Countryfile: 2016
Season 29 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Countryfile Season 28.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 29 Progress Shield
Compilation: Winter Wildlife
Jan 3, 2016 · 60 min
Ellie Harrison is at the Cotswold Water Park looking back at some of Countryfile's encounters with winter wildlife, and spotting some of her own.
Hertfordshire
Jan 10, 2016 · 60 min
Countryfile is in Hertfordshire, where Matt Baker meets a farming family who are turning oilseed rape into liquid gold - oil.
Gloucestershire
Jan 17, 2016 · 60 min
Countryfile is in Gloucestershire, where Matt gives the trees at Batsford Arboretum a health check using a clever bit of x-ray kit to look for decay.
North Devon
Jan 24, 2016 · 60 min
Ellie Harrison and Matt Baker are in north Devon, where Matt finds out what life is like for the residents once the tourists have gone.
Winter Special
Jan 31, 2016 · 60 min
The team pull on their thermals for a walk on the wild side of winter. Adam heads to North Ronaldsay, where their rare seaweed-eating sheep are under threat.
Tyne and Wear
Feb 7, 2016 · 60 min
Matt Baker visits a country park near Newcastle that was once the site of a coalmine, and Ellie Harrison looks at the restoration of Roker Lighthouse near Sunderland.
Norfolk Broads
Feb 14, 2016 · 60 min
Matt Baker joins student gamekeepers at work, while Ellie Harrison reveals how cranes have returned to Norfolk after an absence of 400 years.
Staffordshire
Feb 21, 2016 · 60 min
Matt Baker and Ellie Harrison are in Staffordshire. Matt visits a school with farming at the heart of the curriculum. Ellie meets a couple who own a nature reserve.
Essex
Feb 28, 2016 · 60 min
Matt Baker and Shauna Lowry are near Colchester on the Essex coast. Matt ventures to Mersea Island to meet an oyster fisherman, and Shauna Lowry goes to the River Colne.
Northern Ireland
Mar 6, 2016 · 60 min
Exploring the beauty of Northern Ireland, John Craven finds out about Rathlin Island's kelp industry. Anita Rani meets a farmer whose animals are now TV stars.
Young Farmers Compilation
Mar 13, 2016 · 60 min
Countryfile is in Aberystwyth, where Adam Henson visits the town's university to meet the youngsters working towards a career in farming.
Sussex
Mar 20, 2016 · 60 min
Matt Baker and Ellie Harrison are in Sussex exploring Ashdown Forest, the inspiration for the Hundred Acre Wood in AA Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh stories. Matt also visits a farm belon
Three Counties
Mar 27, 2016 · 60 min
The team explore the three counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire and meet some of the local crafts people keeping rural skills alive.
Cattle Theme
Apr 3, 2016 · 60 min
Matt Baker, Anita Rani and Helen Skelton tell the story of cattle in this themed programme. Matt spends the day with a young beef farmer.
Northumberland
Apr 10, 2016 · 60 min
John Craven marks the 40th anniversary of LS Lowry's death by following in the artist's footsteps. Ellie Harrison learns about how to conserve moorland.
Dumfries and Galloway
Apr 17, 2016 · 60 min
Joe Crowley meets a woman who looks after a herd of Belted Galloway cattle. Anita Rani joins photographer Keith Kirk after dark, looking for wildlife.
Shakespeare Special
Apr 24, 2016 · 60 min
To mark 400 years since Shakespeare's death, Countryfile travels the length and breadth of the country in search of the landscapes that inspired his works.
Conservation Compilation
May 1, 2016 · 60 min
Ellie Harrison visits the South Haven Peninsula in Dorset to tell the story of conservation's unsung hero Captain Cyril Diver.
South Devon
May 8, 2016 · 60 min
Matt Baker explores the Dartington estate in south Devon to discover the history of the place and meet the farmers who are turning their goats' milk into ice cream.
Spring Special
May 15, 2016 · 60 min
A snapshot of spring, including dolphins in Cardigan Bay, one of the UK's last remaining hay meadows, a Roman fort in Alderney, and a large vegetated shingle spit.
Veggie Theme
May 22, 2016 · 60 min
A snapshot of spring, including dolphins in Cardigan Bay, one of the UK's last remaining hay meadows, a Roman fort in Alderney, and a large vegetated shingle spit.
Snowdonia
May 29, 2016 · 60 min
John Craven races a hill runner to the summit of Snowdon and meets the volunteers protecting the area's ospreys.
Montrose
Jun 5, 2016 · 60 min
Matt Baker and Anita Rani are at the stunning Montrose Basin in Angus in Scotland, and Tom Heap asks what the EU referendum may mean for Britain's fisheries.
Hampshire
Jun 15, 2016 · 60 min
To celebrate British Flowers Week, Charlotte Smith and Anita Rani look at the resurgence of British flowers. Charlotte finds out why the smell of flowers is so popular.
East Midlands
Jun 19, 2016 · 60 min
Matt Baker takes to the Trent in a kayak and finds out about the effort to clean up the river. In Rutland, Helen Skelton is an apprentice in a windmill.
Compilation Weather
Jun 26, 2016 · 60 min
A look back at the long hot summer of 1976 with TV weatherman John Hammon, plus a rerun of some of Countryfile's best weather-related stories.
