 | | | | | PROGRAMME INFO | | | |
| | | From Shetland to the Scilly Isles, Open Country travels the UK in search of the stories, the people and the wildlife that make our countryside such a vibrant place. Each week we visit a new area to hear how local people are growing the crops, protecting the environment, maintaining the traditions and cooking the food that makes their corner of rural Britain unique.
Email: [email protected]
Postal address: Open Country,
BBC Radio 4, Birmingham, B5 7QQ.
| | | | | LISTEN AGAIN | | | |
|
|
| | PRESENTER | | | |
|  | | | | More about Helen Mark | | | | |
| | | | | | PROGRAMME DETAILS | | | |
|  | | Harwood Dale | |
Access to the countryside is an issue many people care passionately about and can enjoy thanks to Britain's many national parks which offer the freedom to explore nature in a variety of ways.
The North York Moors National Park spans an area from Scarborough on the east coast, virtually reaching Middlesbrough to the north and Helmsley to the south. Alan Staniforth recently retired as a park ranger and he shares with Helen Mark his love for the landscape and its history.
North York Moors National Park
With a varied landscape of woodland, moorland and gentle hills, it appeals to walkers, cyclists and horse riders. Helen discovers the area was home to Captain James Cook, one of Britain's great sea-faring heroes. A monument built to honour his Yorkshire roots provides a panoramic view of the moorland all the way over to the coast. History lecturer Dr Sophie Forgan takes Helen to the windy summit at Gribdale, overlooking Cook's boyhood home at Great Ayton, to talk about his importance to the county of Yorkshire.
Captain Cook Memorial Museum
Whilst the North York Moors National Park is there for the public to enjoy, there is potential conflict these days between different groups who all want to pursue their own activities in the park. It's not surprising that with increasing numbers of people taking to the moors on bikes, motorbikes, horses and even in four by four vehicles - as well as on foot - that resentment can arise.
Carl Gerharson is Access Officer for the Park and he ensures that everyone is free to enjoy the countryside without bothering or endangering other people. He tells Helen how he tries to keep a delicate balance in his job to try and keep everyone happy, and how he deals with the problem of illegal offroading.
Rural crime resulting partly from the opening up of the countryside is being tackled by a group of local residents through Country Watch. Helen Swires and David Wheeler explain how they work in conjunction with the police to prevent crime in the area.
Access to bridleways and old roads in the park is also the main concern for horsewoman Catriona Cook and for several years she has fought for the right to ride along old trails that have fallen into disuse with the advent of the car. Helen joins her for a gentle hack through woodland at Harwood Dale discovering some of the ancient rights of way that Catriona has campaigned to have re-opened to horses.
The BBC is not responsible for external websites | | |
RELATED LINKS
BBC Holiday Category
BBC Countryfile
| |
| | | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | Audio Help | | | | | | PREVIOUS PROGRAMMES | | | | | Current Week
Last Week
The A44
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire, River Don
Aberfan
Alderley Edge, Cheshire
Ancient buildings
Anglesey
Applecross Peninsula
Aran Islands
Armistice Day, Somerset & Sussex
Auxiliary Units
Bardsey Island
Batsford Park Estate, Glos
Berkshire
Berwyn Mountains
Birdsong
Blackwater Estuary, Essex
Blaenafon
The Blean, Kent
Bosworth Field
Brecon Beacons
Buckinghamshire
Butterflies
By Brook Valley
The Cairngorms
Caithness
Cambridgeshire
Carmarthenshire
Cheddar Gorge
Cherwell Valley
Cheshire: Harrop Valley
Chesil Bank
Clee Hills, Shropshire
Climbers
Corfe Castle
Cornwall
