John Craven is at the National Hedgelaying Championships as competitors go chainsaw to chainsaw, billhook to billhook in a bid to claim the coveted title as they set about specific regional styles and work against the clock. John gets a lesson in the Midland Bullock style and finds out why hedgerows are so important to our countryside. He also discovers the Cornish hedge tradition reckoned to be as old as the pyramids, and he delves into the Countryfile archives to celebrate rural heritage skills, revisiting the time Anita Rani met a traditional cricket bat maker and when Matt Baker helped with the ancient craft of wheelwrighting.

Love it or hate it, shooting contributes around £2 billion to the rural economy. But it’s a sporting industry under the cosh, as the UK is gripped by the worst ever outbreak of avian flu. Can game bird shoots survive the 21st century? Charlotte explores the 12,500-acre Rhug Estate in north Wales to see what it means to be a traditional shooting estate in the modern world and looks at how it contributes to local business. Sean is in Perthshire on the 1,300-acre Bamff Estate, which has eschewed shooting for eco-tourism, including a colony of beavers. Tom is in Wiltshire to investigate the threat posed by avian flu to the industry, and in the Cotswolds, Adam puts his new sheepdog Gwen through her paces. Will she pass muster?

John Craven and Charlotte Smith are at Audley End House in Essex, one of the finest Jacobean houses in the UK. They may arrive in grand style but are quickly despatched to the servants’ entrance to roll up their sleeves and muck in with winter cleaning and maintenance. As well as discovering the provenance of some of the house’s eclectic collection of thousands of artefacts, John discovers the intricacies of cleaning delicate seashells while Charlotte finds out why skimmed milk works a treat on flagstone flooring. There’s an ancient vine to tame as well as Charlotte’s fear of horses as she takes on groom duties in the stables. Adam Henson is busy making sure his animals are in the finest of fettle to get through a cold winter, and Charlotte reveals the trials and tribulations of the rural midwife.

It’s 60 years since the Big Freeze, one of the coldest winters on record, when even the sea froze over, and rural communities were cut off by blizzards and towering snowdrifts. Anita Rani and Joe Crowley are in Flash, the UK’s highest village, to see how the community coped then and how they brace for winter now. They also find out what sort of weather we can expect in future winters. Anita unlocks the secrets of Flash's history, from special buttons to a booming business in counterfeit money, while Joe discovers the secrets of seaweed in the village brewery. Adam Henson helps out on one of the remaining Flash hill farms, and Tom Heap is on the Isle of Eigg, where islanders aren’t waiting for government to help them level up but are doing it for themselves.

Charlotte Smith and Steve Brown are visiting first-time famers around the country to discover the trials and tribulations of trying to break into the industry. Steve is in Hampshire finding out what made a former marine and a recruitment worker decide to enter the notoriously tough dairy industry. Charlotte is in Worcestershire to discover what made a successful hairdresser ditch the salon to rear a Valais sheep and Wagyu cattle. In West Wales, Charlotte meets a pair of duck famers who quit the rat race in London and put all their eggs in one basket. On the Isle of Wight, Adam Henson is visiting Medina College which has started a new GCSE course in agriculture, joining the pupils as they get hands-on experience looking after livestock. Charlotte also finds out why farm tenancies are few and far between.

Sean Fletcher is in Cornwall, but he’s not here to explore its fabulous 300-mile coastline. Instead, he will be going underground to unearth the legacy of the county’s renowned tin and copper mining industries. Sean encounters an endangered mammal that has set up home in disused mine shafts at Prideaux Wood, and at Penwith we delve underground to discover the history and geology of a 500-year-old tin mine that contains some of the deepest seams in the country. Meanwhile, Adam Henson is in search of a super fertiliser hidden deep under the North York Moors, and Tom Heap finds out if mining Cornish lithium could herald a new gold rush.

Joe Crowley and Steve Brown are on the North Yorkshire coast in the beautiful village of Staithes to find out how the traditional fishing community is adapting for the future. Where once there was a fishing fleet of 80, now there is just one fisherman left. Joe goes out to sea to discover how one skipper has swapped nets for wildlife tourism, while Steve takes a look at Staithes’s art heritage and tastes some locally smoked goodies. Adam Henson finds out about the challenges facing a sheep dairy, and Charlotte Smith investigates the latest developments behind one of Britain’s biggest ecological marine disasters.