Pembrokeshire
Jul 3, 2016 · 60 min
John Craven takes to the water in Pembrokeshire to find out about the area's boating heritage, painting boats and learning sea shanties along the way.
Kent
Jul 10, 2016 · 60 min
It is tennis season and Countryfile is visiting Kent, where Matt Baker finds out about Wimbledon strawberries and gets to grips with the harvest.
Meadows
Jul 17, 2016 · 60 min
The Countryfile team explore meadows, from the wildlife that makes the meadow its home to the plants that thrive there. Matt Baker discovers the art of scything.
Cumbria
Jul 24, 2016 · 60 min
The team visit Cumbria, looking at the places which inspired Beatrix Potter, a farm run using horses and steam power, and Lakeland sports, including Cumberland wrestling.
Summer Special
Jul 31, 2016 · 60 min
A special edition of Countryfile celebrating the Great British summer. Matt Baker travels along the south Wales coast, while Naomi Wilkinson punts along the River Cam in Cambridge.
Island Life Compilation
Aug 7, 2016 · 60 min
Anita heads to the tiny Scottish island of Kerrera, where she joins the postmaster on her daily round and helps the shepherd round up her sheep.
Lochaber
Aug 14, 2016 · 60 min
Countryfile marks the sixtieth anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme. Joe heads to the Scottish Highlands to meet a team taking part in five-day challenge.
Countryfile Live
Aug 21, 2016 · 60 min
Matt Baker mingles with exhibitors and visitors at the first ever Countryfile Live, which took place in the magnificent grounds of Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.
Wiltshire
Aug 28, 2016 · 60 min
Countryfile has been given access to an excavation at the Stonehenge World Heritage site, and Joe Crowley meets the team who have found strange items buried in the soil.
Harvest
Sep 4, 2016 · 60 min
It is harvest time, and the countryside is buzzing with activity. The Countryfile team are getting stuck in as crops are brought in across the country.
Anglesey
Sep 11, 2016 · 60 min
Anita Rani explores Anglesey, off the north west coast of Wales. She navigates the notorious Menai Strait and meets the fisherman who bought an island.
Inspirational Countryside Compilation
Sep 18, 2016 · 60 min
Countryfile marks the 100th anniversary of Roald Dahl's birth by discovering his passion for the outdoors and how it inspired his writing.
One Man and His Dog
Sep 25, 2016 · 60 min
Matt Baker and Anita Rani preside over proceedings as the best shepherds and their dogs from England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland battle it out for the trophy.
Surrey
Oct 2, 2016 · 60 min
Anita Rani travels to Surrey to explore the revival of interest in growing hops there. Adam Henson is hoping for the right conditions to get the last of his wheat harvest in.
Rivers & Waterways
Oct 9, 2016 · 60 min
Matt meets a writer who draws inspiration from the Thames Estuary and its people, and Naomi meets a photographer captivated by the waterfall at Lydford Gorge.
Isle of Wight
Oct 16, 2016 · 60 min
Matt and Anita explore the Isle of Wight. Matt abseils down the walls of Carisbrooke Castle, while Anita is on Ventnor Downs helping to round up feral goats.
Autumn Special
Oct 23, 2016 · 60 min
To celebrate nature's final flourish before the slow descent into winter, the team pulls on its wellies, kicks through the crisp leaves and explores the fruits of our forests.
Herefordshire
Oct 30, 2016 · 60 min
Matt looks at Herefordshire's historic perry-making industry and helps out with the pear harvest. He starts out at Weston's, the world's biggest producers of perry.
Ramble for Children in Need
Nov 6, 2016 · 60 min
In this extended edition of Countryfile, the team head out into some of the nation's most beautiful landscapes for the Countryfile Ramble for BBC Children in Need.
A Remembrance Sunday Special
Nov 13, 2016 · 60 min
Helen Skelton is on a special cycle ride across northern France to commemorate 100 years since the Battle of the Somme.
West Yorkshire
Nov 20, 2016 · 60 min
In West Yorkshire, Matt Baker meets the youngsters who have become RSPB rangers. Anita Rani meets an author who immerses himself in the landscape.
Brecon Beacons
Nov 27, 2016 · 60 min
The team explores the Brecon Beacons. Matt Baker discovers geocaching, a treasure hunt with a modern twist, and meets an artist whose canvas is the night sky.
Lincolnshire
Dec 4, 2016 · 60 min
The team are in Lincolnshire, where it's all go in the vast fields of winter veg. John Craven learns about the kalette, a cross between kale and a brussels sprout.
Aberdeenshire
Dec 11, 2016 · 60 min
The team are in Aberdeenshire, where Helen visits the only village on mainland Britain where cars can't go. Plus a turkey farm where the guard dogs are alpacas.
Christmas Special
Dec 18, 2016 · 60 min
Countryfile celebrates Christmas at Bamburgh Castle on the Northumbrian coast. John Craven learns what the first Christmases on Lindisfarne would have been like.
James Herriot Compilation
Dec 26, 2016 · 60 min
Ellie Harrison visits Thirsk to celebrate the centenary of vet Alf Wight, known to the world as James Herriot, and speaks to his children.