Cornwall: Cape Cornwall
Cornwall: Padstow Lifeboat
Cornwall: Roseland Peninsula
Cotswold
Cotswold Way
County Clare, Ireland
Cranbourne Chase
Cumbria: Eden Valley
Cumbria: Coniston Water
Cumbria: Sellafield
Cumbria
Daingean in Glengarry
Dee Estuary
Derbyshire
Devon & Somerset: Grand Western Canal
Donegal
Dorset
Dorset: Cranborne Chase
Dorsetman
Dowsing
Dunalastair
Durham
Durham: Witton Park
East Anglian Churches
Eden Valley in Cumbria
Eigg
Eire: Co. Mayo
Eire: Skibbereen
Eire: West Cork
Elan Valley, Wales
Eshott, Norhumberland
Essex
Essex: coastal
Exmoor, churches
Falkirk
Farne Islands, Part 1
Farne Islands, Part 2
Fenn's, Whixall & Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve
The Fens
Fife
Flanders
Forster Country
Glencoe Mountains
Glencoe
Gloucestershire
Goa
Goodwin Sands
Gower Peninsula, June 2006
Gower Peninsula, October 2005
Grouse shooting
Guernsey
Hadrian's Wall 2003
Hadrian's Wall 2004
Hambledon Cricket Club
Hampshire: Odium
Hampshire: Selborne
Hardcastle Crags
Heart of Wales Railway
Hebden Bridge
Herefordshire
Hertfordshire
Hidden Treasures
High Weald, Sussex
Holy Island
Ilmington
Isle of Gigha 2004
Isle of Gigha, 2005
Isle of Man - Seas
Isle of Man
Isle of Wight, 2003
Isle of Wight, 2005
Izak Walton
Kent: Dover
Kent: Dungeness Peninsular
Kent: North
Kielder Water
Kinver Edge
Kingham, Oxfordshire
Lake District
Leicestershire: Bosworth Field
Leicestershire: death rituals
Lincolshire farming
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Loch Morar
Looe Island
Ludlow
Lunar Influence
Don McCullin
Richard Mabey
Marsden, West Yorkshire
Mary Towneley Loop
Mersea Island
Mersey Marshes
Metal Detectingg
Mid-Wales
Morecambe Bay
Moel Findeg, North Wales
Morecombe Sands
Nant Gwrtheyrn
National Forest
New Forest
Newton Dee, nr Aberdeen
Norfolk Broads
Norfolk: Thetford Forest
Norfolk: North Norfolk coast
North Devon Combes
Northants: Sulgrave Manor
Northants: Underground
Northern Ireland: Belfast
Northern Ireland: Border Counties
Northern Ireland: Moneypenny's Lock
Northern Ireland: Sperrin Mountains
Northern Ireland: Strangford Lough
Northern Ireland: Toomebridge
North Norfolk Coast
Northumberland, part 1
Northumberland, part 2
North Wessex Downs
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire Moors
North Yorkshire Moors Railway
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire: Sherwood Forest
Oak Trees
Offa's Dyke
Orford Ness
Orkneys
Out Skerries, Shetland
Outward Bound
Oxfordshire
Peak District
Peak District
Pembrokeshire Coast
Pentland Hills
Perthshire
Poachers
Pony Club
River Severn
Romney Marsh
Rutland Water
Scilly
Scotland: Abernethy Forest
Scotland: Loch Morar
Scotland: Shetland
Scotland: Strathclyde
Scotland: What value the countryside?
Scottish Borders
Sefton Coast
Self-sufficient communities
Severn Valley Railway
Shropshire: Ellesmere
Shropshire: Much Wenlock
Shropshire and Wales, Newport
Skegness
Skomer Island
Snowdon
Snowdonia National Park
Somerset Levels
Somerset Levels
Somerset: Montacute House
Somerset writers
South Downs
South Somerset: watermills
Southwold
Spurn Peninsular
Start Bay
Stour Valley
Survival
Sussex
Sutherland, Scotland
Tamar Valley
Thornham Estate, Suffolk
Thurstonland Cricket Club
Twyford Down
Tyntesfield, North Somerset
Village Life
Terry Waite
Wales
Wales: Flatholm Island
Wales: Nant Gwrtheyrn
Wales: Snowdonia
Warwickshire: rare breeds
Wayoh Reservoir
Wenlock Edge
West Sussex
West Yorks: Calder Valley
Weston Common, Surrey
Wild boar
Wiltshire
Wiltshire: Savernake Forest
Women's Institute
Wroxeter
Yorkshire Dales, June 2002
Yorkshire Dales, 1 July 2006
Yorkshire Dales, 8 July 2006
Z to Z Britain
Open Country looks back 2003
| | | | | MESSAGE BOARDS | | | | | Join the discussion:
The Learning Curve
Pick of the Week
Questions, Questions
Woman's Hour
Word of Mouth | | | | | RELATED PROGRAMMES | | | | | Excess Baggage
Changing Places
Similar programmes this week on Radio 4
| | |
|
