2013 2014

John Craven looks at the year ahead and introduces some of the best Countryfile films from the last few years, all with the help of the Countryfile calendar.

John visits the Killerton Estate, where the staff are busy preparing the house, grounds and parkland for 2014 - and there is plenty to do! He starts with one of the estate's many farms, where lambing is already underway even though spring is a still a few months off.

Pausing to help rack some cider, made with apples from the estate orchard, John then discovers that Killerton House also holds a stunning collection of original clothing, some of it dating back to the 17th century. He then heads into the woods to help to clear up by turning waste wood into charcoal.

Finally, as the day draws to a close, John joins the estate workers for a barbecue - and perhaps a little sip of cider.

John Craven and Helen Skelton head to Surrey.

John explores the countryside beloved by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and gets a sneak peek inside his former home. He also discovers that it was a Surrey resident who was instrumental in the formation of the National Trust.

Helen meets an artist with an all-consuming passion for horses, then meets the inspirational people she hopes will get her back in the saddle.

Adam takes a trip to the North Yorkshire coast to meet a farmer who keeps a rare breed of sheep - the Leicester Longwool.

In 2012 David Cameron told Countryfile that he was going to make it easier for communities to stop big housing estates being 'plonked' right next to their villages. Two years on, has the prime minister kept his promise? Tom Heap investigates.

Countryfile's winter special is a celebration of Britain's beautiful countryside in this, the harshest of seasons. This winter has been a particularly tough one for wildlife when their only options are to sleep, feed or flee. Ellie Harrison is in the Cairngorms where winter is often felt most keenly. As well as exploring the mountain tops she also takes a canoe safari around a Loch, looking for the hardy wildlife which has to survive whatever the weather. Julia Bradbury joins weatherman John Hammond in the Chilterns where, with the help of a giant map and some trusty props, they learn why the UK gets the unique winters it does. It's been especially apparent this year that the coast is often hardest hit by winter storms but whilst it might wreak havoc for us, it brings a special kind of treasure for beachcombers. Adam Henson is on the north Cornwall coast to find out more. Matt Baker is in Suffolk to see how farmers keep food on our tables whatever the winter weather. He's with carrot producers as they bring in their harvest, and with the help of the London Vegetable Orchestra, he plays a mean tune on a carrot. Britain's foremost landscape artist Andy Goldsworthy visits his favourite spot in Dumfries and Galloway to create a new work of art especially for the programme and explains why the countryside in winter has so much to offer him as an artist.

Ellie Harrison and John Craven are in North Pembrokeshire, visiting the Gwaun Valley and Preseli Hills. Ellie delves into the distant past, discovering a landscape full of Iron Age treasures. John helps to give an ancient forest a new lease of life before sampling the local homebrew. Tom Heap is in the north of England, investigating claims that our uplands are in crisis and that farming is partly to blame. And Adam Henson is having a tough start to the new year on his farm, with some devastating news about one of his favourite animals.

The Countryfile team is in Worcestershire. Matt Baker visits Witley Court, which was one of England's most stunning country houses until it burned down in 1937. Now, Witley Court is a spectacular ruin which still holds the clues to a bygone age.

Helen Skelton is in the Wyre Forest, one of the largest remaining ancient woodlands in Britain, where she hunts for the creatures who make this special habitat their home. Helen also visits the county's famous apple orchards, where she sees how essential they are for our winter birds, and cooks up a Malvern pudding with some of the apples from the orchard.

Jules Hudson is also in the county, on the Severn Valley Railway, meeting the volunteers who spend the winter months spring cleaning the trains and the tracks.

Every year we throw away millions of tonnes of food in the UK, so could some hungry animals stop it all going to waste? Tom Heap looks at the idea that discarded food could be turned into pigswill. But, as he discovers, not everyone is quite so keen.

Adam Henson heads to Somerset, one of the areas worst affected by the winter floods, to meet a farmer who is battling on despite more than 95% of his land being under water.

The Countryfile team is in the Lake District, looking in detail at some of the locations featured in the opening titles of the programme. Matt Baker visits the beach the horses race across, meeting the riders and their steeds. Matt is also at Blea Tarn, where the wild swimming was filmed. He meets a wild swimmer who takes to the water even in February. Helen Skelton recreates the rock-climbing scene and meets the family who pioneered the sport in the area.

Ellie Harrison is also in the Lake District, meeting world-renowned graphic artist Russell Mills. She hears the extraordinary story of Russell's inspiration, Kurt Schwitters, his journey to Cumbria from Nazi Germany and his life and work in the Lake District.

Ellie also explores some of the landscapes which inspired one of our most famous poets, William Wordsworth, and sees the link between the poet and a unique gingerbread made in the area.

Tom Heap is in Yorkshire, looking at the damage that winter storms have done to the British coastline. He begins at Spurn Point, where, despite the use of tonnes of concrete and rock, this thin spit of land was breached and the road was washed away. With predictions of more frequent and severe storms, Tom asks what's the best way to protect our shores in the future.

Adam Henson is in Kent, visiting one of the finest, record-breakingly expensive bulls in the world.

The Countryfile team visits the rural county of Wiltshire. Matt Baker looks at the pig industry. The county has a long and proud history with the animal, and Matt visits a farm containing the oldest pedigree herd of pigs in the country. They are Tamworths, and Matt helps out with the piglets who are just a few days old. He also sees how the meat from the pigs is cured and smoked.

Jules Hudson is at one of Help for Heroes' recovery centres at Tedworth House, meeting some of the servicemen who have suffered life-changing injuries or illnesses whilst serving their country. He sees how working in the countryside helps in their recovery and also helps set them up with skills for a career outside the forces.

