Countryfile - Season 29

Anita Rani travels to one of her favourite places in the British countryside, Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales. She learns more about this unique landscape and how it was formed thousands of years ago. She meets an artist whose passion, like her mother's and grandmother's before, is painting nearby Gordale Scar. In the village of Malham, Anita catches up with the latest incumbent of the local smithy, who used to be a tax accountant. Anita has been to Malham Cove many times but she's never climbed the walls of this famous limestone amphitheatre. She also looks back through the archives as we re-visit some famous faces who shared with us places in the British countryside that were particularly special to them. Like the time comedian Ed Byrne tried to bag a munro on there Isle of Skye; when England test cricket captain Alistair Cook invited us to the family sheep farm and when Olympic gold winning boxer Nicola Adams took Adam Henson through his paces in her training ground in Leeds.

Countryfile is in Shropshire, where Matt Baker is exploring the highs and lows of a landscape shaped by the miners who once called this place home. Anita Rani is discovering the most unlikely site for a nature reserve - a scrapyard. Chef Michael Caines heads out into the wilds of Dartmoor on a camping trip, and in the first part of a special series, Adam Henson is in New Zealand to find out how they farm on the other side of the world. Charlotte Smith investigates the growing problem of dementia in the countryside as a new report highlights the dangers, isolation and lack of services facing farmers living with the condition.

Countryfile is in Carmarthenshire, where Matt Baker explores the explosive history of the sand dunes. Helen Skelton visits the National Botanic Garden of Wales, discovering how they're mapping the DNA of every flower in the country and how they're preparing their bees for winter.

Falklands veteran Simon Weston shows Countryfile around his beloved south Wales and, in the second part of a special series, Adam Henson is in New Zealand to find out how they farm on the other side of the world. What happens when a protected species recovers to the point it impacts rural businesses and other wildlife? Tom Heap reports on a new initiative aimed at saving fisheries from otters.

Countryfile is on the Jurassic Coast, where Matt Baker meets the man who's been digging for fossils for more than thirty years, with extraordinary results. Ellie Harrison visits the family who've been photographing their farming life for generations, with the captivating images making up an important part of promoting their business.

In the third part of a series of special films from New Zealand, Adam Henson helps with a sheep muster on an impressive scale. Plus comedian Susan Calman voyages across the Firth of Clyde to the beautiful Isle of Arran, in search of an elusive creature.

Countryfile explores the Peak District. Matt Baker joins the team on a mission to restore the scarred moorland. Ellie Harrison meets the climber and photographer who are coming together in an unusual collaboration. And Adam Henson is in New Zealand for the final part of his journey, discovering how they farm on the other side of the world.

DJ Edith Bowman returns home to the rugged coastline of the East Neuk of Fife where she shares her passion for photography. As more of our lives move online, Tom Heap looks at broadband in rural areas and meets those who feel they're being left behind - but could there be hope on the horizon?

In this programme the focus is on our feathered friends. Matt is up at the crack of dawn at the RSPB reserve at Snettisham on the north Norfolk coast. There he witnesses thousands of pink-footed geese taking flight and joins warden Jim Scott and scientist Dr Mark Eaton in a bird count. He also visits a school where the pupils are taking part in their own bird count.

Helen is at the other end of the country in Cumbria, where she catches sight of perhaps the most stunning sight in the bird world, as tens of thousands starlings perform dizzying aerial acrobatics. Helen also meets artist Clare Brownlow, who paints stunning lifelike pictures of birds using feather quills.

Tom Heap looks at the latest outbreak of bird flu to hit Britain, finds out what can be done to minimise the impact and asks how long this crisis might last. Adam is back on his farm taking stock of his animals and showing us what measures he is taking to combat the threat from avian flu.

Ellie Harrison is on a winter wildlife safari in the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland, hoping to spot the elusive mountain hare.

Ellie is helping to give Cheddar Gorge its annual clean-up.

Matt takes a trip back in time on the last horse-drawn tram in the world. He also gets to visit the farm where the magnificent Clydesdale and shire horses get to live out their dotage once their tram-pulling days are done. Ellie dwells among the haunting ruins of the Isle of Man's tholtans, the abandoned homes and farmsteads that tell the story of the island's agricultural past. She also gets to make and bake a loaf of traditional Manx bonnag bread under the expert eye of 11-year-old Tom Keig, the bonnag-baking world champion. Adam is putting his new working dog, Olive, through her paces. Tom Heap is in St Ives in Cornwall looking at a new ban on the building of second homes. But is it really the answer that many rural communities are looking for?