Adam Henson and Charlotte Smith are in Derbyshire at Bakewell Livestock Market as hundreds of sheep and cattle are auctioned. Among the farmers looking to make a penny or two is Keith Harrop, who is hoping to get top dollar for one of his beef cattle. But is business brisk enough today? As well as following a busy market day, Charlotte discovers the history of markets and how Bakewell is adapting for the future with pop-up shops and also a pop-in health clinic. Joe Crowley is in East Anglia, where a proposed new multibillion-pound power grid has been met with stiff opposition.

Celebrating the seventieth anniversary of the first recorded summit of the highest point on earth, Mount Everest, Ellie Harrison is in Kettering at one of the world's most advanced materials research facilities to put outdoor gear – and herself – to the test. As well as getting to grips with a pair of expedition boots that made it to the top of the world, how will Ellie bear up in a cold chamber where the mercury can hit -40 Celsius? The UK may not be able to match the dizzying heights of Everest, but we do have our own extreme landscapes, so how can we best be braced to deal with them?

John Craven and Matt Baker are on the east coast of England to find out how storms are devouring the coastline, putting homes and livelihoods at threat. John is in Happisburgh in north Norfolk which loses two metres of land to the sea every year, a rate predicted to accelerate in the near future. One resident has already lost her home but has bought another in the town, while a neighbour is watching her house edge ever closer to being claimed by the sea, the same sea she swims in to help with her anxiety. Matt is in Suffolk and discovers how wildlife is flourishing where the sea has reclaimed the land, and we meet the farmer who is also letting nature have its way with an eye to the future with salt marsh lamb.

Our national parks are beautiful wild spaces that are free for us all to explore and enjoy. But what does the future hold in light of funding cutbacks and the recent wild camping ruling on Dartmoor? Charlotte Smith discovers how cuts are affecting management of wild landscapes and finds out how political parties are squaring up to the right to camp debate. She also catches up with author Guy Shrubsole to discover a rare rainforest here on Dartmoor, while Matt Baker helps budding conservationists with a bird survey and takes to the airwaves of Skylark FM. With the Cheltenham Festival around the corner, Adam Henson visits an equine rehab centre to find out what it takes to keep racehorses in peak condition. Paralympian Sammi Kinghorn meets the volunteers opening up Dartmoor for everyone in Miles without Stiles, and in the second of a four part strand, Adrian Chiles discovers what it takes to be a hill farmer in Wales.

The Wye is one of the most spectacular rivers in Britain, winding through stunning countryside, the muse of writers and artists, and a Site of Special Scientific Interest and conservation. With that sort of reputation, you’d expect the river to have a pristine bill of a health. But like so many of our waterways, the Wye’s waters are in trouble. Suffocated by pollution, it is slowly dying. But all is not lost. Matt Baker and Anita Rani meet the volunteers going to the rescue of the Wye, from the cider maker turned citizen science champion, whose findings may have forced the farming industry to own up to its role in putting the river into its death throes, to the volunteers creating a 30-acre wetland to harbour some of our most cherished wildlife. Adam Henson meets the farmer trying to do his bit to save the river, while Tom Heap investigates why the Wye has been allowed to decline almost to the point of being declared ecologically dead.

Joe Crowley is in Aberystwyth to meet scientists behind some of the biggest new developments in farming and food security, from insect brownies to the revival of historic crops and why some South American visitors could be the saviours of upland farming. Charlotte Smith is in the Lea Valley, home to 3,500 acres of glasshouses providing 75 per cent of the UK’s home-grown salads, to investigate why what’s known as London’s salad bowl is on the brink of collapse. Adam Henson finds out why the shift towards sustainable farming could mean boom time for native breeds, while Adrian Chiles discovers what the future of sheep farming could be in his final report from the Welsh mountains.

Margherita Taylor and Joe Crowley are in Sherwood Forest to unravel some hidden histories as they discover how much more there is to this nature reserve and site of special scientific interest than Robin Hood. Margherita finds out the role Sherwood played as a training ground in the First World War and catches up with 94-year-old Kevin Topham, who shares the story of how the discovery of black gold in the forest helped to shape victory during WWII. Joe discovers why Sherwood has a missing generation of oaks and how premature ageing is helping to fill the gap. We meet 17-year-old ornithologist Indy Greene, who is on the trail of the forest’s woodpeckers, including the rarest and most secretive: the lesser spotted. And we find out why the new deal for Northern Ireland hasn’t included veterinary medicine, with potentially devastating consequences for animal and human health.