Julia Bradbury is in Cambridgeshire looking at the birds that call the UK home in the winter months. She heads to Ely with urban birder David Lindo to see what they can find in the city, before heading to Welney Wetland Centre to feed the swans who have made the long journey from colder climes.

With huge swathes of our countryside under water, Tom Heap asks whether rural areas are being sacrificed so our towns and cities can keep dry.

Down on the farm, Adam finds out about a parasite that is affecting cattle, including some of his own.

Countryfile is on the Isle of Portland, off the Dorset coast. When the programme asked for suggestions of locations the viewers would like to see featured on the show, many suggestions came in for Portland.

Matt Baker visits Portland's three lighthouses. One is now a bird observatory, one the former home of birth control pioneer Marie Stopes, and one is still in use today. Julia Bradbury explores the famous Portland stone quarries on the isle. She sees how sculptors are now making the most of the stone, and how groundbreaking camera techniques are helping with the conservation of the area.

John Craven is also on the isle, going out to sea with a tug boat captain in the harbour. Adam Henson finds out how to be a dog's best friend with the help of a dog nutritionist, who gives Adam the lowdown on how to keep our furry friends in tip-top condition.

The Countryfile team explores the coast and countryside of Kent. Matt Baker island hops to Elmley Marshes on the Isle of Sheppey. It is a peaceful place that has become a haven for wildlife. Out on the marshes, he meets the farmers managing the land with conservation in mind and joins wildlife enthusiasts out on a bird safari. Further inland, Ellie Harrison explores an ancestral pile being transformed on a grand scale. Knole has been a show home for many distinguished owners through the centuries but it was the Sackville family that made it their home for 300 years. Still partly a private home, a large part of the house is now managed by the National Trust. Ellie gets special access to rooms previously unseen where work is underway to repair and catalogue everything from photos to expensive objet d'art. John Craven finds out about a lesser known Kent produce, Kentish blue cheese. He visits a dairy farm using its own milk for its cheese and learns the secrets to making a fine blue.

Helen Skelton is in the Wiltshire countryside. A place that has provided inspiration for artists, poets and writers for centuries. One of our most famous war poets, Siegfried Sassoon, chose to live in Wiltshire for the last 36 years of his life. Here he continued to write poetry and prose, motivated not by the horrors of war but by the beauty he found in the countryside.

Tom Heap discovers that there are hundreds of thousands of disused mines and mine shafts beneath the British countryside. They may be out of sight, but they are still causing problems on the surface - subsidence, water pollution and in extreme cases collapses that open up huge holes in the ground. Tom asks whether we should be doing more to find these old workings and make them safe.

Countryfile heads north of the border to find out how Perthshire has earned its reputation as big tree country. Ellie Harrison meets the scientists travelling the globe to bring endangered conifer species back to Scotland and also discovers what impact nature's own lumberjack, the beaver, is having on the countryside.

Perthshire's vast reed beds provide roofing material for thatchers and are also an important habitat for birds. John Craven lends a hand with the harvest and also finds out what is being done to safeguard Perthshire's fruit-growing tradition.

Selling meat from animals slaughtered according to religious law is a controversial topic in the UK. Now there are fresh calls for both Halal and Kosher meat to be labelled in the supermarket, especially if the animals were killed without being stunned first. But do we really need to put more stickers on our food? Tom Heap investigates.

Meanwhile Adam Henson has his hands full as the new arrivals come thick and fast down on the farm.

The team head to Somerset, a county which has taken a battering from the winter storms since December, leaving large parts of the Somerset Levels flooded. As a result, communities and animals had to be evacuated. Matt Baker meets some of the resourceful locals who have come together to create a silage food bank, with contributions coming in from farmers from all over the country. Matt also visits a beef farmer to find out how he is coping with aftermath of the floods.

Ellie Harrison discovers that human resilience and ingenuity are a common feature in the character of its people. She makes herself at home in the glorious Exmoor landscape where a remarkable woman spent sixty years drawing, painting and writing about this wild place. Hope Bourne was to become known as 'the woman of Exmoor'.

Tucked away in the streets of Somerset's Castle Cary is one of only two factories left in the world using horse hair to make textiles. John Craven tries his hand at weaving and discovers it has a proud tradition here.

Turning waste into electricity seems like the perfect way of creating power, and as such the last few years have seen anaerobic digestion units spring up all over the country. But, as Tom Heap finds out, while some claim AD has become too successful, others are worried we're starting to pull the plug before it has really got off the ground.

Ellie Harrison is on the beaches of Norfolk. They took a battering in December from the biggest storm surge in 60 years. But now they are bouncing back. Ellie visits the RSPB's big reserve at Snettisham to see for herself what's being done to repair the damage done by the storm. She goes to Hunstanton to meet Michael Kennedy. He has spent twenty years walking the beach picking up pebbles to help protect the cliffs there from the elements and she visits the RSPCA rescue centre where they are just about to return seal pups scattered by December's storm back to the wild.

Ellie also looks back at some of the best bits of Countryfile to have featured beach-themed stories. Like the time Matt Baker helped clean up one of our most beautiful stretches on the Gower Peninsula. Or when Julia Bradbury witnessed one of the biggest spectacles in the bird world at Snettisham a year before the storm. And when Adam Henson went on a welly safari off the Dorset coast.

Countryfile is in the beautiful County Durham, a place Matt Baker likes to call home. He grew up on the family farm in the Durham Dales and this week makes an extra special visit to help his mum with lambing.

