Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Autumn Special

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.

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.

Anita heads to Somerset for a rare autumnal sight - walnut woodland with laden branches. We meet walnut farmer Roger Saul as he reaps one of Somerset's newest crops, borrowing technology from one of its oldest.

Matt is in the wilds of East Sussex to meet Nick Weston, a writer, woodsman and chef who spent six months living off-grid in a tree house built from wood and recycled materials.

Tim Shepherd is a botanist who specialises in timelapse filming. We gather young fungi on deadwood from Tim's local woodland to take back to his studio to film them growing.

We join Adam as he delivers some of his pigs to a Gloucestershire farmer using this traditional way of animal and woodland management.

John investigates the hibernation of dormice on the Isle of Wight.

1 hour

Last on

Mon 31 Oct 2016 01:40

The forest kitchen

The forest kitchen

Matt’s in the woodlands of East Sussex with hunter-gatherer Nick Weston. In his 20’s, Nick gave up the rat race as a chef in the city and set himself a challenge; to move back to the countryside, build a tree house and stay in it for six months, living off the land. Matt meets Nick in his tree house kitchen, as they get hands on, cooking up a true taste of autumn with some seasonal game and truffles.

Discover more about foraging

Walnut harvest

Walnut harvest

Anita Rani heads to Somerset for a rare autumnal sight – cultivated walnut orchards ripe for harvesting. We meet farmer Roger Saul and the team as they attempt for the first time to harvest one of Somerset's newest crops, borrowing technology from one of the county's oldest.

What to do with your walnuts!

Spicy woodland pork

Spicy woodland pork

Pigs emerging through the autumn mists and snuffling through the woodland, yes it could only be Adam Henson as he delivers some of his pigs to Simon Wilson, who rears pigs in Gloucestershire woodland. Back at the farm Adam cooks up some spicy sausages with celebrity chef Cyrus Todiwala OBE. Adam may be a dab hand at rearing pigs, but will his sausage stuffing skills impress the chef? 

Autumn fungi

Autumn fungi

Botanist and cameraman Tim Shepherd tramps about his local Devonshire woodlands in search of weird and wonderful fungi – not to eat, but to film. Tim, whose work has featured in several of David Attenborough’s most famous programmes, specialises in time-lapse techniques that reveal a world hidden in plain sight. 

Bonkers for conkers

Bonkers for conkers

Every Autumn the village of Southwick hosts of the World Conker Championships, with children and adults battling it out. But there is more to this nut than meets the eye, as Naomi Wilkinson discovers. During the First World War a call went out for Scouts and schools across the country to gather as many conkers as possible, but how could the humble conker help the war effort? 

The World Conker Championships

Walnut ink

Walnut ink

If you thought that walnuts were only good for eating, you’re in for a surprise, as Anita joins artisan dyer and ink maker Catherine Lewis who demonstrates the remarkable versatility of the walnut – seasonal art, poetry and fashion are all on the menu. 

Make your own walnut ink

Fruity fish

Fruity fish

Nottinghamshire based wildlife photographer Jack Perks shares his obsession with British freshwater fish in the most seasonal fashion. As the berries ripen on branches and drop into the river, Jack captures the unexpected sight of the fish gorging on the autumn fruit. 

Dormice

Dormice

John Craven is at Briddlesford Woods on the Isle of Wight, to find out about what can be done to help rare hazel dormouse. Dormouse Officer Ian White takes him to the woodland’s pioneering dormouse bridge, which is being used to link up fragmented habitats. Finally, John lends a hand with checking some of Ian’s nest boxes, but will he catch a glimpse of a dormouse before they bed down for the winter? 

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Matt Baker
Presenter Anita Rani
Presenter Naomi Wilkinson
Presenter Adam Henson
Executive Producer William Lyons
Series Producer Joanna Brame

Broadcasts