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Daily life in the beautiful south west - from the viewpoint of locals, villagers, farmers, fishermen, shop-keepers and the tourist industry.
2020
The return of the documentary examining life in the two counties in south-west England, following Cornish fisherman Phil Trebilcock as he heads out to sea to find lobster and crab. In foothills of Exmoor, farmers Rob and Sarah Taylor ready their native ponies for the show season, while on Lundy Island, warden Dean Jones is hopeful that the seabird colonies are making a comeback.
On the Isles of Scilly, fisherman Adam Morton and his family make the most of the busy tourist season at their fish and chip shop, while on the Cornish mainland, farrier and horseman David Jones and his daughter Myrtle head out to tackle a rampant bracken problem in an old woodland. Steamboat enthusiast Nigel Cooper sails his vessel the Halcyon along the river Dart for Dartmouth's Royal Regatta, while in Trebah Garden on the south coast of Cornwall, head gardener Darren Dickey is creating a new Victorian-style stumpery with an array of ferns.
Shepherds Steve and Crispin prepare for a speed shearing competition. Wheelwrights Greg and Mike build a gun carriage for the HMS Warrior. Chef Greg goes foraging for inspiration.
In north Devon, artist Steve Pleydell-Pearce veers off from his normal coastal hotspots for Speke's Mill Mouth Waterfall, hoping to capture the grandeur and majesty of the landmark. Steeplejack Andrew Tarplee takes on an ancient church tower in the village of Paul in Cornwall, where he abseils down the 800-year-old tower to repair and repaint its clock faces, protecting them from the ravages of time.
2021
The return of the documentary examining life in the two counties, beginning by meeting the people who live and work along the beautiful and rugged coastline. In Looe on the south coast of Cornwall, the whole community gears up for one of the biggest events of the year - the one-mile wild swim from St George's Island back to the town beach. On the heel of Cornwall in Gweek, clean ocean campaigner Steve Green and his band of volunteers paddle to hard-to-reach beaches along the peninsula to rid the shoreline of plastic flotsam.
On Bodmin Moor, apple farmer and cider maker Tom Bray creates a special centenary blend of sparkling cider. And in Cornwall, local artists raise money to build a new granite walkway.
In Newquay, surfer Katy Beddoe is preparing to jump back into competitions after a knee injury, while Cornish horseman David Jones and his daughter Myrtle ready their heavy horses for an old-fashioned ploughing contest. In Ilfracombe in north Devon, harbourmaster Georgina Carlo-Paat takes delivery of a new robotic waterborne litter picker.
In Polperro, harbourmaster Olly Puckey prepares for the arrival of a huge new storm gate. On the Dartington estate in Devon, dairy farmer Jon Perkin diversifies into goats.
2019
In this first episode, Devonian fisherman Stephen Perham shows what life is like in the tiny, perfectly preserved fishing village of Clovelly. Stephen's family have lived and fished in the village for generations. Stephen is the harbour master, tour guide and bin man, and has a novel way of getting things up and down the main street. The village rowing team take part in the annual regatta. Fifth-generation master-thatcher Richard Dray needs to replace a roof in Cockington. In Cornwall, local handywoman Lynn Batten completes last-minute preparations at the famous Minack Theatre, as tourists from around the world are about to arrive for the triumphant season finale. And champion beef breeders Bridgette and Steve Clamp prepare their local pedigree cows for the Camborne agricultural show.
In Devon, the Alfords are one of the last farming families to tend Dartmoor's wild ponies. Demand for the ponies is on the wane, and they must rely on other livestock for their living and nervously await the TB testing of their cattle. On the north Jurassic coast, local adventurers Mark Bullock and George Malkin take on the famous spectacular climb of Black Church Rock. In Cornwall, surfing pioneer Gwyn Haslock gives a tour while preparing for the World Belly Board Championships. Further west, in Poldark country, former miner Les Rowe makes a poignant return to the colliery where he laboured years ago, bringing the Cape Cornwall singers to Geevor to celebrate their shared Cornish heritage in song.
