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Cambridgeshire

Countryfile visits Cambridgeshire, where Anita Rani is at the 40th annual hedge-laying competition and meets a painter who finds trees totally inspiring.

Countryfile visits Cambridgeshire, where Anita Rani is at the 40th annual hedge-laying competition and meets a painter who finds trees totally inspiring.

Sean Fletcher meets two water buffalo helping in the battle against invasive pennywort. Margherita Taylor is bowled over by a group of woodworkers.

And it's a big day for Adam Henson as he finds out if his cattle are TB free, and Charlotte investigates claims that hundreds of villages have been condemned to an early grave.

55 minutes

Last on

Tue 27 Nov 2018 02:15

Music Played

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

  • 00:15

    Nils Frahm

    Four Hands

Going Hedge-to-Hedge

Going Hedge-to-Hedge

Anita’s on Lark Rise farm, near Cambridge, at one of the biggest events in the countryside calendar: the 40th National Hedge-laying Championship.

Almost 100 competitors from all four corners of the country will descend on the farm for the competition, laying 1,000 metres of hedge in just 5 hours.

And this year, Anita has pulled aside three of this year’s championship hopefuls to take part in our very own Countryfile Hedgelaying Challenge!

It’s a strong field of competitors – but who will come out on top?

Dying Villages

Dying Villages

Charlotte investigates claims that hundreds of small villages across the UK are being written off by local planning bosses when it comes to new affordable housing.

Fears focus on the use of a little-known ranking system called a Settlement Hierarchy. It grades villages on the number of services, like banks, post offices and schools, it has.

Those at the bottom of the hierarchy are deemed to be areas where new housing would be unsustainable….but does that mean these dying villages have no hope of revival?

Blue Albions

Blue Albions

Adam’s waiting to find out whether his cattle are clear of TB or not and he’s particularly concerned about his herd of Blue Albions.

Now, that they’ve been classified as a rare breed he’s keen to get the cows into calf to help the their survival.

But if they test positive for TB all the planning for the population's future revival will come to nothing...

Flotating Pennywort

Flotating Pennywort

The waterways and wetlands of Cambridgeshire are home to an array of precious wildlife.

And few places are more bountiful than the Kingfisher Bridge Nature Reserve, near Ely.

But the reserve is facing a threat: floating pennywort, an invasive weed from South America, is taking over the waterways.

Luckily, there are a few brave souls determined to break the stranglehold of this plant - meet The Cam Valley Forum, a charity dedicated to looking after the rivers of Cambridgeshire.

Tree Artist

Tree Artist

Artist Debbie Baxter shows Anita one of her favourite spots to paint trees in Cambridgeshire.

Wandlebury Country Park, just south of Cambridge, offers wonderful walks through woodland and is the perfect spot to capture the beauty of the county’s trees on canvas...

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Anita Rani
Presenter Sean Fletcher
Presenter Margherita Taylor
Presenter Adam Henson
Presenter Charlotte Smith

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