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Dorset

Matt Baker and Margherita Taylor are in Dorset, where Matt spends time at Lorton Meadows, a nature reserve renowned for its birds of prey.

Matt Baker and Margherita Taylor are in Dorset, where Matt spends time at Lorton Meadows, a nature reserve renowned for its birds of prey. He meets Sam Dallimore, who shows him some of the nest boxes, before meeting up with Jason Fathers, who is installing web cameras. And the stars of the show are the polygamous kestrels - one male with two females, a rare occurrence in the raptor world. Thanks to the webcams, Matt gets a close-up view of the chicks too.

Margherita dons her oilskins and tests her sea legs out with the couple who turned their passion for sea fishing into a thriving business.

Adam visits a care farm that is helping people rebuild their lives. Tom discovers how low pupil numbers and a lack of funds mean many rural schools are facing a fight to survive. And Anita meets the first of the contenders in Countryfile's search for a young presenter.

56 minutes

Last on

Tue 10 Jul 2018 00:45
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two

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West Sussex

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Hampton Court

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Clips

See all clips from Dorset (4)

Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:26

    Jess Glynne

    Hold My Hand

  • 00:28

    Agnes Obel

    It's Happening Again

  • 00:35

    Plan B

    Prayin'

  • 00:47

    Agnes Obel

    Stone

  • 00:50

    Clean Bandit

    Extraordinary (feat. Sharna Bass)

Lorton Meadows

Lorton Meadows
Matt spends the day at Lorton Meadows, a nature reserve near Weymouth, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.The site was once earmarked for housing but today is home to a wide range of insects, animals and birds.Matt sees how small nest box cameras are being used to keep an eye on the Kestrels here...and how a dummy bird is an essential tool in setting up the perfect web watch.

Fisher-couple

Fisher-couple
Margherita meets Annie and Ian Gilbert, a couple who sold their hardware business on the mainland 15 years ago to go into commercial fishing full time.Nowadays the pair commute the 12 or so miles out into the English Channel to work...and at this time of year that means sea bass.But when you're married and working this closely together, who's really the captain...Margherita finds out...

School Closures

School Closures
Tom investigates why so many village schools are facing a fight to survive.He travels to Dorset and North Yorkshire to see just how low pupil numbers and tight budgets are putting rural education under increasing pressure...in some cases leading to closures.But could plans to link up smaller schools through larger countryside federations be the answer?

Care Farm

Care Farm
Adam is off to a six-acre smallholding that uses farming as a form of therapy, helping local people and single parents to cope with issues from social isolation to mental health.April Whalley, the manager of Longmead Community Farm, tells Adam how their "mucking in" approach is helping families through difficult times.And he meets Eddie Brown, one of the farm's longest serving volunteers.ΜύΜύ

Wildlife Photographer

Wildlife Photographer
Back in Lorton Meadows, Matt meets Paul Williams, a former soldier and police officer who has now turned wildlife photographer.Paul's career was cut short after he was attacked on duty and was left with post-traumatic stress disorder.But Matt discovers how capturing beautiful images of the wildlife and countryside has given Paul a new lease of life...
Μύ

Credits

Presenter Matt Baker
Presenter Margherita Taylor
Presenter Adam Henson
Presenter Tom Heap
Presenter Anita Rani
Executive Producer William Lyons
Series Producer Joanna Brame

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