Countryside magazine featuring people, walks and wildlife from rural Britain. Clare Balding’s ‘Ramblings’ and ‘Open Country’ with Matt Baker and Helen Mark join forces to bring you a weekly tour of the best of the British countryside. In ‘Ramblings’ Clare joins her guests on a country walk that’s been significant in their lives. ‘Open Country’ travels to a different corner of the British Isles every week, seeking out the wildlife, the landscapes and the controversies that excite the passions of local people. Each twenty-five minute programme is broadcast on Saturday at 6.07am and repeated on Thursday at 3pm. New episodes are added every Saturday morning.
Episodes available:
Indefinitely 
Fri, 17 May 13
Duration:
25 mins
Helen Mark visits the Reay Forest estate in Sutherland to find out what ponies can offer which even the toughest off-road vehicle cannot.
Fri, 17 May 13
Duration:
25 mins
Jules Hudson visits Cannock Chase in Staffordshire to find out about its military past. He sees a mockup of the Western Front at a major training camp during the First World War.
Thu, 16 May 13
Duration:
25 mins
Felicity Evans visits the Minack Theatre at Porthcurno, in the far west of Cornwall. Built into the rocky cliffs overlooking the sea, the theatre was planned, built and financed by one determined woman - Rowena Cade. Local storyteller Mark Harandon has researched and re-created the character of Billy Rawlings, Cade's gardener, who worked for her for 40 years and helped to build the theatre. Mark, as Billy, leads Felicity around the theatre telling stories collected from the family and people who knew him, and reminiscing about how the theatre was built. Felicity goes on to explore the surrounding coastline, visiting the Portcurno Telegraph Museum, the Logan Rock and spotting some Cornish choughs, nesting on the craggy cliffs.
Thu, 25 Apr 13
Duration:
25 mins
What is phenology? Felicity Evans visits Fenland Cambridgeshire to hear about an influential Victorian vicar who made a great contribution to science, the Reverend Leonard Jenyns.
Thu, 18 Apr 13
Duration:
28 mins
Helen Mark explores the landslip coastline of the Lyme Regis Undercliffs.
Mon, 15 Apr 13
Duration:
25 mins
Abstract artist, Graham Sutherland spent much of his life painting Pembrokeshire. Felicity Evans follows his footsteps.
Thu, 4 Apr 13
Duration:
25 mins
Helen Mark celebrates the arrival of Spring in the South-West of Scotland.
Thu, 28 Mar 13
Duration:
25 mins
Helen Mark visits the Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey in The North Yorkshire National Park.
Thu, 21 Mar 13
Duration:
25 mins
Helen Mark explores the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal
Thu, 31 Jan 13
Duration:
25 mins
Helen Mark visits the tiny island in the Thames near Brentford, inspiring a colony of artists.
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Man's effect on the environment, questioning accepted truths, challenging those in charge and reporting on progress towards improving the world.
Presenters, Tom Heap and Dr Alice Roberts, travel…
Tue, 21 May 13
27 minutes
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the history of ideas and the evolution of the sciences - from ancient astronomy to particle physics.
Wed, 8 Jun 11
42 minutes
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