Live from Quarr Abbey on the Isle of Wight

Our seasonal journey across the UK continues with a bright advent morning at the Abbey of Our Lady of Quarr situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty off the south coast of England on the Isle of Wight. Sarah Walker is joined by a group of the abbey's Benedictine monks for Advent Gregorian chant ahead of their Advent mass, and she explores both the beautiful and rugged nearby coastline and the abbey gardens. Plus, live music from the island from the period trio Phantasia, and we discover the long history of Christmas trees on the island.

From dawn to dusk, Radio 3 marks the beginning of the Christmas season with a day of live broadcasts from six striking locations across the UK.

From coast to chapel, woodland to mountainside, Carols Across the Country – A Seasonal Journey celebrates the spirit of Advent and Christmas through a rich tapestry of seasonal classical, folk, choral and instrumental music, alongside poetry, local storytelling and the ambient sounds of winter.

Radio 3 presenters Mark Forrest, Sarah Walker, John Toal, Shân Cothi, and Kate Molleson will broadcast from stunning locations across the country: from the Staffordshire Moorlands in the English West Midlands; to the Isle of Wight, off the south coast in the English Channel; from the foot of the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland; to the rural village of Bethlehem in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The centrepiece of the afternoon is the annual Advent Service from St John’s College in Cambridge. And on the feast day of the patron saint of Scotland, the day ends in St Andrews in Fife to the sound of the Scottish pipes.

Painting vivid pictures of place and tradition, and evoking the themes of winter, Advent, light, memory and renewal, join Radio 3 for a day-long celebration in sound – where music meets landscape, and the season begins.