The team explore the magnificent South Downs. Matt Baker meets the pony who's blazing a trail across this landscape. Helen Skelton discovers why dark skies are so important for our wildlife. John Craven visits Charleston House, the rural retreat of the Bloomsbury Group. And Adam Henson looks at a new and novel way to stop cattle from roaming.

A courgette crisis, a lack of lettuce and rationing on our supermarket shelves, just what is going on behind the scenes of Britain's veg crisis? Tom Heap heads to Spain to find out what's gone wrong and to discover what we can do keep our food supply secure.

Countryfile is in Snowdonia where, with the help of some recently unearthed BBC archive, Adam Henson is discovering how farming has changed in the past 60 years. He also looks back through Countryfile's own archive to the times the programme has explored farming then and now. From when Matt Baker put a Little Grey Fergie tractor to the test to when Adam discovered a space-age underground farm in the heart of London.

Matt Baker and Anita Rani are on the Hoo Peninsula. Matt hears how it's a landscape that's been shaped over the years by 'saltshepherds' and 'muddies', whilst Anita sees how fleece and feather work together to protect the huge numbers of birds that flock to the area. And there's a sense of spring in the air with lots of new arrivals down on Adam's Farm. Tom Heap looks at what leaving the EU could mean for the UK's agricultural migrant labour force and the farms that employ them.

Matt Baker and Ellie Harrison visit Denbighshire in north east Wales.

In this programme the focus is on forests. Matt is in the New Forest taking part in the biggest inventory of trees ever undertaken. He also takes to the heights with climbers from the Forestry Commission as they carry out a wildlife survey high in the treetops. Ellie in Inverness-shire seeing what industrial-scale timber production looks like. She also looks at new scientific research that shows the impact of forestry activities on native red squirrels. Sean is in Stirlingshire exploring the Scottish tradition of hutting, and he hears about the part these houses in the woods played during the Clydebank Blitz in World War II. John is in Kent looking at the revival of working with horses in forests. He also meets the artist whose magnificent woodcuts of forests capture perfectly the spirit of these magic places. And in a step away from the woodlands, Adam meets the farmer who has found a new market for his male goats due to the rising demand for goat meat.

Matt, Anita and John are in Holderness in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Matt is on Spurn Point, or rather Spurn Island - the country's newest, formed by the big storm surge of 2013. He meets the RNLI crew who had to relocate further up the coast as a result and then goes on manoeuvres with them as they look for safe passages around the point. Anita finds out how Spurn's wildlife has responded in the wake of the surge, and she meets the next generation of birdwatchers helping to spot the rare species on display. John, meanwhile, is on Sunk Island, an area of rich farmland attached to the mainland but which once stood cut off in the Humber. He is there with photographer Fiona Caley, who is recording this mysterious landscape and the farming communities who live there. Adam helps a friend choose some rare breed white park cattle.

Matt Baker learns about the Easter tradition of pace egg rolling in Lancashire.

Countryfile is in County Durham, and Matt is on his old home turf, showing us how to make panackelty, a traditional north eastern dish. He gets veg from prize-winning allotments and meat from a local farm and cooks it all up with the locals.

Ellie is a few miles away in the heart of Weardale meeting the designer whose passion for rescuing sheep has spun out into a sideline making high-end felt goods. She also takes a trip along one of the most beautiful stretches of the River Tees, taking in the stunning High Force and Low Force waterfalls, discovering its wildlife and getting a drenching as she throws herself headlong into it.

Sean is in Stockton, where he meets a Scout troop involved in all sorts of projects to encourage wildlife. And he witnesses them renewing their Scout vows - something traditionally done on St George's day.

Tom asks if we are in the midst of a fly-tipping epidemic and what can be done to stamp it out.

And at the start of British Beef Week, Adam is meeting the farmers raising their cattle on nothing but fresh grass all year round.

It is Hedgehog Awareness Week. Populations of wild British hedgehogs have declined rapidly since the turn of the century, and Ellie Harrison meets three schoolgirls who on a mission to keep the hedgehogs of Warwickshire safe from harm. She pays them a visit in their back garden hedgehog rehab centre!

Ellie Harrison reveals how the landscape has been shaped by rivers, meeting those who live, work and play on the banks of the Severn.

