There can't be many farms in Britain run by a family of sporting legends, but Matt Baker's on a sheep farm in Crieff to meet two brothers who were pretty much born to curl! The Muirhead family name is one of the most famous in the global game of curling. Their dad Gordon was a world champion and, with a string of Olympic accolades, their sister Eve is perhaps Scotland's most prestigious curler. Matt meets brothers Thomas and Glen Muirhead as they get ready for lambing on the family farm. But their minds are fixed on getting a very different type of delivery right... as part of Britain's curling team in 2018's Winter Olympics. We hear about the sporting dynasty and how Olympic training fits around farming, and we learn about the family dynamic between the brothers both on the rink and in the fields.\n\nIn another nod to traditional Scottish sports, Charlotte Smith heads into the forest of the Drummond Estate on a hunt for the perfect tree for caber tossing in the upcoming Highland Games. The programme uses some great archive from the 1930s and 40s to illustrate how so many traditional Scottish games use items from the land, such as stone, rope and wood. The caber is usually a Scottish larch, and it has to be bigger and better than the previous year's. We follow the tree's journey as it gets felled, carved and polished ready for this year's game. Finally, in the grounds of the Drummond Estate, Charlotte gets a one-on-one coaching session - albeit with a much smaller practice caber!\n\nAdam Henson is on a farm in Trewithick, Cornwall, where the mild climate has given one farm a huge helping hand. Steve and Ryan Johnson only started sheep farming a few years ago, but now they're rearing hundreds and lambing all year round. The milder climate means a longer growing season for grass, meaning a longer growing season for lambs. They've already lambed their Dorsets and their Lleyns. Adam helps out as they scan and get the maternity shed ready for their final lambers - their Highlanders.\n\nCharlotte Smith heads from the forest to the southern shores of Loch Tay. Here, behind the doors of an unassuming old schoolhouse, a 'Willy Wonka of the wilderness' creates magical tastes of the surrounding scenery. Charlotte Flowers came here 18 years ago. So inspired by her surroundings, Charlotte not only wanted to work in it - but with it. She started nibbling her way around the landscape, using it as her larder to make chocolates with natural flavours found on her doorstep. Charlotte (Smith) gets a flavour of the area while rowing out over the Loch and eating a few samples. There are flavours of the forest in the Scots pine choc, juniper from the hills that overlook the loch and wild mint from the borders. Can she taste the view with every chew?\n\nTom Heap is also in the Highlands of Scotland to find out why some people cull mountain hares and why others want the practice banned.
Source: BBC 1
Watercress Line
Matt Baker and Margherita Taylor commemorate 200 years since the birth of the railways with a journey on the Watercress Line in Alresford, Hampshire. They explore how the advent ...
30-03-2025
BBC 1
River Otter Return
It’s ten years since the start of the River Otter Beaver Project – England’s first official beaver reintroduction. John Craven is back in Devon to see how thes ...
30-03-2025
BBC 1
The Slate Landscape Of North West Wales
Matt Baker and Joe Crowley explore the slate landscape of north west Wales, a Unesco World Heritage site, which is being prepared for a new role in rural tourism after securing ...
24-03-2025
BBC 1
Kielder Forest
Matt Baker welcomes new presenter Vick Hope to Countryfile. Together, they explore England’s largest forest – Kielder in Northumberland – where they meet the p ...
17-03-2025
BBC 1
Humber Estuary
Matt, Anita and Adam discover the wonders of the Humber Estuary, a region famed for its bustling port and industry that is also home to diverse wildlife.\n\nMatt visits Far Ings ...
10-03-2025
BBC 1
Stirling Bull Sales
Adam Henson and Charlotte Smith are at the Stirling Bull Sales, one of the most prestigious events in the farming calendar. Over two action-packed days, approximately 300 pedigr ...
03-03-2025
BBC 1
Sound Of Mull
2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the reintroduction of white-tailed eagles to the UK, following their release in Scotland. Hamza Yassin takes us on a sea eagle safari across t ...
24-02-2025
BBC 1
Mourne Mountains
Tucked away in the south east corner of Northern Ireland are the Mournes – a mountain range which stretches all the way down to the coast. Matt Baker and Charlotte Smith u ...
17-02-2025
BBC 1
Welney Wetland Centre
Matt Baker and Charlotte Smith head to Welney Wetland Centre in Norfolk for World Wetlands Day, uncovering the vital role these habitats play in supporting a host of bird specie ...
10-02-2025
BBC 1
New Forest
Adam Henson and Sean Fletcher explore the rich landscapes of the New Forest, where the animals that roam the heath and woodlands play an essential role in shaping the landscape. ...
03-02-2025
BBC 1
Pembrokeshire
Anita Rani and Sean Fletcher explore the beautiful south west corner of Wales as they celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Anita faces ...
11-04-2022
BBC 1
Kielder Forest
Matt Baker welcomes new presenter Vick Hope to Countryfile. Together, they explore England’s largest forest – Kielder in Northumberland – where they meet the p ...
17-03-2025
BBC 1
The Slate Landscape Of North West Wales
Matt Baker and Joe Crowley explore the slate landscape of north west Wales, a Unesco World Heritage site, which is being prepared for a new role in rural tourism after securing ...
24-03-2025
BBC 1
Hadrian’s Wall
Matt and Charlotte visit the world-famous Hadrian’s Wall as it celebrates its astonishing 1,900th anniversary to uncover some hidden histories of the area.\n\nCharlotte ma ...
15-08-2022
BBC 1
Ll?n Peninsula
Matt Baker and Margherita Taylor visit the stunning Llyn Peninsula in north Wales, known as 'Snowdonia’s arm'. Margherita finds out about plans for a major blue energy pro ...
07-06-2021
BBC 1
River Otter Return
It’s ten years since the start of the River Otter Beaver Project – England’s first official beaver reintroduction. John Craven is back in Devon to see how thes ...
30-03-2025
BBC 1
Surrey
Countryfile is exploring Surrey, where Matt Baker meets the women who have inspired generations of conservationists. Helen Skelton visits a biodynamic vineyard, John Craven find ...
08-04-2019
BBC 1
County Down Spring
It’s springtime in County Down, where Anita Rani and Joe Crowley meet the Mackies of Mahee Island during the first of four seasonal visits this year. Anita gets a tour of ...
02-05-2022
BBC 1
Wild Fires
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. \n\nJoe is in the Scotti ...
31-07-2023
BBC 1
The East Riding Of Yorkshire
From the towering cliffs of RSPB Bempton on the coast to shallow, crystal-clear streams further inland, Charlotte Smith explores England’s most northerly chalk outcrop &nd ...
08-07-2024
BBC 1