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Documentary celebrating the festive season in Devon and Cornwall with people whose livelihood depends on this busy time of year. The first stop is Cornwall's Lizard peninsula, to meet the Richards family, who have been farming this region for more than 500 years. Cameras also follow Devon artist Luna North, whose love of the region inspires her to paint her own Christmas card.
A magical visit to the beautiful south west as we celebrate the festive season with some familiar faces, and some new, at this busy and truly special time of year
A special episode celebrating the counties' shared heritage of fishing, meeting some of the people whose lives revolve around fishing the bountiful waters of Devon and Cornwall. On the Isles of Scilly, flung out in the Celtic Sea, fisherman Adam Morton and his family make the most of the busy tourist season, feeding visitors to their fish and chip shop, while in Cornwall, fisherman Phil Trebilcock embraces a warm summer's day with flat calm seas, in a bid to find lobster and crab.
Special episode featuring residents of the two counties who are determined to protect and preserve the environment, including a farmer bringing wildflower meadows back to life and a clean ocean campaigner spearheading a project to rid the shoreline of plastic flotsam. The warden of an island that was once a haven for puffins and other seabirds hopes to reverse the decline in population.
Special episode exploring the lives of people who work the land in south-west England, including a Lanlivery family who have found an innovative way of keeping their potato farm in profit, and siblings William and Harriet Allin, who are putting their all into raising their very own flock of two sheep. After entering every country show in the region all summer, they're hoping for a shot at the coveted Young Handler of the Year title.
In this first episode, Devonian fisherman Stephen Perham shows what life is like in the tiny, perfectly preserved fishing village of Clovelly. Stephen's family have lived and fished in the village for generations. Stephen is the harbour master, tour guide and bin man, and has a novel way of getting things up and down the main street. The village rowing team take part in the annual regatta. Fifth-generation master-thatcher Richard Dray needs to replace a roof in Cockington. In Cornwall, local handywoman Lynn Batten completes last-minute preparations at the famous Minack Theatre, as tourists from around the world are about to arrive for the triumphant season finale. And champion beef breeders Bridgette and Steve Clamp prepare their local pedigree cows for the Camborne agricultural show.
In Devon, the Alfords are one of the last farming families to tend Dartmoor's wild ponies. Demand for the ponies is on the wane, and they must rely on other livestock for their living and nervously await the TB testing of their cattle. On the north Jurassic coast, local adventurers Mark Bullock and George Malkin take on the famous spectacular climb of Black Church Rock. In Cornwall, surfing pioneer Gwyn Haslock gives a tour while preparing for the World Belly Board Championships. Further west, in Poldark country, former miner Les Rowe makes a poignant return to the colliery where he laboured years ago, bringing the Cape Cornwall singers to Geevor to celebrate their shared Cornish heritage in song.
On the serene waterways of Mylor Creek, south Cornwall, lifelong friends and mariners Jess Harris and Charlotte Whyte welcome diners aboard their custom-built floating restaurant. It's opening week following months of planning and hard graft. Diver and conservationist Rob Thompson leads a team of volunteers to sweep up the man-made rubbish in the coves around Lansallos. On the southern edge of Dartmoor, sheep farmers Jess and Russell Steer prepare for their first trip to Devon's historic Widecombe fair. Near Exmoor, farmer Cyril Cole is determined to give back to the land he once farmed.
In Brixham, South Devon, trawlerman Dave Driver sets out to sea on his boat in search of cuttlefish. Sea fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations in Britain. Dave and his crew travel out 25 miles from the shore for an 18-hour shift. On the southern edge of Bodmin Moor, Mark and Isobelle Delbridge, one of Cornwall's youngest tenant farming couples, are determined to make a success of their new dairy farm. They are keeping things traditional and their hand-delivered bottle milk is growing in popularity. On the northern reaches of Dartmoor National Park, horseback farmers Crispin Alford, his wife Diana and son Steve are preparing to sell their hill ponies. And back in Brixham, there's a visit to a guillemot colony.
In Clovelly, north Devon, fisherman Stephen Perham is preparing for his most lucrative day of the year - the Clovelly Lobster Festival. Sam Robins and her family have managed to bag a fisherman's cottage with a sea view in the village where her grandparents took their honeymoon 80 years ago. In Torquay, harbourmaster Nick Burns awaits the world's largest residential cruise ship. Market gardener Stephen Keighley faces a big problem only six weeks into his new venture: he desperately needs rain, and lots of it, to save his wilting vegetables. On Bodmin Moor, display pilot Corrine Dennis prepares to entertain the masses at St Mawes' boat show.
On the tidal island of St Michael's Mount, west Cornwall, boatman Josh Sedgeman must ready the island's amphibious vessel for winter. In north Devon, Clovelly fisherman Stephen Perham is looking forward to the start of the herring season. In Lanlivery, Cornwall, potato farmer Steve Dustow has developed a vodka distillery using home-grown spuds and is devising a new line in bespoke gin. There's wild camping on Dartmoor and a search for blue sharks off the Isles of Scilly.