Beyond the farm, Ellie Harrison explores one of Britain's great undiscovered secrets. The farmsteads of Weardale used to have a thriving farming community, but now only ruins remain. Ellie finds out about the people who lived here and learns what is being done to preserve a part of Weardale's evocative heritage before it disappears forever. She also takes a trip along the River Deerness, one of the many tributaries of the River Wear, where volunteers are out in force monitoring fish passes and rebuilding the banks of the river.

Meanwhile, Adam takes a trip to Cornwall to see a breed of sheep more at home in the Swiss Alps, and Jules Hudson joins the steam enthusiasts preparing the Severn Valley Railway for the start of the tourist season.

Working dogs play a vital role in the life of the countryside, and the best ones are worth many thousands of pounds. But, as Tom Heap discovers, these valuable animals are now becoming the victims of organised crime.

Countryfile has an exclusive interview with the Princess Royal. Tom Heap speaks to Her Royal Highness at her home, Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire, which she runs as a working farm. The princess discusses many of the big issues confronting the British countryside today and gives Tom a rare glimpse into her life on the estate.

Countryfile presenter Ellie Harrison also lives in Gloucestershire, and she is looking for ideas about what to do with her own slightly more modest smallholding. The initial plan is to plant wild flowers, so she travels to meet the experts at Kew Gardens who have the perfect seed pack to start her off. But it's not just Ellie who is being encouraged to plant native wild flowers; the Countryfile audience also have the chance to get a free packet of seeds to plant in their own gardens.

The Countryfile team visit the Merseyside coast around Southport. Matt Baker looks at the history of shrimping in the area, and meets one of the last shrimpers to harvest the shellfish with a horse and cart. Matt meets the men who have restored an old shrimping cart found rotting in the basement of a museum. He helps make the last wheel before getting it back on the beach for one last chance to find shrimps.

Ellie Harrison is on a family potato farm as they sow the year's first crop, and she discovers why Lancashire is such a fertile farming area for potatoes. On the Fiddlers' farm she also finds out why they have diversified into making their own crisps, with a factory on the farm and the unique flavour of lancashire sauce.

Ellie also looks at the damage done by the winter storms last year. Many pine trees were felled by the high winds, but Ellie meets the apprentices learning how to turn the fallen trees into something more useful.

Presenter and keen amateur photographer Shauna Lowry is out with two brothers who are inspired by the seascapes in the area. We also hear from Antony Gormley about his standing men statues on Crosby beach and why he thinks it is the perfect landscape for them. The statues are now home to hundreds of barnacles. Shauna meets the scientist studying them and finds out which part of the statues they favour most.

Adam Henson looks at the technology of farming and eyes up some clever new bits of kit.

Over the last few decades there has been a dramatic decline in farmland birds across the UK. Tom Heap investigates the cause of their demise, and asks what we can do to bring them back.

The team head to the Isles of Scilly. Ellie Harrison looks at the problem of rats on the islands and the devastating effect they have had on the local seabird population. On one island, St Agnes, they have been running a seabird recovery programme which is the biggest island community project in the world - with all 72 residents on the island taking part. They believe that in 12 weeks they have killed 3,300 rats, so the birds will now be safe from predation.

At Penzance, Matt Baker boards a plane containing 50 ducklings, aiming to get them to the only duck farm on the islands. Matt also visits the only dairy farm on the islands, which supplies the only local milk. The farmer has ten dairy cows, but again it is a good way of keeping an income coming into the farm when the flowers have finished.

Ellie Harrison visits the beautiful privately owned island of Tresco, where the signs of spring are all around and they have recently imported some red squirrels. The plan is to implement the rat eradication programme on Tresco, so Ellie finds out how they are going to protect the squirrels whilst they do this.

Tom Heap finds out why farming is one of the most dangerous British industries and looks at ways that we could make it safer.

Adam Henson visits a dairy farm where cows are not the order of the day. In this milking parlour, 2,500 ladies produce goats' milk every day. But what makes this farm special is that the farmer here has come up with an outlet for the billy goats too.

Matt Baker and Ellie Harrison go in search of the great icons of Yorkshire. A small magazine called The Dalesman is celebrating its 75th anniversary by naming the top 75 icons of Yorkshire as voted for by their readers. Matt and Ellie celebrate with them by marking those icons too.

Matt Baker strides over the Yorkshire Dales whilst a brass band plays. He meets The Dalesman's first editor, Bill Mitchell, to talk about the magazine and some of its famous contributors, including JB Priestly and Alan Bennet. He also takes in Yorkshire music, food and tea.

Ellie Harrison explores the history of Bolton Abbey and why people have been visiting it for hundreds of years. She follows a nature train which has been there since 1810 and takes in Strid Wood and the Valley of Desolation. She also meets the ladies of the Cappuccino Cycling Club from Harrogate who are being photographed carrying their bikes in their undies to raise money for the Air Ambulance.

Ellie also travels across the Yorkshire Moors to get to Whitby, where she goes hunting for Whitby jet with a jet hunter. She learns how unique it is, found only on a short stretch of the Yorkshire coast, and sees how the fortunes of Whitby were built on the jewellery made from it in Victorian times.

Adam Henson meets the three finalists in 2014's prestigious Outstanding Farmer of the Year award. Will it be a vegetable farmer from Scotland, an organic beef farmer from Bristol or a dairy farmer from Somerset?

Tom Heap investigates the claim that the current crisis over abandoned horses could be at least partially solved by eating horse meat. He asks if eating their meat would really increase the value of horses and whether we could export more abroad. Tom also tries a horse meat taste test on the British public.