Modern medicine has transformed our lives and wellbeing, but some ancient remedies still have a place in our hi-tech hospitals. Sean Fletcher is in Hendy, south Wales, visiting Europe’s most productive leech farm, which supplies 70 per cent of medicinal leeches worldwide. He joins for feeding time and discovers how these often-reviled three-jawed creatures are making a comeback, helping patients recover from trauma or severe infections. Leeches aren’t the only creepy crawlies with a place in modern medicine. In Swansea, Sean discovers how maggots are working their magic for a patient recovering from a major infection. And we meet Dr Christina Lee, who is taking a fresh look at remedies going back 1,000 years. Sean also dips into the Countryfile archive to explore nature’s medicine cabinet in our countryside, and he looks into warnings that veterinary medicine in Northern Ireland is being overlooked, posing serious consequences for animal welfare and the economy.

Picking up the baton from Sir David Attenborough’s Wild Isles, Countryfile launches 'Wild Britain', an ambitious 12-month initiative to galvanize us all to help and save our precious wildlife. Ellie Harrison and Hamza Yassin are lending a hand on the Lincolnshire Fens, as a group of local volunteers and school children begin the transformation of an old playing field into a wildlife haven by building a bog, a dead hedge and a bug hotel. Hamza also takes the children on a wildlife safari at a nearby nature reserve to show what nature their playing field could attract in a few years’ time. Twenty years after his first visit, John Craven heads to Chester Zoo to discover how our smallest rodent, the harvest mouse, is getting on and takes a trip on the Macclesfield Canal to find out how we can all create our own wildlife haven, no matter what size of space you have.

Charlotte Smith and Hamza Yassin travel to Dumfries House, a showcase for the King's passion for rural life. Charlotte meets school children at the estate’s education farm and garden to find out about the King’s ambition to create the next generation of nature-loving food producers. Charlotte also looks into the King’s mission to reinvigorate traditional crafts. Hamza discovers how the 2000-acre estate has been transformed to help wildlife and welcomes the newest residents to the walled garden – hedgehogs. And organic farmer Elizabeth Buchanan, who was agriculture and environment advisor to Charles III, reveals how she travelled across the country with the King as he experienced for himself working rural life, supporting small family farms and helping to protect countryside communities. Meanwhile, Joe and Hazel Relph talk about how they came to host Charles III in their farmhouse after the foot and mouth crisis of 2001.

There is no surer sign that spring is here than millions of lambs being born across the UK. Charlotte Smith visits the Outer Hebrides to meet teenage farmer Archie, who despite only being 17, already runs a 600-acre farm on the island of North Uist. Paralympian Sammi Kinghorn is back home lambing on her family farm in the Scottish Borders. She grew up there, developing a love of animals and farming, but it’s also where she suffered the accident that left her paralysed; something that's never stopped her helping with lambing. Veterinary student Olivia Nares is fulfilling a lifelong dream as she embarks on her first ever lambing season in East Sussex. And in north Wales, there's a look at how wool fleeces might be helping to making the UK’s next great wine.

Ten months on from their first visit, Matt Baker and Margherita Taylor are back in the New Forest in Hampshire to catch up with the community and families who have come together to help Ukrainian refugees. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, nearly 170,000 people have arrived in the UK, with rural communities across the country giving them a warm welcome. Margherita catches up with a mother and daughter who fled the war to find out how life has been since arriving in rural Hampshire over a year ago. Matt revisits a group of volunteers collecting and packing humanitarian aid for Ukraine and Poland to find out how their operation has changed over the past year. We also spend time with Ukrainians working on our farms and look at the change in seasonal worker recruitment after the war cut off much of this vital workforce. Adam reconnects with a farmer in Ukraine to find out the impact the war has had on its agriculture since they last spoke 10 months ago.

Ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week, Charlotte Smith travels to the Roseland peninsula in Cornwall to visit Chaos Farm, which stands for Community Helping All of Society. Charlotte meets the care farm’s founder, Babs Rounsevell MBE, to see how their support programmes, based on agriculture and the great outdoors, help people with both their mental and physical wellbeing. Elsewhere on the farm, Charlotte meets equine therapist Penny Tempest to discover how the gentle presence of horses can help with mental health, and then joins the farm’s ‘Men Outside’ group, which offers peer-to-peer support for men struggling with their mental wellbeing. Charlotte also travels to the north Cornwall coast to see how surfing can help young people cope with stress and anxiety. Marathon runner and champion for diversity and inclusion in the countryside, Haroon Mota, is hiking in Snowdonia, exploring why the great outdoors is so important to him and his mental wellbeing.