Matt Baker hears about plans the Suffolk Wildlife Trust are making for their biggest ever land purchase in the charity's 55 years. He'll also meet the dog ambassadors teaching good practice for owners and their four-legged friends when out in the countryside around wildlife and cattle. Ellie's on a farm run by the community and fuelled by waste! Dredgings from the bottom of a property developer's pond help fertilise the fields; hazel poles for the runner beans are scraps from a woodland project and the pigs get fed on left over barley from the local brewery. She'll also meet a craftsman making bread saws out of locally 'spalted' wood. To celebrate National Mills Weekend John Craven visits Bardwell, a fine example of the 500 or so windmills that once dotted throughout the county and meets the Wooster family and explores their love affair with their 'Forth Bridge' of windmills and see what work has gone into getting it - almost - up and running again.

Matt is in the Clyde valley in Lanarkshire, once known as the 'fruit basket of Scotland'. Also in HD. [S] Including Weather for the Week Ahead.

In a spring special edition of the programme Countryfile goes in search of the secret and often overlooked wonders of the season.

Matt and Ellie are in Essex where Matt jumps aboard the Pioneer, a fully restored Essex oyster boat. He learns about its maritime past whilst some rarely seen archive gives us a flavour of the county's oyster fishing heyday. Matt then meets a group of young people learning the skills to build racing gigs which are small fast rowing boats built for competition and Matt is put through his paces in one of these gigs out on the open sea. Ellie is at the country's only nature reserve managed specifically for dragonflies, where she gets up close to these highly coloured and fascinating insects. She then travels to Hamford Water, were the creeks and inlets are home to an unusual colony of common seals - they're bright red!

Ellie Harrison and Joe Crowley are in Northern Ireland, where Joe is up at the crack of dawn in woods just south of Belfast. He joins the RSPB team who are tagging swifts to find out where they feed, and he heads to the arts centre where the biggest swift colony in the city can be found to see how sensitive building benefits the birds. He also meets the locals doing their bit to help Belfast become 'swift city'. Joe then heads to the farm where you are as likely to find physalis, mustard flowers and Asian radish as you are spuds, carrots and caulis. Meanwhile, Ellie takes a canoe trip down the beautiful River Bann. It is a great place for wading birds, is steeped in history and is said to be the river St Patrick took before arriving at the island where he built a monastery. Ellie also visits Church Island and sees the sites associated with St Patrick, and she hears that it was also the poet Seamus Heaney's favourite place in the world.

Ellie Harrison and Sean Fletcher are at the Hay Festival, one of the UK's biggest literature and arts festivals.

Ellie goes behind the scenes to meet some of the writers and artists, the organisers and many of the thousands of visitors who flock here each year. She then heads out to the country for a special wildlife safari inspired by one of the books on show. She also joins the team spotting and tagging adders using radio tracking devices.

Sean is on a literary adventure of his own with a group drawing inspiration from the beautiful Wye Valley countryside. He also meets some local food producers at the festival, including one who's putting a whole new spin on ice cream.

Adam Henson looks at how new technology can help in the fight against drought, and John Craven is here with new news of this year's Countryfile Photographic Competition.

Sean Fletcher is in Carmarthenshire in west Wales taking a look at working animals. He meets Dr Nick Fox, OBE, who is one of the world's leading experts on birds of prey. Nick breeds falcons and has a very special way of training them - using robots. Sean is shown round the workshop where these 'robofalcons' are made. These are precision engineered drones built to look like falcons which are used to train real live birds to hunt. Sean takes the remote controls and sees for himself just how realistic these decoy birds are. He also visits the breeding units and gets to handle fluffy little peregrine chicks. Elsewhere on the site Sean discovers that Nick has drafted in beavers to help manage his woodland. And there's a good chance Sean will be treated to the sight of some beaver kits.

Also in this programme we'll be going back through the Countryfile archives to look again at times when we've featured working animals.

Ellie joins the Rollett family who have set up a traditional cottage industry producing natural elderflower cordials and presses.

Anita Rani's in the Nene Valley, where a pioneering project is just about to launch.

Our Scottish journey starts just off the mainland - on the Isle of May. It's home to the largest puffin colony on the east coast of Britain at this time of year. Ellie Harrison crosses the Firth of Forth to see the seasonal spectacle. With guillemots, kittiwakes and puffins all jostling for position on the islands ledges and perches, Ellie finds out from David the island manager about the work they do to make it a five-star stay for seabirds.

