Staffordshire
Jules Hudson and Ellie Harrison are in Staffordshire exploring its wide open moorlands and the imposing millstone grit ridges of the Roaches.
Jules Hudson and Ellie Harrison are in Staffordshire exploring its wide open moorlands and the imposing millstone grit ridges of the Roaches. It's a landscape of myth and legend as Jules discovers when he goes in search of the mysterious green knight, hears about the mermaids that haunt upland pools and visits the eerie Luds Church. Ellie meets one of the very last survivors of the Women's Land Army and finds out that their vital wartime role is at last being recognised with a new memorial statue at the National Memorial Arboretum. Ellie gives the sculptor a hand casting of one of the most important bits. It's also the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the Peak District Mountain Rescue. Ellie recounts the tragedy that led to the Rescue's formation before putting the expert skills of the rescue team to the test. Adam meets the young farmers whose mobile milking parlour could transform the lives of many in the dairy industry.
John Craven is joined by celebrity judges Bill Bailey and Charlotte Uhlenbroek, to select the 12 final photographs from this year's Countryfile Photographic Competition. These dozen pictures will grace the Countryfile Calendar for 2015. Viewers will then be given the chance to vote for their favourite.
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Myths and legends
Jules Hudson spends a day uncovering the myths and legends surrounding the dramatic landscape of the Roaches in the Staffordshire Peak District. High on top of the rocks he hears of local myths and legends such as mermaids said to dwell in 鈥渂ottomless鈥� pools. Amidst the hidden beauty of Ludchurch, with local enthusiast Sara Pye, he learns how the naturally formed gorge inspired the medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and was said to be a refuge for everyone from Robin Hood to Lollards. Nearby he hears tales of cannibals in the Peak District rumoured to have lured unwary travellers to a grizzly end.
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Finding some Animal Magic
John Craven is joined by comedian Bill Bailey and zoologist Charlotte Uhlenbroek to select the 12 finalists in this year鈥檚 Countryfile Photographic Competition, with its theme 鈥楢nimal Magic鈥�. To help them whittle down more than 32 thousand entries, a panel of former winners and finalists come together at Sheepdrove Organic Farm to create a shortlist of around three thousand. Then it is up to John, Charlotte and Bill to make their tough decisions in the magnificent surroundings of Petworth House. The dozen winning photographs will make up the Countryfile Calendar for 2015, which is sold in aid of 91热爆 Children in Need. Then it will be your job to vote for the overall winner.
Women鈥檚 Land Army memorial
Ellie Harrison meets the women campaigning for a permanent memorial to the Women鈥檚 Land Army at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. At a farm near Cannock she speaks to 84-year-old former Land Girl Mary Wright who explains what day to day life on the land was like, along with her granddaughter Izzy Wright. Izzy shows Ellie her prize-winning herd of Jersey cows and talks about how she came to model for the memorial statue to honour the Land Girls and Lumber Jills of the WLA. Ellie travels to the bronze foundry where the statue is being created to meet sculptor Denise Dutton and helps to cast a very special part of the memorial ahead of its official unveiling in October 2014.
Mobile milking
Adam Henson heads into the fields of his own farm to give us a lesson in milking, the traditional way. He then travels down to Dorset to discover a very different method of doing it. Neil Grigg and Tom Foot have more than 700 dairy cows and rather than getting the cattle to go to them, they travel to the cattle for milking. Adam gets a close up look at the mobile dairy which Neil and Tom built from scratch 鈥� but is it better than having a permanent milking parlour?
Mountain rescue
Ellie heads to the north Staffordshire Roaches, a beautiful corner of the Peak District popular with climbers, walkers and tourists alike. As part of the Peak District the Roaches fall under the watchful eye of the Peak District Mountain Rescue Organisation, with seven teams of volunteers always ready to assist those who get into trouble. She discovers how the organisation was established 50 years ago following a tragic event. In 1964 during the 50 mile 鈥�4 Inns鈥� walk, an annual challenge for teams of Scouts from all over the UK, the weather closed in and three competitors lost their lives. Ellie speaks to Bob Rogerson, one of the competitors that day, and Robin Knott who was part of the organising committee to find out more. Later on, Ellie is joined by members of the Buxton Mountain Rescue Team, who use their expertise and local knowledge to help her find Jules out on the moors.听
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Ellie Harrison |
| Presenter | John Craven |
| Presenter | Jules Hudson |
| Presenter | Adam Henson |
| Executive Producer | William Lyons |
| Series Producer | Joanna Brame |
| Participant | Bill Bailey |
| Participant | Charlotte Uhlenbroek |