For the first of three visits this year, Sammi Kinghorn is on a hill farm in Cumbria, as she catches up with a passionate young farmer, 16-year-old Katie. From dawn to dusk it’s all go, as Katie and Sammi get stuck into all the daily chores and a surprise birth. But it’s not just the farm keeping Katie busy this year – it's also GCSE year! Sammi finds out how this determined young lady is not fazed as she juggles her studies with caring for her animals. Adam Henson looks into the dangers facing sheep and lambs from an increase in dog attacks this year, Charlotte Smith investigates fears a 40-year-old chemical dump is threatening a village in Wales, and in a new strand, we meet four young farmers from around the country as we follow their trials and tribulations over the next few months.

Charlotte Smith and Matt Baker travel to Upper Teesdale in the Durham Dales to celebrate one remarkable lady who has made it her life’s work to look after one of the most important botanical sites in the UK, and to meet the people helping to protect the important species that call this area home. Charlotte meets 97-year-old botanist Dr Margaret Bradshaw on Widdy Bank Fell, who for the last 70 years has been at the forefront of classifying, surveying and protecting the rare Arctic and alpine flora that make up the exceptional Teesdale assemblage. Charlotte hears how in the 1960s Margaret campaigned to stop the building of a reservoir on the site of these special wildflowers. Although unsuccessful, Margaret was inspired to set up the Teesdale Special Flora Trust, which is still responsible for looking after this precious habitat. Charlotte joins the trust as they survey such botanical gems as the spring gentian and lady’s mantle.

Charlotte Smith and Matt Baker are at Lower Hampen Farm in the Cotswolds to meet Lydia and Clive Handy, who have turned back the clock to adopt a more traditional approach to farming. Matt weaves a yarn, using wool from the farm's rare breed sheep, whilst Charlotte lifts the lid on soil microbiology and how it could impact the way we grow our food in the future. Adam looks at how the discovery of a major food fraud has impacted an already beleaguered British pig industry, and Tom investigates how food price inflation could impact the nation’s health.

There are 151 hope spots around the world, including the Galapagos Islands and the Great Barrier Reef. They are areas identified as critical to the health of the oceans, championed by their local communities. Hamza Yassin visits the only one in the UK – the Argyll Coast and Islands. Hamza meets marine biologist Chris Rickard and discovers that the area was designated hope spot status in 2019 because it’s home to the only known nursery in the world of the critically endangered flapper skate. Hamza joins Chris as he conducts research, searching for more nursery sites in the hope of a better understanding of these mysterious creatures of the deep.

We’re in Porthcawl, Bridgend County, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Welsh Surfing Federation. John Craven meets Linda Sharp, the UK’s first female European champion, who helped shape Welsh surfing culture in the 1970s, and further along the coast, John joins Swansea’s Surfers Against Sewage at one of their monthly beach cleans to help combat the never-ending battle against beach litter. Margherita Taylor discovers the magical landscape of the Kenfig sand dune system, which is home to a wealth of flora and fauna, including one of the UK’s rarest wild flowers – the fen orchid. Joe Crowley explores how nature could be threatened by the UK’s growing demand for water, and Adam catches up with our young farmers to discuss the highs and lows of starting out in agriculture.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the Rare Breed Survival Trust, a charity founded by Adam’s father, Joe Henson, to reverse the decline of rare breed numbers in the UK. To mark this date, we visit Adam’s farm to see how he’s taken on the mantle. With summer temperatures rising, Adam welcomes a shearing gang on site to remove the coats of his commercial sheep, before learning more about their ancient cousins. We catch up with an Exmoor pony stallion, Willow Warbler, to find out if he has been welcomed by the mares on the farm and sired any foals. Lexi, a Suffolk punch horse, goes for a pregnancy scan. A Gloucester bull is prepared for a day at a country show with a thorough head-to-tail wash, and Adam is visited by the chief executive of the British Pig Association for a very special moment.

John Craven and Margherita Taylor travel to the village of Charsfield in the heart of Suffolk to celebrate one of our most respected rural writers, Ronald Blythe, who passed away this year at the age of 100. Charsfield and the area around it provided him with inspiration for his bestsellers, including his classic, Akenfield. John and Margherita embrace Blythe’s world by visiting key locations in his work, exploring old rural professions and meeting those who still embrace the way of life portrayed in his books. Margherita talks to nature writer Melissa Harrison, who moved to Suffolk, having been moved by Blythe’s works. She explains the importance of Blythe’s life and the magical rural world he created. Margherita heads up onto a thatch roof to see how this traditional craft is kept alive today by Nick Walker, one of only 20 master thatchers left in the UK.

