The Lakes With Rory McGrath

In the first part, we meet the Nobletts, a couple who run one of the most romantic hotels in the Lakes; a former IT consultant about to embark on her dream of opening a tea shop in Windermere; and a couple who have an unforgettable balloon ride.

Hotelier Thomas Nobblett takes on a daunting challenge - a two-way swim across Lake Windermere. Barrister-turned-farmer Thomas Ballentyne and his wife Lynne look at creative ways to make their farm earn its keep and we go on patrol with the wardens who keep a watchful eye on Lake Windermere.

In this edition we head to the coast and meet the family overcoming tragedy to make sure that the Whitehaven Festival goes ahead. We catch up with former IT consultant Amanda Davies as time runs out on her plan to open her dream tea room in Windermere. And tour operator Sue Todd shows us why Japanese tourists come thousands of miles to see the Lakes.

Today, Clare Noblett officiates at her 76th wedding of the year, while tour operator Sue Todd takes a break to assume her other role as secretary to the annual Hawkshead show. And in Windermere, former IT consultant Amanda Davies opens her new venture - Brambles Cafe.

At the Hawkshead Agricultural Show, organiser Sue Todd is praying the rain will hold off. We meet a legendary Lakeland farmer who has won so many rosettes for his eggs that he is actually in the Guinness Book of Records. And we witness an unusual way of seeing the local sights.

In this episode, there is an invitation to Muncaster Castle from the wonderfully eccentric Patrick Gordon Duff Pennington who is hosting a lunch for some Japanese tourists. We are back with the Ballentyne Dykes as their cheese making business means some new additions to the farmyard. And we meet the men and women who give up their time to make the Lakeland fells a safer place to visit.

This episode sees one of Britain's biggest open water swimming events, The Great North Swim, facing trouble as thick early morning fog descends on the Lake District. Plus we go out with the dogs who are trained to help in search and rescue operations on the fells, and a couple return to the scene of their first romantic weekend away 18 years ago in order to get married.

In this episode, the Lake District mountain rescue team are called out in the middle of the night to rescue a family caught on the fells, tour guide Sue Todd struggles to teach Japanese colleague Junko the rules of crown green bowling and we meet three brothers going head to head in a boating race on Windermere.

Hotelier Thomas Noblett sparks a media storm when he says he has come across the monster of Windermere on an early morning swim. Farmer George Taylor keeps a watchful eye on a pregnant sow while he hosts a charity barn dance. And we meet the couple who live in one of William Wordsworth's old homes.

Farmer Thomas Ballantine Dykes and his wife Lynn are taking some of their rare breeds to market - if they can get them into the trailer. The Lake Wardens welcome a fleet of amphibious vehicles on a European tour, and there are some ghostly goings on at Muncaster Castle.

An American couple arrive to spend the night in Muncaster Castle's most haunted room, tour manager Sue Todd is on the look-out for the perfect party dress as she prepares to attend a glitzy awards ceremony, and hotelier Thomas Noblett and his chums have a day out at the races.

As summer in the Lakes draws to a close, find out if Amanda Davies' dream of running a tea shop in Windermere really did come true. There is traffic chaos at the end of the Summer Westmorland County Show, and hotelier Thomas Noblett leaves the Lakes for his biggest challenge yet - swimming the English Channel.