John Craven explores the counties at the very heart of England and celebrates their spring beauty, wildlife and cultural sites, including a visit to Shakespeare country, stopping off at the childhood home of Anne Hathaway.
Margherita Taylor investigates how cuts to police numbers are affecting rural villages like Martock in Somerset, where there hasn't been a police station in the village since the 1980s. Since 2010, England and Wales have cut 56,000 police officers, a shocking 31% drop in numbers, but demand is rising. It looks like criminals are now targeting the places where the thin blue line is stretched to the limit, and in the face of a spate of crime and antisocial behaviour the people of Martock have had to take the law into their own hands.
Jules Hudson is on the case finding out about a new way to realise the dream of owning a rural retreat. With church attendances dwindling year on year, many places of worship are lying empty, and there are over one hundred on the currently on the market ripe for renovation. Jules meets the owner of one stunning church conversion in Exeter and a heritage builder who has just taken on the biggest church conversion of his career.
Paul Martin is discovering that our back gardens can be a convenient snack stop for cheeky creatures who are always on the lookout for a free meal. Otter numbers in particular are on the rise in the UK, and Paul has been meeting a man whose battle to save his fish stocks turned into an unlikely love affair.
Steve Brown is in Gloucestershire, learning more about a future where British-grown fruits like apples, pears and cherries could become expensive delicacies. Due to climate change, the blossom on fruit trees has been arriving earlier each year, and flowering too soon could mean that there are fewer bees around. 70% of our crops depend on bees doing their bit for pollination at the right time. What will the future look like if the bees and blossom no longer line up perfectly in the narro