In this edition of Countryfile, Ellie Harrison explores some of Britain's most spectacular hills and mountains. She exclusively reveals that one of Britain's most iconic mountains is up for sale, getting a tour of the estate and meeting the people who live and work on the land.

In addition, Ellie looks back at the best bits of Countryfile to have featured hill-and-mountain-themed stories - everything from the challenges of farming on a mountain to the walkers and climbers seeking out adventure and dramatic scenery.

This week Matt Baker and Ellie Harrison are in the Lee Valley, the green lung of London. It has provided fun and fresh air for city dwellers for more than four decades but, as Ellie discovers, there is an incredible array of wildlife here too. She takes to the water to see what is being done to clean up its chalk streams and she discovers why common terns are making the Lee Valley home. As well as being its lungs, it is London's larder too, as Matt finds out when he meets the Sicilian siblings who have turned salad growing into a thriving family business.

The Lee Valley is also home to the Olympic Water Park, where volunteers from the RNLI are busy carrying out an essential flood training exercise. Ellie finds out first-hand how important these mock drills are in saving people's lives.

Down on the farm, Adam goes in search of a new Gloucester bull that will help improve his herd.

There's little doubt that climate change is going to affect our future, but what about the present? Tom Heap looks for proof that it is already having a significant impact on the British countryside.

Britain's landscape is undergoing an extraordinary transformation. Awaking from the winter slumber. As the days get longer and warmer, we're all trying to spring back to life. A day of spring is a lifetime for some and the beginning of life for others. Survival is down to one simple thing - timing.

In this Spring Special edition of Countryfile, the team follow twenty four hours of this glorious season.

Ellie Harrison is up with the larks listening out for the dawn chorus as native birds are lured back to our shores by the promise of warmer weather. Now though what they're after is a mate. And they're not alone. Millions of wild creatures are settling down to breed.

Out on the Somerset Levels, Matt Baker is in pursuit of one of our largest breeds of bird - the crane - recently returned home after disappearing from our wetlands. He tracks them down as they get themselves ready for breeding. As the spring day unfolds, the team witness some of the miracles that emerge.

John Craven finds the beauty in blossom that will become fruitful later in the year. They see the rise of the midday mayflies to dusk, when whole communities come together to celebrate the season at Padstow's Obby Oss festival.

But none of this would be possible without our weather. Adam Henson goes on a voyage of discovery with weatherman John Hammond to find out the secrets behind April showers.

Countryfile is in Shropshire, where Matt Baker discovers the garden that inspired Charles Darwin's thinking. He gets stuck in restoring the fabled 'Thinking Path' in the garden of Darwin's birthplace and helps survey the garden's wildlife for the first time since Darwin's day.

Ellie Harrison is in Shropshire's own 'Lake District,' where a special restoration project is creating the right habitat for one of Britain's rarest mammals, the water vole. She also visits the RAF base where a big project to breed one of the most productive honey bees is being run with military precision.

John Craven uncovers a secret wartime plan than saved thousands of lives during the Second World War, but was almost unheard of until now. And Adam Henson is on HM the Queen's Balmoral Estate in Scotland, where he handles rare Balmoral ponies and witnesses the birth of the first of the new season's foals.

Few animals look as calm and relaxed as cattle, so it is hard to believe that, every year, walkers are seriously injured, and in a few tragic cases killed, by bulls and cows. Tom Heap asks whether we should we be frightened of a field full of animals.

Countryfile is in Buckinghamshire where Matt Baker visits Waddesdon Manor and discovers the Rothschilds, a family that shaped the landscape of the entire county. He explores the legacy left behind by Charles Rothschild, founder of the Wildlife Trust, and he gets his hands dirty on the estate's farm, where cutting-edge environmental experiments are taking place to inform the government's HLS schemes.

Ellie Harrison is in Wendover Woods discovering creatures great and small: from tiny, rare Bechstein bats to a monstrous, mythical beast, rarely seen in the wild, but loved by children everywhere! John Craven is finding out about the much-prized and now incredibly rare box wood, which changed the face of printing as we know it.

Britain's new high-speed train, HS2, is now on its final approach, and Tom Heap asks the developers of the new line whether they can live up to their environmental promise of no loss to biodiversity. He also meets people from Buckinghamshire and beyond who believe it is bound to have a negative impact on our countryside.

Adam Henson visits HM the Queen's Balmoral estate in Scotland on a mission to find a replacement for Eric, his highland bull.

Helen Skelton is in Snowdonia looking at how the landscape has undergone many transformations down the ages. From heavy industry and hard work, to high octane thrills and fearless fun, Snowdonia is an area that has never stood still. Helen visits the traditional slate mines that first shaped the land. She learns of the part nuclear played in making Snowdonia a powerhouse of 20th century energy production. And she takes to a high zip wire to test her nerves in Snowdonia's latest adrenaline playground.

Whilst she's seeking the ultimate in thrills she looks back at some of the other ways Countryfile has shown the transformation of our landscape. Like the time Julia and Matt helped light beacons as the entire length of Hadrian's Wall was transformed by light. Or how Jules Hudson discovered the part that the landscape has played in transforming the fortunes of soldiers blighted by war. And the time Ellie Harrison visited Canvey Island to see for herself the amazing transformation old an old brownfield site to major wildlife reserve.

Matt Baker and Ellie Harrison are in Port Talbot in South Wales. Ellie takes to the water to have a go at the country's fastest-growing watersport. Matt is in pursuit of a strange and unusual animal in the magnificent Margam Park. New face Shauna Lowry tells the story of the biggest electricity-generating waterwheel in Europe.