Joe Crowley and Sammi Kinghorn are in the Lake District finding out how cycling is still one of the top outdoor pursuits in the UK and how electric bikes are opening up the countryside like never before. Joe joins a group of electric bike riders called the Electric Cranks, who have all suffered from heart attacks, leading to them being fitted with life-saving devices called LVADS. It wasn't until the recent boom in electric bikes that this group could leave the house, let alone go for a ride across the country. As the miles rack up on their journey, the group tackle a 1,300-foot climb to the Tan Hill Inn, the highest pub in Britain.

Joe Crowley and Sammi Kinghorn are in the Lake District finding out how cycling is still one of the top outdoor pursuits in the UK and how electric bikes are opening up the countryside like never before. Joe joins a group of electric bike riders called the Electric Cranks, who have all suffered from heart attacks, leading to them being fitted with life-saving devices called LVADS. It wasn't until the recent boom in electric bikes that this group could leave the house, let alone go for a ride across the country. As the miles rack up on their journey, the group tackle a 1,300-foot climb to the Tan Hill Inn, the highest pub in Britain.

In the aftermath of one of the biggest fires to ever engulf the UK countryside, Joe Crowley and John Craven explore the impact of increasing wildfires. Joe is in the Scottish Highlands, scouring the ashes around Cannich for signs of life as he meets those who have been tackling a wildfire that has been burning since May, and he wades into the Forsinard Flows, a prospective World Heritage Site and peat bog, that survived a fire to now thrive and is key to combatting climate change. John rolls up his sleeves to help nature bounce back at Chobham in Surrey after a fire in 2020 destroyed 30 acres of the common, and learns how we can adapt nature reserves to stop fire in its tracks. He then steps into the past to delve into a 3,000 year old treasure trove preserved by wildfire in Cambridgeshire, that’s helped to re-shape our understanding of ancient life in Britain.

Long, hot summer days bring farmers out into the fields in their droves. It's hay-making season, so Charlotte Smith and Adam Henson are in the thick of it, discovering what makes one of our oldest crops so special. Charlotte is put to work on the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall by a farmer whose family have been making hay for over 500 years. She's never driven a modern tractor before, but gets the opportunity to learn from an experienced haymaker. Charlotte also gets the chance to see plenty of wildlife as the harvest activity attracts and excites myriad creatures; she is joined by an award-winning photographer who is taking advantage of the chance to take his next masterpiece. Adam is at a polo match, finding out how nutrients in high-end hay are helping horse owners to get ahead. But making perfect hay every time isn't easy when you're relying on the weather, as Simon from Highclere estate is finding this year.

Matt Baker and Charlotte Smith return to Dumfries House, where the summer activities are in full swing. It’s been three months since the King’s coronation and Countryfile’s last visit, and now the estate is busier than ever. Matt discovers how Dumfries House is providing local people with ways to improve mental and physical well-being and joins a tea dance that can change people's lives. At the farmyard, he finds out how rural skills are being taught and helps out with some health checks on their livestock. Charlotte returns to the craft workshop to try her hand at stained-glass window making, a traditional technique dating back to the medieval era, and adds the final touches to one student’s creation from her visit last April – the bird hide. Charlotte also hears about plans to make energy truly sustainable through plans that reuse, refurbish and re-engineer turbines.

In Renfrewshire, John and Hamza judge this year’s entries to the Countryfile photographic competition with the help of photography enthusiast and DJ Edith Bowman. The final 12 images will grace the 2024 Countryfile Calendar in aid of Children in Need. John also meets cyanotype artist Martha Orbach to uncover the origins of nature photography and visits a Glaswegian community collective who are changing the way that we shop and eat. Hamza reveals a simple butterfly feeder to support wildlife this summer, and Adam has some tough decisions over what to grow after harvest as farmers face another possible year of volatile grain and fertiliser prices.

Every year, hundreds of farms across the UK diversify their income by opening their gates and hosting music festivals. Anita Rani heads to Somerset to meet sheep farmers Andy and Jen, and their sons, as they prepare to transform Fernhill Farm for an annual festival - something this farming family have been doing for 18 years. Anita helps festival organiser Kev make use of wool from the farm’s sheep to build giant sofas for the revellers, and later joins Andy and Jen’s 18-year-old son Kyle as he helps out in the farm café kitchen, where a mutton curry is being prepared for hundreds of campers. Back out in the fields, Anita visits the farm’s remarkable waste water cleaning system – a series of lakes which produce water so pure it’s an official Ark habitat for endangered white claw crayfish. She also dips into the Countryfile archive to explore rural music, revisiting an outdoor violin performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Lark Ascending.

