McCarthy is joined by comedian Jo Brand , who pays a visit to the Long Mynd in Shropshire.

Pete McCarthy returns to one of his favourite haunts, the Beara Peninsula on Ireland's Atlantic coast, and this year's Country Tracks challenge volunteers start their survival training.

Terry Waite reflects on solitude in rural Suffolk, and the series' challenge volunteers learn more survival skills. Presenter Pete McCarthy investigates erosion, Fiona Lawrenson goes bird-watching on the Welsh hills and Lindsay Cannon kayaks round the island of Rum.

Presenter Pete McCarthy discovers the truth about British bats, while the series' challenge volunteers attempt to build a waterproof shelter. Meanwhile, Guy Linley-Adams marvels at marine lifeforms that possess the ability to breathe underwater, and Lindsay Cannon rides along ancient packhorse trails on the moors of North Yorkshire.

Celebrity guest Jenny Agutter shares her passion for Cornwall, Pete McCarthy reveals the secret life of millipedes and centipedes, and Fiona Lawrenson learns about aerial archaeology.

This week Pete McCarthy explores the Machair, the unique grasslands of the Western Isles of Scotland, and finds them very similar to Corfu. Meanwhile, Lindsay Cannon tries her hand at wattle and daub wall construction, and Guy Linley-Adams observes nocturnal insects.

Writer and broadcaster Melvyn Bragg takes a walk on the rugged fells of his native Cumbria and describes his love for the landscape. Pete McCarthy is in Somerset to explore the art of making cider, Lindsay Cannon goes potholing in Derbyshire and Fiona Lawrenson observes fallow deer.

Lindsay Cannon trains as a National Park Ranger in the Peak District, Pete McCarthy gets lost in a maze while revealing the mystical secrets of labyrinths, the volunteers argue over the best place to forage for food, and Guy Linley-Adams takes a look at British pond life.

Former Test cricketer David Gower walks along the aptly-named Test Way in Hampshire; Pete McCarthy visits the wettest place in Britain; Lindsay Cannon samples land-yachting in South Wales; and the volunteers attempt to patch up their differences following fishing failures.

In the last show of the series, the survival volunteers conclude their week in the wilds by cooking a meal for a special guest. In addition, Pete McCarthy visits a farm that is keeping traditional hop-growing alive for British ale, Guy Linley-Adams looks for freshwater pearls in Scotland's River Tay, and Lindsay Cannon braves a frozen waterfall.