Tom Heap looks at predictions that from 2015 more than 40 British beaches will be labelled as unsuitable for bathing because of new European regulations on water quality, and Adam Henson meets the old boys of a little-known pre-war farm training scheme.

Ellie Harrison and John Craven are in and around Oxenhope in West Yorkshire. They see how the county is gearing up for the start of the Tour de France. Ellie gets on her bike and lends her wheels to the artist using the Yorkshire hills as a canvas. John Craven talks to the farmers about what it means to have this giant art in their fields and then hooks up with the cycling artist who has immortalised England's steepest incline in glass.

Ellie also tells the tale of a world-beating woman cyclist who took on the men back in her day and beat them. Meanwhile Tom's investing the use of neonicotinoid pesticides and Adam travels back to Snowdonia to meet the young farmer who won the farm!

Plus, more than a year since the European Commission decided to restrict the use of an insecticide that's thought to contribute to the decline of the British bee, Tom Heap investigates the impact of this controversial decision on farmers and asks whether the evidence for a ban is any stronger twelve months on.

Matt Baker and Ellie Harrison visit Lincolnshire, where Matt meets one of the last surviving members of the Dambusters squadron. He takes a turn in one of the few remaining Lancaster bombers and looks at how the old Dambusters airfield is being returned to nature.

Ellie goes looking for a man who is two inches high and pink! The man orchid is one of our rarest flowers, but it thrives in Lincolnshire. Ellie also helps take down the sails on the only eight-sailed windmill in existence.

Meanwhile, Adam is wheeling and dealing for a new white park bull, and John Craven is joined by two new celebrity judges as he launches this year's Countryfile Photographic Competition with its theme 'Animal Magic'.

Countryfile is in the Peak District where John Craven is on the set of the BBC drama, The Village. He gets behind the scenes to meet the cast and explores the impact filming has had on the real village of Hayfield. He also reveals an unusual and exciting archaeological treasure discovered in the heart of Dovedale.

Adam Henson tries to get to the bottom of an age-old problem with sheep.

Helen Skelton dons her walking boots to discover the intriguing links between the Peak District and the British Raj - from dyeing cloth to the introduction of sandals. She also meets a local photographer to give her some tips on how to take the perfect animal shot.

A new report says that the shooting industry is worth more than £2 billion to the UK every year. Tom Heap investigates claims that its contribution to the British economy and the countryside goes largely unrecognised.

Countryfile is in Gower, south Wales, where Matt Baker explores Whiteford Burrows, one of the most important and richest sand dune systems in Britain. He hunts for flora and fauna and meets the Welsh mountain ponies who have made this environment home. He also explodes previously unearthed World War II ordnance on the sands with the MOD. Ellie Harrison joins him for the final massive detonation.

Adam Henson is getting hands on with his sheep to explore the wonders of wool, while wildlife cameraman Richard Taylor-Jones is on the lookout for fox cubs, a creature he has never before managed to catch on camera.

In honour of the World Cup final, Ellie Harrison meets the locals who have turned the old Swansea football pitch, Vetch Field, into a haven of growing and community spirit. She also discovers Vernon Watkins, Dylan Thomas's best friend and confidant, who was a remarkable poet in his own right. Ellie meets Gwen Watkins, Vernon's widow, who tells her about his poetry, inspired by the beauty of the landscape around him.

Selective breeding of animals has made a huge difference to food production - lambs produce more meat, cows provide more milk, chickens lay more eggs. But is there a downside? Tom Heap investigates concerns that animal welfare is paying the price for increased productivity.

Countryfile takes a trip down memory lane with the legend John Craven as he celebrates 25 years on the show. To mark this quarter of a century, for one week only he'll be guest editor and decide exactly what goes into the programme.

John meets fellow presenter and good friend Adam Henson on his farm to reminisce. They discuss the changes in farming over the years, the adventures he's had and the people he has met along the way, from prime ministers to pig farmers.

John sets various missions for the rest of the Countryfile presenters. Back in 1989, John investigated the growth of organic farming on his first ever Countryfile appearance. A quarter of a century on, Tom Heaps looks back at that investigation and reveals brand-new research on the health benefits of organic food. Ellie explores the highs and lows of endangered species in the UK, a cause close to John's heart. And Matt does what John loves best; taking a drive in the beautiful British countryside in a classic sports car - only Matt does it in an Aston Martin!

Matt Baker joins the foragers scouring the coast of Cornwall for free food. But he's going to have to take to the waves if he wants spider crab, and that means freediving - something he's never done before.

Anita Rani makes an explosive entrance in her first Countryfile as she blasts 26,000 tonnes of rock in the world's biggest china clay quarry. Helen Skelton tells the story of the gardeners from Heligan who went to France to fight in World War I. And she steps back in time with the modern-day gardeners turning the clock back a hundred years in honour of their early forebears.

Adam is like a big kid with a new toy when he takes the keys of a massive new combine harvester. And Tom investigates whether deputy prime minister Nick Clegg's plans to bring back garden cities could have a detrimental impact on our countryside.

The Countryfile team head to the Cotswold County Show in Cirencester for a celebration of the best of rural Britain, bringing along special guests weatherman John Hammond, MasterChef winner Phil Vickery, poet Ian McMillan, cartoonist Tony Husband and an England cricketing great, to join in the day.