On the serene waterways of Mylor Creek, south Cornwall, lifelong friends and mariners Jess Harris and Charlotte Whyte welcome diners aboard their custom-built floating restaurant. It's opening week following months of planning and hard graft. Diver and conservationist Rob Thompson leads a team of volunteers to sweep up the man-made rubbish in the coves around Lansallos. On the southern edge of Dartmoor, sheep farmers Jess and Russell Steer prepare for their first trip to Devon's historic Widecombe fair. Near Exmoor, farmer Cyril Cole is determined to give back to the land he once farmed.
In Brixham, South Devon, trawlerman Dave Driver sets out to sea on his boat in search of cuttlefish. Sea fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations in Britain. Dave and his crew travel out 25 miles from the shore for an 18-hour shift. On the southern edge of Bodmin Moor, Mark and Isobelle Delbridge, one of Cornwall's youngest tenant farming couples, are determined to make a success of their new dairy farm. They are keeping things traditional and their hand-delivered bottle milk is growing in popularity. On the northern reaches of Dartmoor National Park, horseback farmers Crispin Alford, his wife Diana and son Steve are preparing to sell their hill ponies. And back in Brixham, there's a visit to a guillemot colony.
In Clovelly, north Devon, fisherman Stephen Perham is preparing for his most lucrative day of the year - the Clovelly Lobster Festival. Sam Robins and her family have managed to bag a fisherman's cottage with a sea view in the village where her grandparents took their honeymoon 80 years ago. In Torquay, harbourmaster Nick Burns awaits the world's largest residential cruise ship. Market gardener Stephen Keighley faces a big problem only six weeks into his new venture: he desperately needs rain, and lots of it, to save his wilting vegetables. On Bodmin Moor, display pilot Corrine Dennis prepares to entertain the masses at St Mawes' boat show.
On the tidal island of St Michael's Mount, west Cornwall, boatman Josh Sedgeman must ready the island's amphibious vessel for winter. In north Devon, Clovelly fisherman Stephen Perham is looking forward to the start of the herring season. In Lanlivery, Cornwall, potato farmer Steve Dustow has developed a vodka distillery using home-grown spuds and is devising a new line in bespoke gin. There's wild camping on Dartmoor and a search for blue sharks off the Isles of Scilly.
On St Mary's, on the Isles of Scilly, Charlotte Hicks has returned to her place of birth to become the islands' one and only midwife, and the first mum due to give birth off the Cornish coast is her childhood pal Meriel King. At the edge of Dartmoor National Park, woodman John Williamson has taken on new apprentice Jordan Harris, and the pair are making a batch of charcoal that they hope to sell to local restaurants. On the south Devon coast, Torquay's harbour master Nick Burns needs to replace a 140-metre section of the harbour that will help protect the millions of pounds worth of yachts berthing here in the winter months.
A vineyard owner plans to draw winter tourists to Scilly. Devon boat builders turn a clinker into a lugger. Unwanted apples make money. And a geologist goes fossil hunting.
2022
Jack Baines and Nick Dymond plan to turn 275,000 sunflowers, growing outside Truro, into the county's first sunflower cooking oil. But they're at the mercy of the Cornish weather.
On Bodmin Moor, Emma Collison welcomes two new woolly arrivals to her alpaca trekking business. On Dartmoor, farmer Steve Alford and his partner Hayley build a cosy shepherd's hut to rent to tourists.
Wendy and Andy hope that their ambitious cucamelons and tomatillos will tickle taste buds at Liskeard's farmers' market. In South Molton, a youthful pony stallion is up for inspection.
In Falmouth harbour, a pair of powerboaters put a 1980s Kohaku through its paces. In the Teign Valley, a woodsman and his daughter attempt to revive the lost tradition of making stave baskets.
2021
Cornwall's Lost Gardens of Heligan's head gardener sows the seeds of a wildflower revolution. And in Devon, we meet Brixham harbour's maverick skipper, who live-streams his latest catch via Facebook.
A wheelwright and his team repair a Victorian era bicycle, we celebrate the 70th birthday of a Cornish creation - the Fowey River Class dinghy - and a Cornwall stonemason repairs a crumbling landmark.
A steam engine enthusiast embarks on an ambitious journey across Devon in an 80-year-old steamroller. Near Falmouth, two champion free divers explore a spectacular underwater cave.
An ambitious project to build the world's largest labyrinth made from iconic Cornish hedges gets underway, and the Ghost Fishing UK divers help to de-litter the seabed near Mylor.
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John Nettles
Self - Narrator