大象传媒

Matt Baker follows in the footsteps of the naturalist Gilbert White. Gilbert lived in the tiny Hampshire village of Selborne in the eighteenth century and taught us how to view the natural world with fresh eyes. His humorous observations of flora, fauna and wildlife even inspired Charles Darwin.听 Matt traverses the 鈥渮ig zag鈥� path Gilbert had built in the hillside 鈥� so he could enjoy the view - and puts on a special tortoise nature trail in honour of Gilbert鈥檚 beloved pet 鈥淭imothy鈥�.

IMAGE:听Matt and the tortoise trackers

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Lowland heathland is scarcer than rain forest. John Craven meets a hardy bunch who were so passionate about saving more than three hundred acres near their homes that they bought the lot! John gets a chance to perfect his billhook skills and helps as they clear scrub to encourage rare species to flourish. Historically the commons in the South Downs would have been managed by 鈥渂room squires鈥�, who used wood from the birch trees to make brooms.听 John gets a lesson from a woodsman and pole-lathe turner to create his own broom. But will his efforts cut the mustard?

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The last decade of Jane Austen鈥檚 short life were her most productive. Amongst many other things, she perfected Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey. Jane wrote from her desk in a cottage in the village of Chawton, an idyllic pastoral setting in the South Downs. Ellie Harrison finds out how the landscape, and life in a small village, inspired the author and meets a gentle giant who鈥檚 taking Chawton back to the way it would have been in Jane鈥檚 day.

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Hollywood is a dream factory where through remarkable technology they can make almost anything appear to happen. This week on Countryfile Adam Henson may not be seeing pigs fly, but he will be finding out how a team from Newcastle University are using special effects technology to help improve animal welfare. He鈥檒l see for himself how computer software developed for some of the cinema鈥檚 biggest blockbusters, together with some reflective stickers, are being used to help resolve the issue of lameness in pigs.

With its chalky soil and sheltered south facing slopes, Hampshire is one of the best places in Britain to make wine. Vines are being planted where there was once wheat and there are now thirty-two commercial vineyards covering more than three hundred and sixty acres. Ellie finds out how you set up in wine production and why the English are starting giving the French a run for their money. But this summer鈥檚 weather has not been kind to the grapes, and Ellie finds out just how that is going to affect this year鈥檚 wine.听

The campaign to get us all eating five portions of fruit and vegetables every day is now a decade old. But has it really made British people healthier? Tom Heap investigates claims that getting a portion of fruit and veg from processed food isn鈥檛 doing us as much good as eating fresh produce. Plus he hears that a tendency to eat more fruit than veg is not only having an impact on British farmers, it is the wrong way to interpret the five a day message.

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Is there a better motto that we could use for healthier eating? Send your ideas to countryfile@bbc.co.uk