On St Mary's, on the Isles of Scilly, Charlotte Hicks has returned to her place of birth to become the islands' one and only midwife, and the first mum due to give birth off the Cornish coast is her childhood pal Meriel King. At the edge of Dartmoor National Park, woodman John Williamson has taken on new apprentice Jordan Harris, and the pair are making a batch of charcoal that they hope to sell to local restaurants. On the south Devon coast, Torquay's harbour master Nick Burns needs to replace a 140-metre section of the harbour that will help protect the millions of pounds worth of yachts berthing here in the winter months.
A vineyard owner plans to draw winter tourists to Scilly. Devon boat builders turn a clinker into a lugger. Unwanted apples make money. And a geologist goes fossil hunting.
The return of the documentary examining life in the two counties in south-west England, following Cornish fisherman Phil Trebilcock as he heads out to sea to find lobster and crab. In foothills of Exmoor, farmers Rob and Sarah Taylor ready their native ponies for the show season, while on Lundy Island, warden Dean Jones is hopeful that the seabird colonies are making a comeback.
On the Isles of Scilly, fisherman Adam Morton and his family make the most of the busy tourist season at their fish and chip shop, while on the Cornish mainland, farrier and horseman David Jones and his daughter Myrtle head out to tackle a rampant bracken problem in an old woodland. Steamboat enthusiast Nigel Cooper sails his vessel the Halcyon along the river Dart for Dartmouth's Royal Regatta, while in Trebah Garden on the south coast of Cornwall, head gardener Darren Dickey is creating a new Victorian-style stumpery with an array of ferns.
Shepherds Steve and Crispin prepare for a speed shearing competition. Wheelwrights Greg and Mike build a gun carriage for the HMS Warrior. Chef Greg goes foraging for inspiration.
In north Devon, artist Steve Pleydell-Pearce veers off from his normal coastal hotspots for Speke's Mill Mouth Waterfall, hoping to capture the grandeur and majesty of the landmark. Steeplejack Andrew Tarplee takes on an ancient church tower in the village of Paul in Cornwall, where he abseils down the 800-year-old tower to repair and repaint its clock faces, protecting them from the ravages of time.
The return of the documentary examining life in the two counties, beginning by meeting the people who live and work along the beautiful and rugged coastline. In Looe on the south coast of Cornwall, the whole community gears up for one of the biggest events of the year - the one-mile wild swim from St George's Island back to the town beach. On the heel of Cornwall in Gweek, clean ocean campaigner Steve Green and his band of volunteers paddle to hard-to-reach beaches along the peninsula to rid the shoreline of plastic flotsam.
On Bodmin Moor, apple farmer and cider maker Tom Bray creates a special centenary blend of sparkling cider. And in Cornwall, local artists raise money to build a new granite walkway.
In Newquay, surfer Katy Beddoe is preparing to jump back into competitions after a knee injury, while Cornish horseman David Jones and his daughter Myrtle ready their heavy horses for an old-fashioned ploughing contest. In Ilfracombe in north Devon, harbourmaster Georgina Carlo-Paat takes delivery of a new robotic waterborne litter picker.
In the small fishing village of Polperro in southern Cornwall, harbourmaster Olly Puckey prepares for the arrival of a new storm gate, designed to protect residents, houses and fishing boats from the winter sea surges. In Devon, dairy farmer Jon Perkin hopes visitors at Widdecombe Fair are willing to try his alternative ice-cream and yoghurt, while stonemason Alex Piper and glazier Arthur Bradley must draw on all their skills and experience to save the crumbling vestry window of a church in the Cornish village of Warbstow.
The head gardener at Cornwall's Lost Gardens of Heligan sows the seeds of a wildflower revolution from a colourful crop of meadow flowers to help the rest of the county bloom. A trawler skipper live-streams his latest catch via Facebook to his customers, before selling direct to them off his boat when he returns to harbour. An engineer gets a replica of iconic locomotive the Puffing Devil back up to full steam, and a Devon wildlife ranger takes care of wild beavers.
Documentary examining daily life in the two counties in south-west England. Enterprising Cornishman Jack Baines hopes to turn fields of colourful flowers into liquid gold by cultivating 275,000 sunflowers. On Cornwall's south coast, traditional boat builder Peter Williams undertakes a very special commission - crafting a brand new Cornish gig for Boscastle Rowing Club. On the northern fringes of Dartmoor in the fields surrounding the market town of Chagford, young farming couple Lewis Steer and Flora Searson raise rare breeds of sheep.
In the Devon town of Teignmouth, mussel fishermen Matt and Barry Sessions look at new ways to diversify their business to ensure its future. To maximise their catch and use mussels that can't be sold commercially, Barry's producing his own gourmet smoked mussels from a specially built smoker, which they plan to sell to local restaurants and fishmongers. On Dartmoor, farmer Steve Alford and his partner Hayley hope to tap into the growing popularity of glamping, so with the help of Hayley's father, build a cosy shepherd's hut to rent out to tourists during the holiday season.
