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Almost 309 years ago, a horrendous storm hit the coast of England wreaking havoc across the country. Crops were destroyed, animals drowned and lives lost – and the county of Somerset was right in the firing line. But we might never have known about the storm if it wasn’t for one man, the writer Daniel Defoe, who asked people throughout the land to send him their tales of the wild weather. Julia Bradbury is in Burnham On Sea on a mission to find out more about the storm and why it happened in the first place.

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Snaking its way through the countryside, the West Somerset Railway has been bringing tourists to this part of the county for more than 100 years. Today it carries more than 100,000 passengers a year along the 20-mile stretch from Bishop’s Lydeard to Minehead, but it hasn’t always been this prosperous. Matt hops on board to find out how the railway was renovated in the 1970s and gets his hands dirty discovering what it takes to keep these carriages going.

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Predicting the weather has become much more sophisticated since the storm of 1703 and the most vulnerable areas of our coastline are now protected by flood defences. But what happens when you live in an area at threat of flooding from both the sea and the rivers which gush down through the hilly valleys from Exmoor? Well, you need a flood action plan. Julia meets the residents of Porlock Village and puts their plan to the test for the first time. But will she manage to get the sandbags out in time or will she need to be rescued from the rising waters?

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In the Winter many stately homes close their doors to the public, but this year Dunster Castle has decided to stay open giving visitors a glimpse of how the house would have looked at Christmas. It’s also the time of year when the house gets a thorough tidy as more than 80 staff and volunteers empty and clean 40 rooms. Matt Baker finds himself in unfamiliar territory as he attempts to create a flower arrangement for the grand table.

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