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Helen Skelton visits the rolling chalk hills of East Sussex. This area isn’t just famous for the Seven Sisters, a large flock of Southdown sheep call this area home too. The Southdown was developed in Sussex in the 18th Century, but became rare after the Second World War. Luckily the breed is now thriving but, as Helen discovers, it does take some looking after. Helen meets local farmer, Richard Gorringe, and discovers more about his incredible passion for this special breed.

John Craven goes on a literary journey when he visits Bateman’s. The exquisite house is nestled in the Dudwell Valley and was once home to Rudyard Kipling. The surrounding landscape became a huge inspiration to the famous writer. With the help of experts John Walker and Mike Lacey, John finds out more about Rudyard Kipling’s life here. He discovers Kipling’s greatest joys but also learns about the tragic side of his time at Bateman’s.

Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week the East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service is on call. Joe Crowley visits the hub of the operation, the Casualty Centre, where he meets a poorly hedgehog with a rather bunged up nose. But it’s not long before Joe hits the road with founding member, Trevor Weeks. Their mission is to rescue a much bigger and potentially more dangerous animal which has got itself into bit of a mess.

Adam Henson reaches for the shampoo but it’s not for personal grooming. He is helping with the washing and training of three very young bulls in preparation for their first big show. Once they’re spruced up, Adam travels to Leicestershire to see some rather unusual cows. He meets a farmer who uses a technique called embryo flushing. Fertilised embryos are taken from recently pregnant cows and placed into cattle which are then used as surrogates. This system can produce more high quality calves than if nature was left to its own devices.

Tom Heap tells the story of the Devon beavers, the only wild colony of beavers in England. Although members of the local Wildlife Trust are pleased to see them, Defra is concerned that these animals may have become infected by a deadly parasite, which at the moment has been kept out of the UK. Tom asks what’s going to happen to the beavers now and investigates wider concerns about the parasites that they could be carrying.Ìý

Born in Islington in the 1870s, little-known author Barclay Wills was always passionate about the countryside. As an adult he moved to Sussex, where he loved to take walks in the stunning chalk downlands. In the 1920s and 1930s Barclay sought to record the lives of the shepherds who roamed this area before their way of life was lost forever. Helen meets expert, Shaun Payne, to find out more about Barclay’s life and the incredible bygones that he left behind.

Millions of years ago dinosaurs roamed the area that is now Pett Level on the East Sussex coast. Evidence of these spectacular creatures can still be found as the sea is constantly churning up the beach and revealing fresh finds. With the help of local geologist, Ken Brooks, and some budding fossil hunters, Helen goes in search of dinosaur footprints. But will they find anything?

Rudyard Kipling didn’t like to accept awards, in fact he famously turned down a knighthood. But in 1907 he did accept the Nobel Prize for Literature. The prize awarded was a staggering seven thousand guineas which was put to good use by paying for a pond in his garden. As John discovers, one of Kipling’s greatest joys was seeing people fall in – including his own mother. The author also had made a hand cranked paddle-boat. Helen and John get to have a go in a replica of it, but will they do Kipling the courtesy of falling in too?