Ellie Harrison tries her hand at archery, Matt Baker discovers how 100 years ago the showground played host to soldiers rather than summer revellers, Adam Henson takes up the show's theme of 'where town meets country' inviting some city viewers for a taste of life on the farm, Tom Heap takes to the treetops for a unique view of the local wildlife and John Craven gets a helping hand from MasterChef winner Phil Vickery to cook up a seasonal feast. Weatherman John Hammond joins the team to explain the science of our summer weather, poet Ian McMillan and cartoonist Tony Husband capture the day in poetry and pictures and a cricketing great makes a surprise appearance for a Countryfile v guests cricket match to round off the day.

Earlier in 2014 we asked for viewer suggestions as to where we should go to film, and so John Craven and Shauna Lowry head for the Sperrin Mountains in Northern Ireland.

Shauna takes a walk into this little-known but beautiful region. She learns it was the birthplace of the great poet Seamus Heaney and visits an old blacksmith's forge made famous in one of his well-known poems. John learns about the unique relationship between one of our most endangered species and fish found nowhere else but Northern Ireland. Shauna takes us on a tour of her old stomping ground around Strangford Lough, before joining John panning for gold on the pretty Ballinderry River.

James Wong has the latest from the Grow Wild campaign to get people planting wildflowers.

Adam's joined by Dr James Logan as they explore the creepy crawly world of ticks, one of nature's biggest pests, and Tom Heap asks whether a new wave of garden cities really can provide a perfect blend of town and country.

John Craven and Anita Rani are in Herefordshire exploring the county's burgeoning foodie culture. John meets Simon Cutter, a farmer breeding pure Hereford cattle - not just for their meat but because they are the number one grazing cattle. And Simon is as keen on restoring his wildflower meadows as he is his cattle.

Anita finds that there's more power in flowers than meet the eye. She catches up with the botanist looking to extract nature's goodness from his fabulous fields. She also takes part in a harvest with a difference as she helps one producer get in a huge crop of blackcurrants, and she joins John to put her taste buds to the test as she samples a unique take on the traditional pork pie.

Adam's in Shropshire meeting the farmer bringing a little taste of South America to Britain with his quinoa. And Tom asks if using gas to kill badgers is the right solution to stopping the spread of bovine TB.

In this bank holiday edition of the programme Helen Skelton looks at how the British countryside has shaped our childhoods down the ages. Playground. Classroom. Sports field. It's been all things.

She travels to Northamptonshire to rediscover the works of one-time children's favourite author, Dennis Watkins Pitchford. Better known as BB, he was as big as Enid Blyton in his day. Book in hand, Helen explores the countryside that features in BB's stories. While she's there she looks back at some of the best films on Countryfile that have featured kids and childhood.

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.

Countryfile is in the heart of England on the beautiful borderland of the Black Country, where Matt Baker explores two of the most important 18th-century English gardens - Hagley Park and the Leasowes, both of which are going through major restoration projects. He discovers the history of the great men behind the gardens, George Lyttelton and William Shenstone and gets stuck in restoring the cascades at Hagley Park. With a little help from Ellie Harrison he adds the finishing touches by releasing 100 golden rudd into the lake.

Ellie explores the mysterious Kinver Rock Houses. Inhabited right up to the 1960s, they are now a haven for wildlife. She also discovers how the rich geology of the area sparked the onset of the Industrial Revolution. Meanwhile, Adam Henson's competitive streak comes to the fore when he and his son Alfie take their poultry to the Cheshire Show.

Antibiotic resistance has been called one of the greatest threats to modern human health. Charlotte Smith investigates whether giving medication to farm animals is making the problem worse.

Countryfile is in Norfolk, where Jules Hudson is given privileged access to the MOD training grounds in the Brecklands. He explores the purpose-built Afghan village in the heart of the British countryside and discovers the story behind the evacuation of the villages on the site during World War II. He also helps a tenant farmer wean his lambs and discovers how the MOD works in partnership with farmers and Natural England to protect and manage this special site.

Anita Rani is on the Norfolk coast, meeting an artist who is inspired by the workers of the land and spends her time outside painting them - in all weathers. Anita also discovers the history behind the humble Norfolk shepherd's hut and meets Phyllis, who hasn't seen a hut since she helped her grandfather with lambing 70 years ago.

There are still large parts of rural Britain with little or no mobile phone coverage. Charlotte Smith discovers that this is not just a cause of frustration, it can be bad for business and, in extreme cases, puts lives at risk. So what's being done to keep us connected in the countryside?

Shauna Lowry and Helen Skelton meet the teams representing Scotland and Wales in 2014's One Man and His Dog sheepdog trial competition.2

Countryfile is in Devon, where Matt Baker explores Dartmoor. He discovers the story of a WWII bomber which crashed on the moor and hears about one man's mission to find the truth behind what happened on that fateful night. Matt helps with a geophysics search of the site to see if the key to the crash can be unearthed. He also meets with a farmers' co-op in Dartmoor, where 50 farmers work together. Matt takes to horseback to help them with a cattle round-up.

Anita Rani meets a sculptor who is inspired by the ancient trees in the Devon landscape. She dons her snorkel to help him look for one vital ingredient in the river Dart - bog oak. She also finds out about a groundbreaking countryside project which aims to turn lives around and get offenders back into work.

Many people dream of owning a second home in the countryside or by the sea. But are these holiday retreats doing more harm than good? Charlotte Smith investigates.

Countryfile plays host, for the second year running, to the One Man and His Dog sheepdog trials. Matt Baker and Helen Skelton present all the action from Byland Abbey as some of the finest handlers and their dogs from across the British Isles compete against each other.

Between the rounds, Helen explores the beauty of the surrounding hills and reveals how Byland Abbey and its monks were once at the heart of Britain's wool trade.

She also discovers how nearby Ampleforth Abbey is still going strong. Its monks still work the land, but today they sell cider rather than raise sheep to help support themselves.