Sean Fletcher discovers Fife's importance as a (soft) centre of excellence when it comes to fruit growing. He looks at the history of the connection between fruit and the east coast of Scotland. Sean then plays 'scientist' at the James Hutton Institute, a lab that has been creating a raspberry-breeding programme to produce new breeds for local growers. He visits the 'crumbly fruit house', checking that new breeds hold up to picking without crumbling, and then asks fruit breeder Nikki Jennings just how Fife can create raspberries with a fuller flavour and less sugar than its southern counterparts.

Adam takes to the skies with Roger Nock from Ordnance Survey to map his field margins, and Tom Heap looks at the unseen side of TB - its effect on goats, asking why the disease isn't being dealt with the same rigour as it is in our cattle herds.

Wiltshire's Salisbury Plain is home to one of England's most successful conservation projects, the first new population of great bustards to be established anywhere in the world. John visits the project's HQ and wears a dehumanisation suit to help keep the birds' behaviour as wild as possible as he helps feed the latest batch of chicks as they prepare to fly the nest.

Anita meets the contestants of the International Young Beekeepers competition at Marlborough College and visits the River Kennet, one of England's most important chalk streams and helps out the volunteers working hard to keep this valuable chalk stream flowing.

Adam meets Simon Stott who runs a co-operative of farmers producing sheep's milk, which they turn into yoghurt and cheese.

At the foot of Wiltshire's Marlborough Downs, artisanal flower grower Polly Nicholson is using the rich, fertile soils of the Calne valley to grow seasonal and old varieties of English flowers. This is farmland turned flower fields, and is part of a growing trend for traditional British blooms. Imported flowers are often grown intensively, non-organically and then flown half way around the world to British buyers, with most varieties available year-round. Polly has established a flower farm with environmental welfare at its heart providing species not usually seen in conventional bunches of flowers.

Anita Rani is in London at the Woodberry Wetlands, a wildlife haven just a stone's throw from the tower blocks of Stoke Newington.

Ellie Harrisontakes a look at the part flowers and plants play in people's everyday lives. She visits a herb garden in Bristol to find out about a commonplace plant that is on the front line in the fight against cancer. She heads to a high-end restaurant to hear about fermentation, the latest foodie trend, before meeting a dye maker who has turned her back on synthetic dyes and uses only natural plants and flower dyes to create her colours. Finally, Ellie visits the school where pupils cultivate some of the rarest orchids in the world.

Anita and Sean are in the rugged wilds of Dartmoor. Anita explores the Artisan Trail, a newly created route that links some of the area's best artists and craftspeople. She meets the blacksmith working out of atraditional forge, visits a community-supported farm providing locals with hearty seasonal veg and tries her hand spinning wool on an old-fashioned spinning jenny. We also meet the printmaker who works out in the wild in all weathers.

Sean looks at native Dartmoor ponies and asks if there is a better alternative to culling unwanted foals at birth. He looks at two different options. One involves finding use for unwanted animals as therapy for people with learning difficulties, and the other, more controversially, suggests rearing the animals for meat.

Tom finds out what happens to the male calves born into dairy herds and looks at what can be done to ensure they have a useful and decent life. And with harvest just around the corner, Adam is taking stock down on his farm.

The team head to the Blenheim Estate in the Oxfordshire countryside for a celebration of the best of rural Britain at Countryfile Live. Matt Baker explores the best of food, drink and farming on offer, Ellie Harrison meets an aspiring actress turned cow artist, Adam Henson brings the farmyard to the showground, Tom Heap finds out how the forests of the Blenheim estate help the local community, and John Craven gets a unique glimpse into one of Blenheim Palace's greatest secrets.

Ellie and Steve are on the Llyn Peninsula in north west Wales. Ellie goes snorkelling to explore the rich seagrass habitat beneath the waves, before joining the conservationists netting fish as part of a marine survey. She also meets 19-year-old Urien Davies-Hughes, a third-generation boat builder who uses his grandfather's tools to build traditional Aberdaron beach boats. Steve meets the dairy farmers who both produce and deliver their own milk. He also visits the farmers who have turned their hand to bespoke ice cream and comes up with a brand new flavour of his own. Adam takes part in a mulberry harvest, while John is joined by fellow judges Simon King and Deborah Meaden to reveal the final 12 photographs in this year's Countryfile photographic competition.