Sean Fletcher and Matt Baker head to the Usk Valley within Bannau Brycheiniog, formerly referred to as the Brecon Beacons. Bannau Brycheiniog is more than a name. It signifies a wider change that is happening to the whole management of the national park. Sean and Matt look at a series of projects and initiatives that are under way, all aiming to restore nature, balance the needs of the people who live, work, and visit the area, whilst ultimately leading Bannau Brycheiniog into a more sustainable future. Not everyone, however, has welcomed the change. Sean meets local businesses to find out their reaction, and he also discovers an ambitious plan to feed the 33,000 residents by food that is all produced in the park. Matt heads into the hills to tackle a problem plant and explore how a restoration project is changing this nature-depleted landscape.

In a special episode, Dame Judi Dench reveals her love of the countryside – and Scotland in particular. From picnics to camping, saving the arts in rural communities and a lifelong passion for wildlife, the legend of stage and screen joins Charlotte Smith in the grounds of Inveraray Castle to reflect on the impact the countryside has had on her and her family. Dame Judi is a talented watercolourist, inspired by the Scottish landscape. So how will she take to oils? She’s joined by her grandson Sam to check in on a tartan that’s being created for her, in which every thread tells a personal story. Adam Henson meets Dame Judi’s partner David Mills, an award-winning farmer who gave up dairying to create the British Wildlife Centre on his Surrey farm. It was Judi’s love of otters that brought the two together. And wildlife film-maker Hamza Yassin takes her to a secret location in a bid to help Dame Judi fulfil a lifetime ambition – to see golden eagles in the wild.

Sammi Kinghorn returns to Cumbria to find out how young shepherdess Katie is doing now that she’s finished school for the year. The summer holidays are no time to rest, as Katie is hard at work tending to her livestock and catching up with maintenance jobs around the farm. They also visit a part of the farm where she has been working with the Woodland Trust on best practice for increasing biodiversity. Sammi also visits Lowther Castle, located just up the road, where a major project is underway to reconnect the estate with its natural environment, long since disrupted by Victorian engineering. It’s a project that involves large scale landscaping and the reintroduction of keystone wetlands species. Land management is also on the minds of the staff at nearby RSPB Leighton Moss where they are cutting back the extensive reed beds, part of the annual maintenance work to encourage a thriving habitat for the birds that draw people to the reserve.

From the Goodwood Estate in West Sussex, four of the UK’s top sheepdog handlers go head-to-head, aiming to claim 2023's One Man and His Dog trophy. The challenging course at Goodwood leaves our competing teams nowhere to hide from the expert eye of judge Jane Drinkwater. Can Scotland veteran Willie Welsh and his dog Cap, or the youngest competitor, 21-year-old Shannon Conn and her dog Yellow Hill Chip outdo England’s Carol Mellin and her dog Pentrabet, or Wales’s Rob Ellis and his dog Todd? There’s everything to play for. We also meet 16-year-old Jack Howells from Wales, with his dog Cydros Boss. Encouraged by his father, Jack caught the trialling bug three years ago, and in a showcase round, demonstrates why he’s one to look out for in the future.

In the first of two special episodes, presenters Adam Henson and Sean Fletcher join the Martin family on their arable farm in Cambridgeshire at the busiest time of year. Harvest can be financially ‘make or break’ for many farmers like Tom Martin, where success can determine the future of a farm. Adam meets Tom out in the field to hear about the stresses this time of year brings and learns how his passion for regenerative farming methods are supporting wildlife surrounding his farm. Sean meets an artisan beekeeper who is also benefiting from the synergy between farming and nature on the farm. Simon Croson has brought along his mobile hives so that his bees can feed on the nectar of Tom’s strong-smelling buckwheat crop. The result is a unique-tasting honey harvest.

Presenters Adam Henson and Sean Fletcher are back in the ‘breadbasket’ of East Anglia, where over a third of Britain's food is produced. Last time, Adam met arable farmer Tom Martin as he harvested his very first wheat crop of the year. Now, the grain testing results are in, and Tom finally learns if this year’s harvest has been a success. Adam visits the megastructures designed to house vast volumes of wheat and explores the tech keeping pests and moisture from destroying high value stored crops. Sean gets involved with a blueberry harvest and joins farmer Zoe Mee on her family farm to learn the trials and tribulations of growing the berries in the UK. With around 170 tonnes of fruit being picked per harvest, Sean encounters their diligent sorting machine, which uses multiple cameras to grade and sort every single blueberry destined for different supermarkets.