It's been one of the best harvests in years, so Matt's in Lincolnshire where they harvest on a big scale. He sees for himself how the very latest technology is helping farmers get the harvest in quickly and efficiently. Matt also discovers how science could change the face of harvests to come, when he meets the farmers growing veg that's been designed to look better, taste better and resist drought better.

Ellie's in Devon where old harvest traditions still linger. She meets the last living maker of Devon's famous harvestware - the vessels used to carry cider to workers getting the harvest in - and she visits the old-time garden where they grow fruit and veg just like Granny would have done. And like our forebears Ellie learns how to make preserves using just what's left when all the fruit and veg has been picked.

Adam is on a farm where the crop they harvest is not for eating, but rubbing on your skin - lavender. Tom looks at how crops could be modified to carry health-giving substances like omega 3. And John announces the winner of this year's photographic competition.

In this edition of Countryfile, John Craven explores the life and work of one of our greatest ever composers, Ralph Vaughan Williams. He meets world-renowned conductor Christopher Warren Green, who plays Vaughan Williams' best-loved work, The Lark Ascending, on the lawn at Vaughan Williams' childhood home. He also meets a maker of traditional instruments like the dulcimer and psaltery, instruments which had an influence on the music Vaughan Williams made.

John spends time with the acoustic ecologists stringing violins from trees and burying microphones in the forest floor, using the landscape to make their music. And in a rousing finale John presents Christopher Warren Green with Ralph Vaughan Williams' very own baton with which to conduct the Capel Choral Society in their rendition of Vaughan Williams' Linden Lea.

Ellie also looks back at some of the best bits of Countryfile that have featured music. Like the time Matt got a lesson in bell ringing, when Julia went on the trail of Benjamin Britten in Sussex, or the time Adam joined the shepherds in the Swiss Alps, yodelling to bring their flocks down off the mountains.

In this seasonal special the team look at how autumn marks a time of transformation for the wildlife, landscape and communities of our countryside.

Matt Baker heads to Wytham Woods in Oxfordshire to take part in a citizen science project aiming to identify the first signs of autumn. He also joins the University of Oxford using hard science to take an autumn health check of the woodland and reveals how the conkers of horse chestnut trees are under attack from an army of tiny predators.

Ellie Harrison takes to the land as she tries her hand at the Mendip Ploughing Match and takes renowned chef Raymond Blanc back to where his culinary journey first began 55 years ago - foraging in the forests. Tom Heap is joined by weatherman John Hammond as they canoe down the River Wye to take in its autumnal splendour and reveal the science behind the season. And Adam Henson pays a visit to a turkey farm that's using fireworks training to make sure its birds are safe come bonfire night.

Our regulars are joined by wildlife cameraman Richard Taylor-Jones, who heads to Skomer hoping to glimpse some of autumn's newest arrivals - grey seal pups. And leading contemporary sculptor Simon Gudgeon unveils his latest seasonally-inspired work.

Matt and Ellie are in Northumberland, where Matt finds out how the rock cliffs of the Whin Sill gave rise to some very rare grassland. He also discovers that Hadrian's Wall is one of the last strongholds of one of the UK's rarest plants. He then dons full Roman regalia and learns that most of what we know about Roman armour comes from a world famous discovery at Hadrian's Wall 50 years ago.

Ellie is with the amateur astronomers enjoying the best dark skies in England and learns about the different ways you can photograph stars. She also visits Allen Banks - the famous gardens laid out by Victorian superwoman Susan Davidson - and joins in the effort to restore their renowned picturesque viewpoints. Adam's in the market for a rare breed Portland ram, and former farmer and trained butcher Gareth Barlow looks at the British beef industry.

Tom Heap investigates the impact that falling milk prices are having on British dairy farmers.

Countryfile is on the Isle of Wight, where Matt Baker takes a stroll along the oldest pier in the UK - Ryde Pier. He finds out about its fascinating history and the important role it played in the rise of the seaside holiday. He also hops on board a boat to get his hands dirty helping with the pier's ongoing restoration project, working against the clock as the tide rolls in.

Ellie Harrison explores the science behind the idea that a breath of fresh air is good for you, and she visits Osborne House, Queen Victoria's magnificent Isle of Wight home. She discovers Prince Albert's love for horticulture and, in particular, the trees which he planted throughout the gardens to celebrate special family occasions. Ellie also heads to Victoria and Albert's private beach, where Queen Victoria took her very first plunge into the salty depths.

Former farmer and trained butcher Gareth Barlow teaches the younger generation about the virtues of eating beef. He also meets the woman who's on a campaign for people to eat beef in the week.

Ahead of Remembrance Day, Adam Henson meets a young farmer putting his own take on the time-honoured classic, the poppy. And Tom Heap investigates claims that current education reforms could put school farms under threat.

In an extended programme for Remembrance Sunday, Countryfile explores Word War One's lasting legacy on the landscape of the western front and the part played by those on the home front in winning the war.

Matt Baker uncovers a subterranean network carved out by allied troops from the chalk of Arras and learns about the role played by mule-men like his great-grandfather in the war. Ellie Harrison reveals the iron harvest of bombs still unearthed by farmers today, Tom Heap goes on a very personal investigation to the start of trench warfare, John Craven reveals how we adapted tractors to make the world's first tanks and Adam Henson discovers how man's best friend became his greatest ally when dogs were trained for front-line duties by the British army.

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.

