Open Country

Jules Hudson discovers an ancient landscape buried deep beneath the East Anglian fens which gives, possibly, the best idea yet of what life was like here thousands of years ago. Several wooden boats, spears, swords and other items have been found on the site of a brick quarry, preserved in silt and peat, and researchers say that this is one of the most important Bronze Age sites ever to be found in Britain Jules hears from David Gibson and Mark Knight of Cambridge University's Archaeological Unit about the history of the Fenland environment and what the discovery of the six boats tells them about the utilisation of the landscape's river system. Amongst the objects that have been found are ancient eel traps, used by some of the first fishermen, and Jules meets Peter Carter who is possibly Fenland's last eel fisherman. Peter takes Jules out on the fens to explain how the the eel traps that have been unearthed at the dig site were made and used and how little this ancient technology has changed over the years. And Maisie Taylor, an expert in prehistoric wood, explains the technology of the boats that have been found and her excitement at the fact that six have been discovered so close to each other. Could there be more?!Presenter: Jules Hudson Producer: Helen Chetwynd.

Deep in the countryside of eastern England, British troops train in a mock Afghan village designed to look, feel, and sound like the real thing. The 30,000-acre training complex allows soldiers to prepare themselves for the cultural and tactical challenges operating in Afghanistan. The facility, built in 2008, is meant to replicate a typical village in Helmand, with houses, shops and open markets, and the exiles playing the role of villagers. In July 1942 about a thousand men, women and children were compulsorily evacuated from the site north of Thetford. It is an area of heath forming a large part of the unique Norfolk- Suffolk Breckland landscape which was cleared to make way for an army training area where troops could manoeuvre using live ammunition. On today's Open Country, Jules Hudson visits the site to investigate how important the village is in preparing the troops for Afghanistan and finds out how those displaced from their villages in 1942 feel about the evacuation 70 years on.

It's been seven years since hunting with hounds was abolished. But it's claimed the country's hunts, which no longer chase a live animal but a trail of artificial scent instead, are in the best shape anyone can remember. So is the ban working? On Boxing Day, three hundred hunts took place across the country and Agricultural Minister, Jim Paice announced there'd be a vote on whether to repeal the act when there's time in the parliamentary calendar. So on today's Open Country, Helen Mark investigates what the latest is on both sides of the debate.

This is the year of the London 2012 Olympic Games. In just 6 months time, 60,000 people are expected to flood into Weymouth and Portland every day for 2 weeks to watch the sailing events. GB has topped the Sailing medals table at the last three Olympic Games. British sailors will be hoping to repeat the feat at London 2012, battling their rivals in Weymouth Bay. Weymouth and Portland have been preparing for this moment since the location of the sailing events was announced over five years ago. The area has seen major developments in terms of the roads, the marina and the esplanade. For this week's Open Country, Helen Mark visits the area to find out how it has prepared to host such a major event and what impact these changes are having on local residents.Presenter : Helen Mark Producer : Anna Varle.

Knockando woolmill, near Aberlour on Speyside, has produced fabric since 1784. Its original machinery has supported families down the centuries and the mill has retained a place at the heart of the local community, working with wool from local sheep and weaving tweed and blankets for the flocks' owners. A break had to come, though, for renovation and renewal work which, it is hoped, will allow it to continue its work into the next century and beyond. The trust which runs the mill is determined that it should continue to be far more than a living museum, so Helen Mark visits Knockando just as the restoration work comes to an end to ask where it might market its products, whether anyone nowadays has the skills to keep it alive, and how the Knockando community can be involved in its survival. Presenter: Helen Mark. Producer : Moira Hickey.

The fisherman’s gansey (a word thought to derive from ‘guernsey’) is a seamless woollen pullover worn by generations of seamen for work and at leisure. It was comfortable, practical and tough enough to provide some protection from the elements, and every community had its own pattern (possibly in an effort to identify drowned fishermen) although these patterns were seldom committed to paper. The ganseys of the Moray Firth coastline, the 500 miles between Duncansby Head and Fraserburgh, have become the focus of a three-year project aiming to preserve the heritage of the fishing communities and save the gansey from becoming a historical curiosity. Project workers are working to save existing ganseys, helping local knitting groups to create new ones and encouraging modern interpretations of this most traditional of garments. The gansey, it turns out, is more than a fisherman’s jumper: it’s a potent symbol of lives past and of a community in danger of losing touch with its early fishing roots.

