Countryfile

Crafts of the Countryside (26x46)

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Ellie Harrison takes a look back through the Countryfile archive to revisit the crafts of the countryside. She also visits Acton Scott, a historic working farm, to try her hand at some of the traditional skills people are still practising today. She also has a go on a pole lathe crafting a wooden plate and helps make a cob oven with a group of children, before getting stuck in with the age-old craft of blacksmithing by making a poker. Along the way she learns the importance of keeping rural skills alive. The programme culminates in Ellie and the other craftspeople and children coming together to feast on the ultimate artisan sandwich - served on hand-crafted wooden plates, made with bread warmed in a traditional cob oven and stoked with her own forged poker. Clips from the archive include Matt Baker learning the craft of wheelwrighting and Helen Skelton turning her hand to crafting rakes. The programme meets plenty of the characters who have honed and perfected their skills over many years and are keeping these crafts of the countryside alive.