Every summer across Scotland, Caledonian culture is celebrated at local highland games and gatherings. Fulfilling a long-standing ambition, Hamza Yassin takes a trip to Royal Deeside to sample perhaps the most prestigious of them all – the Braemar Highland Gathering. In a spectacle of continuous competition, surrounded by athletics races, field events and colourful highland dancers. Hamza meets games vice-president Willie Meston to discover the 1,000-year history of clan gatherings in the heart of the Cairngorms that make up the games. As the sound of the pipes swirls around the arena, historian Jack Davidson reveals to Hamza the origins of the games’ most iconic – tossing the caber. Over on the highland dance stage, Hamza meets 13-year-old Eilidh, who is hoping to be crowned champion in the presence of King Charles III. Hamza also meets the military muscle lined up for battle in the tug of war.

Joe Crowley and Charlotte Smith head to the Wash in Norfolk to see one of the greatest wildlife events in the UK, the Snettisham Spectacular. During the highest high tides, thousands of wading birds take to the air as this incoming tide forces them from their feeding spot on the mudflats. We build up to this great spectacle and explore what the start of autumn means to the people and wildlife of this unique landscape. Joe gets stuck into the mud to understand why so many birds come to this area and also encounters another winged creature at a nearby church, where they are having problems with bats in the belfry. Charlotte joins the RSPB and gets her binoculars out to go birdwatching to see the many different species that flock to this incredible stretch of coast, including the knot. Tom investigates why over a hundred horses were killed last year in jump racing, and how the sport plans to overhaul its safety.

Adam Henson and Charlotte Smith are in Cambridgeshire at Cheffins’ famous agricultural machinery auction. It’s the ultimate trading floor for agricultural machines and a window into the ever-changing mechanics of farming. Ahead of the auction, Charlotte helps farmers William Wombwell and Chris Haylock to get their machines gleaming before they go under the hammer in the hope of fetching a great price. With the help of auctioneer Joe Page, Adam discovers the history of Europe’s largest auction of farming machinery at their 42-acre site, where farmers across the UK and the world buy and sell the vital tools of their trade. He also takes a ride on a mobile auction car to get stuck into the bidding action.

It’s time for presenters Matt Baker, Charlotte Smith, Margherita Taylor, Joe Crowley and John Craven to pull on their bobble hats and get rambling in aid of Children in Need 2023. They join five remarkable young people who have battled and overcome adversity with the help of projects supported by the charity. This year’s rambles include a challenging crossing to Worms Head on the Gower Peninsula in Wales, a trek through the dramatic Nevis Gorge to the 120m high Steall Falls in Fort William, Scotland, a hike through the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee ancient woodland in Leicestershire, England, and a trip to Castlewellan Forest Park in County Down, Northern Ireland, with dramatic views of the Mourne Mountains and the Irish Sea.

Countryfile’s Wild Britain is an ambitious 12-month initiative to galvanize us all to help and save our precious wildlife. In this second instalment of the initiative, Ellie Harrison and Hamza Yassin are at Wytham Woods, Oxfordshire. Hamza climbs into the canopy of the woods to get a unique view of the place many species here call home, and finds out the impact of ash dieback on this ecosystem. Ellie is on call with the Oxfordshire Wildlife Rescue Centre, ready to head out with one of their team if a report of an injured animal comes in. Ellie also visits the Boundary Brook Nature Reserve, a multi-habitat site that provides access to nature for people living in and around the city of Oxford. Elsewhere, Adam Henson is presenting Countryfile’s Young Countryside Champion award in Newport. The Sycamore Gap tree at Hadrian’s Wall was one of the most famous trees in England, and its recent illegal felling has shocked the nation.

John Craven and Sammi Kinghorn visit the South Downs to see how the past is inspiring residents to preserve the future of this diverse landscape. John immerses himself in the world of Gilbert White, whose letters from the 1700s observing animal behaviour made him an inspiration for Charles Darwin and is now influencing a group of farmers to protect the South Downs delicate ecosystem. John also explores the South Downs’ ancient woodland and meets charcoal collier Lucy Wall-Palmer, who teaches him how sustainable charcoal is made. Sammi meets sheep farmer Lisa Tupper, whose family unearthed an ancient Roman villa in the 1800s whilst ploughing the fields. They’re joined by archaeologist Dr Miles Russell, who sheds light on the significance of such a remarkable find.