This is one of the busiest times of year on the Farne Islands off the Northumberland Coast. Almost 1,500 seal pups are being born and almost half of these will die in their first three weeks. Since 1951, wardens have been counting and tagging the pups born on the Farne Islands. During this time, the number of pups born has trebled, from 500 to 1499, making it the largest English colony of Atlantic grey seals. When the survey began, scientists knew almost nothing about how seals bred, what they ate or where they went during the winter. Those early studies on the Farnes were groundbreaking, setting the standard for all later seal research around the world. The local port, Seahouses, used to be a major fishing town. During the 1960's and 70's, thousands of seals were shot because they were thought to be a threat to local fish stocks. Now the town relies more on tourism than fishing. Jules Hudson visits the Farne Islands to find out more about the research project and to investigate the impact the seals are having on the fishing industry and the local area.

The Search and Rescue Dog Association (SARDA) Wales is a specialist element of Mountain Rescue in England and Wales responsible for the training and deployment of dogs to search for missing people in the mountains and on the moorlands of Britain as well as lowland, rural and urban areas. When someone is missing in a rural or mountain environment, a dog team can be more effective than 4 teams of people, covering large areas much faster and effectively. For the handlers and trainers who bring their dogs along to be trained in this work, this work is voluntary and something that they do out of their sheer love of the great outdoors and, of course, the reward of working so closely with their dogs to search for missing people. Helen Mark joins some of the experienced, and not so experienced, dogs and handlers at the foot of Cader Idris in the Snowdonia National Park to find out what this work involves, how important it is to the search teams and to the people they help and to hear why 'one man (or woman!) and their dog are such a fundamental part of the British landscape.Helen meets Helen Howe, an experienced trainer and handler, who explains how the dogs and their handlers are trained to search and rescue missing people. It can take around 3 years to train a new puppy to become a fully qualified Search Dog and Helen Howe explains how this is done. Between then, Helen and Cluania have had several successful finds. However, it is impossible to train a search dog without the invaluable help of a team of people called 'dogsbodies' and Helen Mark then meets up with Emmer Litt who has been volunteering herself as a 'body' for over four years. At each training event, Emmer spends her time hiding out in the hills that she loves with a good book and a flask of tea waiting to be 'found' by the dogs in training. Without the help of people like Emmer it is impossible to train a search dog because they need someone to search for and so Helen joins trainee handler, Rob Johnson, and his dog Skye as they set off in the hunt for Emmer who is now hidden somewhere under Snowdonia's autumn sunshine in the foothills of Cader Idris.Finally, Helen joins handler Iain Nicholson and his dog, Mij, who is a trailing dog. Together they demonstrate for Helen how Mij works in a scent specific way by following the actual scent of the person that is missing. Iain and Mij work from the place that the missing person was last seen and have been extremely successful in locating people in more lowland and urban areas as well as helping out with the Mountain Rescue Teams of the Lake District. Being part of SARDA is extremely important to the handlers and dogs that are involved but their continued presence on the British landscape is just as vital to the people that they help to rescue each year.Presenter: Helen Mark Producer: Helen Chetwynd.

Does the British landscape hold the key to a new and revolutionary form of energy? Jules Hudson is in Lancashire to find out about shale gas, a by-product of shale rock which forms much of the geology of the county's landscape. Using a technique known as 'fracking', which involves using a high pressure combination of water, sand and chemicals, the rock is then fractured in order to release the gas. For Cuadrilla, the company responsible for the drilling, these are exciting times. But opponents to the process are concerned about the environmental damage this may cause and also about the possibility of earthquakes after drilling was halted earlier this year following two quakes close to Blackpool. Should we unlock the vast resources of shale gas deep under our landscape? Jules Hudson visits Lancashire to meet the people responsible for the drilling and to find out what is so special about the Bowland Shale.Presenter: Jules Hudson Producer: Helen Chetwynd.

British Waterways is responsible for over two thousand miles of canals and navigable rivers across the country. Next year, it is just one of many bodies preparing to become a charity due to Government cuts. As part of this new status, the organisation is launching a recruitment drive for volunteers to train as lock keepers. Today's Open Country, is from Caen Hill locks in Devizes, one of the most impressive and iconic canals in the country. Jules Hudson finds out how important volunteers will be in maintaining our canals and what the future holds for British Waterways.Presenter: Jules Hudson Producer : Anna Varle.