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Ellie Harrison steps into the shoes of a guide at Sudeley Castle in the Cotswolds. It is not an easy task as she is challenged to learn a thousand years of history in one day. The estate was once home to Richard III and Katherine Parr, the last of King Henry VIII’s wives, is buried in the chapel. Today though it is the residence of the Dent-Brocklehurst family and the grounds are home to fifteen breeds of rare pheasant. But as the time approaches for Ellie to lead a tour, will she have done enough cramming?

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Julia Bradbury takes a bumpy ride over Holyhead Mountain, to a rocky headland called North Stack. This remote spot is now home to artist Philippa Jacobs who paints in the old Fog House perched on the cliffs. It seems like the edge of the world, but Philippa says that here she feels connected to the globe and gets inspiration for her art. Of course, it wasn’t always so peaceful. Before the days of GPS, automatic foghorns in the signal station warned ships away from the treacherous rocks – and before that guns were fired. Julia meets one of the last men to fire them and discovers an old picture of his days at North Stack.

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Renishaw Hall in north-east Derbyshire has been owned by the same family for 400 years. It was built by a local ironmaster and was a green oasis surrounded by heavy industry. Adam Henson discovers the history of the hall and the generations of Sitwell family that have lived there. He also gets to explore the grounds and gardens.

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A few hundred years ago the border areas between Scotland and England were dominated by violence and robbery. Boarder ‘reivers’ were raiders from lawless families and clans who would steal livestock and goods from each other. Matt Baker delves into the history of bastles - fortified farmhouses built for defence by the old residents of the Northumberland landscape. He also catches up with father and son duo, Mike and Gary Simpson, who specialise in heritage consolidation, from bastle houses and castles to Hadrian’s Wall. Matt’s put through his paces as he tries his hand at lime mortar mixing and pointing work at Cartington Castle.

John Craven visits Downhill Demesne in County Londonderry to discover more about the eccentric ecclesiast Frederick Harvey, Earl of Bristol and Bishop of Derry. The Bishop was renowned for his Mediterranean tastes, his passion for art and his lust for life. His once great mansion now lies in ruins but local volunteers are helping to restore what remains. Whilst some volunteers get their hands dirty maintaining the physical structures, others have taken a more space-age approach, reconstructing the whole house with computer graphics. Plus John gets a surprise musical treat...

IMAGE: John entertains the crew

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Matt Baker visits the popular coastal town of Southwold as it gears itself up for the summer. He gets stuck in by helping Ken Waters, head of the local beach hut association, paint his seaside hut. Matt then meets the Southwold resident who used the town’s traditional bathing machines as a baby, 93 years ago.

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Ellie visits the only commercial hand-made paper mill remaining in the UK, to unwrap the secret of this specialist industry. At Two Rivers Paper Mill in Somerset, Neil Hopkins makes specialist paper for water colour artists using traditional methods. But Ellie has her own ideas about how to liven up the paper.

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