Countryfile returns to Dumfries House as autumn is in full swing and the first year of teaching gets underway at the new rural skills centre recently opened by the King. Margherita Taylor and Joe Crowley find out how this hub of agricultural learning will benefit future farmers and the wider countryside whilst aiming to remove the disconnect between people and the land. Margherita joins the first group of schoolchildren to put the new facilities to the test and lends a hand (and an arm) in helping with a brand-new piece of educational equipment - the calving simulator. Margherita also dons her gardening gloves to help prune some of the thousands of roses in the estate's collection. Joe tackles one of the biggest jobs of the Dumfries House cleaning team, dusting down a priceless chandelier. Joe also gets to grips with one of Scotland’s most traditional instruments, the bagpipes.

Ellie Harrison and Anita Rani are at Poole Harbour for the conclusion of a three-year environmental study, and thety celebrate Ellie’s last Countryfile episode with a trip down memory lane. Ellie visits artificial rock pools and learns the results of a trial which uses 3D printed reef blocks on the sea floor, hoping to make sea defences more habitable for marine wildlife. Ellie also harvests an unusual cooking ingredient - sea spaghetti. Anita joins a crew fishing for Manila clams on one of the final catches of the season, and she explores bird haven RSPB Arne to see the work done to protect the land for nesting birds such as oystercatchers. Anita also tries paddleboarding for the first time, meeting a local water sports group to find out how structures like piers help to reduce the impact of water sports and walkers on the bird population. Adam Henson is busy on the farm checking in on his Cotswold ewes and seeing how the recent back-to-back storms have affected his wheat crop.

Charlotte Smith and Matt Baker head to Elan Valley, nestled in the heart of the Cambrian Mountains, where the Welsh natural world is getting ready for the onset of winter. The valley is a patchwork of habitats including Celtic rainforests, open moorland and raging rivers, all dominated by huge dams. These dams have changed the landscape forever, and Charlotte finds out how the rivers of Elan Valley have recently welcomed back migrating salmon. She also helps restore peatlands by getting behind the wheel of some earth moving machinery to rework the topography of the rugged peat landscape. Matt helps drive cattle down into forests on the valley floor to not only provide them with shelter for the winter, but to improve ancient Celtic rainforests. Charlotte looks at how some farmers have started a campaign protesting and blockading supermarket depots to demand fairer prices. Adam travels to the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells where the Winter Fair is in full swing.

As we head into winter, the days are getting shorter, the weather is turning colder, trees are losing their leaves, and wildlife is taking shelter. The countryside might appear dormant, but there is still lots to see, especially if you know what to look for! John Craven is in Oxfordshire, where he learns about the signs provided by clouds, the behaviour of birds and a canon of country lore that might be of use at this time of year. Gavin Pretor-Pinney of the Cloud Appreciation Society shows John how to predict an incoming rain shower. Phil Bruss of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust reveals the elusive signs left by countryside creatures and what they tell us about the behaviour of our winter wildlife. John meets writer Ruth Binney, who opens the book on many snippets of folk wisdom from over the centuries.

We’re back in the Cumbrian fells with 16-year-old shepherdess Katie and her family on their upland farm for this year’s Countryfile Christmas. Sammi Kinghorn and Joe Crawley join in with Katie’s festive traditions to celebrate Christmas on the farm. Katie shows Sammi just how busy the farm is over the festive period, checking up on the livestock and tackling daily maintenance. Sammi also discovers Katie how gets the perfect photo of their Herdwick sheep for the family Christmas card. Joe helps Katie and her mum Kirsten harvest apples for brewing their hot Christmas mulled cider, whilst Sammi is on the hunt for a Christmas jumper from a local knitwear specialist using wool from nearby farms.

New Year's Day is traditionally a day when we get outside and go for a gentle stroll to blow off the cobwebs from the night before and welcome in the coming year. Margherita Taylor goes for a wintry walk alongside the River Lea. On her journey, Margherita meets historian Dr Jim Lewis, who describes its history from the ice ages to the present day. A stop at the UK's oldest angling club reveals what happens on the river out of season, and a short detour finds Margherita at Lee Valley Park, where she meets Cath Patrick, a conservation manager who tells her about some of the beautiful wildlife that calls this area home. Along the way, Margherita will plunge into the archives to look back at other wintry outings enjoyed by the team over the years.