Countryfile is in Berkshire. John Craven visits the county's agricultural college where, after more than a decade, the agricultural course is back up and running. He meets the native species, including polecats and pine martens, kept here for the students to study. He also discovers the picturesque village of Cookham, the inspiration for great British artist Stanley Spencer, and meets the painter's two daughters.

Shauna Lowry is in the valley of the racehorse, exploring the gallops where hundreds of horses train each day. She meets the son of legendary author and jockey Dick Francis, and discovers how injured jockeys get back into the saddle.

Wildlife expert and author Sanjida O'Connell is walking the Ridgeway, the Roman road which wends its way across the county. She explores the inspiration this landscape has had on storytellers and authors across the years, including the much-loved author of Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame. And Adam Henson visits a very special dog's home which takes in and rehabilitates collies.

The RSPB say it's time to get tough in the fight against the persecutors of British birds of prey. But is the wider shooting industry being unfairly blamed for the actions of a criminal few? Tom Heap finds out.

Countryfile is in Lancashire. John Craven will be exploring one of the county's hidden jewels. Buried beneath undergrowth, he finds a landscape which was once a true spectacle but is now almost lost to the ravages of time.

Ellie Harrison is exploring the sculptural art of the area with a spectacular work built by a local artist to celebrate the Forest of Bowland's 50 years as an area of outstanding beauty. Countryfile favourites Ian McMillan and Tony Husband are back, this time in Tony's home county where he'll be trying to convince Yorkshireman Ian of the the joys of the Lancashire countryside.

Adam Henson is on his Cotwolds farm as his Exmoor ponies are DNA checked before being rehomed. After claims that commonly used pesticides could be banned in the future, Tom Heap asks how essential chemical products are to modern farming.

John Craven and Helen Skelton are in East Sussex, where Helen meets the shepherds keeping the old southdown sheep breed alive. She discovers a long-forgotten chronicler of the county's rural past and meets 85-year-old Shaun Payne, who tells her the secrets of the mysterious shepherd's stones. Helen then goes on a fossil hunt with some local schoolchildren, and dinosaur hunter Ken Brooks shows Helen the footprints of what is said to be an iguanodon.

John takes a stroll round the genteel grounds of Batemans - a grand country house where Rudyard Kipling sought solace and peace. John then takes a turn in a boat on Kipling's Pond, built with the money the author won for the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature.

Joe Crowley's first stint on Countryfile sees him right in the thick of it with the Sussex Wildlife Ambulance. The team are called out to a stag that's in distress and Joe is on hand to help out. Meanwhile, Adam Henson learns how the latest cutting-edge science is being used to detect animal diseases early.

Also, the British beaver lost its battle against extinction hundreds of years ago, but now they're back on a river in Devon. However, as Tom Heap discovers, they may have brought an unwelcome visitor with them.

Ellie Harrison and Matt Baker are in the beautiful but little-known Clwydian range which spans Denbighshire and Flintshire in North Wales. Ellie discovers how this landscape influenced 18th-century artist Richard Wilson - said by many to be the father of British landscape painting. She also hooks up with the children of a local primary school where the pupils are turning a tidy profit by running their own chicken farm.

Matt joins the conservation team cutting back the heather in the uplands and meets the brewer putting all those offcuts to good use in his heather-infused ale.

Anita Rani spends the day with the sniffer dogs trained to sniff out not explosives or stolen cash but endangered animals, and Adam takes a look at how cutting-edge science is being used to create the perfect cow.

From stealing priceless objects to stripping the lead from church roofs, heritage crime is a growing problem in the British countryside. Tom Heap investigates what is being done to protect our history.

It's Christmas and the Countryfile team have all made a pledge to meet up at the famous Christmas market in Bath. But before they do they're out and about.

Ellie's on a farm gathering holly and ivy and meeting the artist who designed this year's Christmas stamps. She then experiences Christmas Georgian-style, making old-fashioned mince pies in a period kitchen. Adam's in the fields with foreign seasonal workers, before sitting down to a traditional eastern European Christmas feast. John gets his hands on the first ever Christmas cards and discovers that it was the Victorians who gave us another staple of Christmas - the cracker.

Weatherman John Hammond tells us all about how snow is formed. Matt Baker's at the market learning about its history and trying his hand on a few stalls. Once the rest of the team arrives with their gifts, Matt leads them and the crowd in a rendition of one of our best-loved Christmas tunes.

While the rest of us are relaxing, for some Christmas is the busiest time of year. Tom Heap meets a rural rector who looks after ten different parishes to find out how he copes. Tom also asks whether communities in the countryside lose out when they have to share their vicar.

The Great British landscape gives us much to celebrate all year round. But as the bare bones of winter signal the end of yet another year - there's still one big celebration to go - New Years Eve. John Craven is on the South Downs gathering goodies to throw his own festive party, toasting the taste of the South Downs.

He visits Plumpton Agricultural College - which has a sparkling reputation for English wine. He learns how fine fizz is made from the grapes grown on the chalky downland. What's good for the grapes is also fantastic for funghi - as John finds out when he snuffles for truffles in the surrounding woodland. Plumpton College also make the perfect accompaniment for their wine - cheese. John gets stuck into the 'cheddaring' process - seeing just how farmhouse cheddar gets its unique hard texture.

We also welcome back some old friends to help us celebrate - as John takes us on a trip through the archives to revisit some of the rural revelries and seasonal celebrations we've taken part in over the years.

Like when Clare Balding joined Matt at a festival in South Devon celebrating one of the area's finest residents, the humble crab. Ellie made some new friends when she welcomed in the Spring with the traditional Obby Oss festivities in Padstow. And Matt celebrates the fruits of the land at Harvest time on Tatton Park.