Countryfile looks at how food is harvested, from large-scale crops for supermarket shelves to smaller hand-picked harvests for local markets. John Craven is in Oxfordshire meeting the only distillers in the country to use an ancient strain of rye to create a new type of gin. Margherita Taylor is in Norfolk with a farmer keen to prove that the British radish is more than just a bit on the side. Margherita also visits Bardsley Farm. The family have been growing apples and pears since 1892 and have recently branched out into growing apricots. Adam Henson meets the first of the two nations competing to win the coveted title of One Man and His Dog 2017. Tom Heap discovers how little is known about wasps and asks for viewers' help to find out more.

Ellie Harrisonis on Cornwall's Rame Peninsula to visit Mount Edgcumbe, where the UK's first ever native dark honeybee reserve has just opened. Previously thought to be all but extinct in the UK, an almost pure and distinctive population has been identified here, and although they make up only 1% of the bee population, it is claimed they could hold the key to reversing colony collapse - Ellie finds out how. The programme also catches up with Malcolm Baker, the last traditional fisherman in the Rame Peninsula, who features in a film that captures the old traditions of fishing in the region with the idea of passing on dying skills to the next generation. And Tom Heap is on the hunt for traditional British craftsmen and women. With many heritage crafts dying out, Tom is keen to find out what can be done to save them.

Ellie visits the Lake District, the UK's first national park to be a Unesco World Heritage Site, and she explores the three factors that made it an area of international cultural significance - identity, inspiration and conservation. There is also a look back at some of Countryfile's own experiences in the fells and valleys - meeting the people who all play a part in protecting the countryside. Additionally, in the lead-up to the Countryfile Ramble for BBC Children in Need, the programme visits the Highlands of Scotland to meet Logan and his dad Scott, who will be taking part. Logan lost his mum to cancer last year and is supported by Children in Need-funded charity Maggie's, who offer invaluable support to children like Logan. There is also news on how people can join in Ramble weekend by putting on their own sponsored rambles, walking through the beautiful British countryside and raising money to help some of the country's most vulnerable youngsters.

Matt Baker and Charlotte Smith present Countryfile's One Man and His Dog for 2017. The best shepherds and their dogs from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales go head to head for the coveted trophy. Each team is made up of two competitors - the 'singles' who compete with one dog and, the ultimate in sheepdog trialling, the 'brace', working two dogs at the same time. This year's competition is being held in Hampstead Heath, making it the first time that sheep have been on the Heath for 60 years.

Ellie is in South Yorkshire, right on the border of the Peak District, following in the footsteps of the Clarion Ramblers.

Anita and Matt are at Dumfries House in Ayrshire, a centre for training and education. Also in HD. [S] Including Weather for the Week Ahead.

Ellie visits Wakehurst Place to learn about the clear-up after the Great Storm of 1987.

John and Margherita are in Cornwall, where John attends a food festival with a difference. Over four nights local chefs will cook up 12 farm feasts for 1000 guests, all from one red devon animal. John meets the 1000 Mouths festival organiser Steve Chamberlain, to hear that every single bit of the animal will be used with nothing going to waste. Margehrita meets author Chrissie Gittins who's on a mission to stop wild words disappearing from children's vocabularies. She also visits a vineyard that came about by accident, when the owners discovered the ground was better for vines than for farming. We also profile Cornish artist David Hosking who returns to the farm of his birth for the first time since leaving 45 years ago. And Adam finds out if soya could be the crop of the future for British arable farmers. Tom's looking at calls to suspend public rights of way, because of the rising number of dog attacks on livestock, but how will it affect our right to roam?

A special programme celebrating the the Countryfile Ramble for Children in Need 2017. The presenters lead the way on rambles of their own through some of Britain's best landscapes, joined by viewers and some inspirational youngsters who have been helped by the charity. Matt Baker takes on an epic challenge on the hills of Dartmoor with Georgia, who has fought back from a life-changing operation to remove a brain tumour. Ellie Harrison heads to Wales's waterfall country with Amy, who was born deaf and is helped by a local charity thanks to Children in Need funding. Adam Henson leads a mass ramble of thousands through Bristol, joined by the Penn family. Anita Rani rambles along the white sands of Scotland's west coast withLogan, who lost his mum to cancer and is supported by the local Maggie's Centre. John Craven heads to Northern Ireland and the picturesque Castlewellan Forest Park, where he is joined by hundreds on his accessible-to-all ramble.

