蜜芽传媒

It鈥檚 800 years since聽Magna Carta and Matt Baker聽takes a trip back in time to a place where they farm just like they did in the 聽Middle Ages. Laxton in Nottinghamshire has the only remaining medieval 鈥榦pen field鈥� farming system in Europe, and plays host to a group of passionate farmers determined to keep its historic practices alive. After joining farmer Stuart Rose to see the strips of farmland that make up Laxton鈥檚 unique agricultural landscape, Matt meets Professor John Beckett, who explains the impact 聽Magna Carta had on rural life.聽 Finally, Matt joins the farmers at the traditional Court Leet and Jury 鈥� an ancient legal session that鈥檚 survived since the Middle Ages.聽For latecomer Matt there鈥檚 a price to pay for breaking Court rules.

The Chillingham Herd are the last remaining herd of wild cattle in the UK. Penned within the Chillingham Park estate the beasts are completely untamed and remain untouched since the medieval ages. As a result their behaviour is entirely natural and can give us unique insight into the behaviour of our ancestral wild cattle. Adam Henson's聽travelled up to Northumberland to see these rare unpredictable animals face to face and to meet some of the people tasked with preserving their legacy.

How many species of wild bird can you spot in your town or city?聽 You might surprise yourself 鈥� if you know where to look.聽 Ellie Harrison is in Nottingham with David Lindo, who calls himself The Urban Birder. He鈥檚 on a mission to show people you don鈥檛 have to go into the country to see birds.聽 Towns and cities can provide habitats for a wide variety of species.聽聽Ellie goes聽on a tour of city locations but there鈥檚 a surprise for the bird watchers when a juvenile peregrine falcon flies from its 9th story nest - and lands on a busy pavement.

Fly tipping, hare coursing, poaching, badger baiting and break-ins are just some of the crimes that happen in the countryside. But until recently there鈥檚 been no way of recording the sheer amount of offences that occur outside UK cities. North Yorkshire鈥檚 Police and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan talks to Tom Heap about a new survey set up by the National Rural Crime Network aimed at changing the chronic under reporting of crimes and targeting resources better.

Love them or loathe them, electricity pylons have been part of the British landscape for almost 90 years. 聽But now there鈥檚 a new look on the horizon with聽the first new pylon design in decades.聽 Joe Crowley visits the National Grid Training Centre to see the prototype 鈥楾-Pylons鈥�.聽 Leaner, cleaner and less intrusive,聽 they could revolutionise how we receive our power.聽 聽Whilst there Joe joins overhead lines specialist, Matt Murphy, to get an electricity engineers eye view of Nottinghamshire. 聽He then joins 鈥楾-Pylon鈥� project leader Alan Lodge,聽for a first-hand look at the innovative new design.

Battle lines are being drawn in all four corners of the UK as Countryfile helps launch the Woodland Trust鈥檚 annual 鈥楾ree of the Year鈥� competition. The competition aims to find our favourite trees and Matt takes a look at some likely contenders.聽 He meets聽Chris Hickman from the Woodland Trust at the Major Oak, of Robin Hood fame, and learns more about the competition. Entries are being sought from right across聽the UK; with England, Scotland, Wales and for the first time Northern Ireland each having an individual contest. Any tree is eligible. Matt then joins ancient tree hunter 聽Rob McBride in searching out more candidates deep in Sherwood Forest.

Have you ever wanted聽to know how horses work? Then watch Ellie as she grabs a brush and helps to paint聽bones and muscles on the side of a horse.聽 It鈥檚 a technique developed by Equine physical therapist Gillian Higgins to teach people how horse鈥檚 bones and muscles flex and stretch when they are being ridden.聽Ellie joins Gillian at Nottingham Trent University鈥檚 Equine Studies Centre and sees for herself how Gillian鈥檚 techniques are helping horse riders gain a better understanding of how sitting in the saddle affects horse posture. Ellie gets in the saddle herself for a close up look during a series of simple riding exercises and聽Gillian shows how some simple tricks with a carrot can help a horse to limber up.

Whilst in Sherwood鈥檚 ancient forest, Matt finds out about Magna Carta鈥檚 largely unknown cousin, 鈥淭he Charter of the Forest鈥�. Sherwood Forest Trust鈥檚 Ian Major explains that while Magna Carta spoke mainly of the rights of the barons, the 1217 Forest Charter addressed the rights of ordinary people. This not only allowed men to access the royal forests but gave them the right to collect firewood and graze animals in them. The Charter鈥檚 legacy was also that craftsmen could work in the forest without fear of reprisal. Matt meets chainsaw miller Patrick Turk and traditional bodger Bryan Eskriett, two very different craftsmen who owe their trade to these ancient rights.聽