A Wild Year

In the far south west corner of Wales lies Pembrokeshire’s wild and rugged coast. Life on this ancient coastline is defined by the rhythm of the seasons and the power of the sea.

Hidden away in the most easterly part of the British Isles are the Fens of East Anglia, a landscape of big skies and distant horizons, wild wetlands and fertile farmland. Water has always been the driving force here - its ebb and flow has shaped the Fens for thousands of years. The ancient wetlands covered hundreds of square miles and overflowed with wildlife. Today, well over 90% has gone, drained over the centuries and converted into farmland. Yet despite these changes, it is still possible to glimpse the richness of those wetlands.

In the north east of England lies a wild and remote moorland - 550 square miles of windswept heather-clad uplands and deep, sheltered valleys or dales. These are the North York Moors. Over millennia, this spectacular landscape has been shaped by the elements - by water and ice - and more recently by people.

In Northeast England lies a wild and remote landscape - The North York Moors. The heather-clad uplands and sheltered dales have been shaped both by the elements and by people over the millennia. Hardy Swaledale sheep roam the high moors all year round only coming down to the lowlands for lambing and shearing. Red grouse, which are only to be found in Britain, feed and breed among the heather alongside curlews and other ground-nesting birds. Billions of purple heather blooms provide nectar for the bees, brought to the moors by beekeepers in the summer. Spectacular Emperor Moths also depend on the heather as food for the large caterpillars which spin themselves silk cocoons to protect them in the winter months. Using a spectacular range of time-lapse techniques, A Wild Year brings fresh insight into the restless rhythms of the British countryside and explores how and why these extraordinary places are the way they are.