Matt Baker crunches through the leaves to find out about a new charter to protect woodlands, and Ellie Harrison meets Skomer's new seal pups.

Ellie Harrison finds out about the so-called 'Idle' women of the canals, who played a vital role in the Second World War. She also discovers how the great outdoors helps to heal servicemen and women. John Craven explores how wild plants became medicine during the Second World War. Plus Adam Henson visits a school where farming is helping to shape lives.

Countryfile is in Hertfordshire, where Charlotte Smith meets the man who's made it his sole mission to save the barbel in the Old River Lea. Sean Fletcher is building a home fit for a Kingfisher and foraging for a wild dinner. John Craven is returning to his days as a scout and cooking up a storm on a woodland fire. And Adam Henson is discovering the estate where rewilding and farming sit side-by-side. Now in its fifth year, what effect is culling badgers actually having on rates of TB in our cattle? Tom Heap's looking at the science behind this controversial practice.

The programme heads to the Cairngorms, where Joe Crowley is at Britain's largest national nature reserve, Mar Lodge. He is on the search for ptarmigan at the top of one of the tallest mountains in Britain. Helen Skelton meets one of Scotland's most extraordinary creatures - the golden eagle. And Adam Henson is already preparing for next year's new arrivals on his farm. Tom Heap is looking at Britain's favourite meat, chicken, and finding out what goes into supplying almost one billion chickens a year.

Helen and Sean are on the Cleveland Way in North Yorkshire. Helen meets the team of Scouts who have 'adopted' their own stretch of the 109-mile trail and are busy clearing gorse and doing some vitalmaintenance. She then joins the Hardmoors, a group of ultra marathon runners who have also adopted their own stretch, on a run through some spectacular countryside.

Sean explores Yorkshire childhoods through an incredible oral history project, before joining wildlife photographer Glenn Kilpatrick as he attempts to photograph leaping salmon on the beautiful River Esk.

Blacksmith and artist Katie Ventress takes Countryfile to her favourite stretch of coast. Tom has an exclusive look at a major new report into the effects of climate change on our bird populations, and Adam meets the young couple getting into farming despite not having a farm.

Ellie and Matt are in the Brecklands on the Norfolk-Suffolk border. Ellie finds out all about a major conservation effort to save two Brecks species at threat of extinction. She also hears how the Brecks rabbit is playing a key role in this effort. Later, Ellie meets the mum-and-daughter team helping to make Ipswich the most hedgehog-friendly city in the UK.

Matt joins an arable farmer who is able to harvest veg all year round thanks to the Brecks' sandy soils and temperate climate. He also meets the pig farmer who swears by the soil for rearing his livestock.

Margherita joins a shepherd turned artist for a lesson in watercolours out in the Brecks, and Adam has got his hands full with two alpacas who have an unusual job to do.

Tom Heap looks at the animal diseases worrying farmers at this time of year and asks if there is a chink in our armour.

Ellie Harrison sees her home county of Gloucestershire as she has never seen it before. She also looks back through the archives to the time when some well-known faces were asked which part of the county's countryside is special to them. DJ Edith Bowman visits Fife, comedian Susan Calman takes a trip to the Isle of Arran and chef Michael Caines wonders at the wilds of Dartmoor. Plus singer David Essex returns to his beloved Kent, Falklands veteran Simon Weston spends time in south Wales and actress Nina Wadia explores the Highlands.

In this special Christmas programme, Matt, John and Anita are in Castleton in the Peak District, where the celebrated Christmas tree festival is in full swing. Matt helps get things ready for a big carol concert in the world-famous Peak Cavern.

At the nearby Longshaw Estate, John looks for a Christmas tree at one of the biggest Christmas tree sales in the country. And Anita visits a farm that puts on its very own Nativity play, complete with newborn Christmas lambs.

Meanwhile in Norfolk, Adam challenges Ellie to a race with a difference, her flock of geese racing against his flock of turkeys. And in Staffordshire, Tom meets the farmer who hands out food parcels containing his own produce to help those in need this Christmas.

This week on Countryfile, Adam Henson is in New Zealand to find out what makes it one of the most exciting places to farm. Along the way, he meets some old friends, helps with a cattle muster like no other, witnesses sheep farming on a breathtaking scale and goes on the hunt for a rare goat breed with an unbelievable story.