Countryfile Winter Diaries

Margherita Taylor discovers the high cost of plant theft at a garden in Hampshire, which has had to take extreme measures to deter the criminals. On the North York Moors, Keeley Donovan descends into the second deepest mine in Europe to see for herself where the grit for our winter roads comes from.In a bid to find out how to repair his own stretch of waterway, Paul Martin finds out about some of the work that goes into keeping our canals in tip-top condition. And Paralympian Steve Brown is in Reading, looking at new research that suggests we may be doing more harm than good by putting food out for the birds.

Jules Hudson is on the trail of Gloucestershire's wild boar, whose antics have set the locals on the warpath. Keeley Donovan is on the Lincolnshire coast offering a helping hand to the grey seal. Paul Martin discovers how, even in winter, he can still grow his own five-a-day. And, in honour of St Valentine's Day, Margherita Taylor is in the Chiltern Hills on a romantic ramble.

Margherita Taylor in Wiltshire, meeting an inspirational farmer whose work with vulnerable children is having remarkable results. Keeley Donovan is down in the murky depths of a London sewer, discovering the dangers posed by our discarded cooking fat.Jules Hudson joins the fight against time and tide on the Essex coast, in a race to rescue our threatened heritage. And Hamish Thomson of the Woodland Trust pays a return visit to Paul Martin's smallholding to provide advice and assistance at a tree-planting party.

Keeley Donovan is in the Peak District to meet the four-legged volunteers whose noses can mean the difference between life and death for stranded walkers. Margherita Taylor travels to Kent to meet a woman who thinks she may have a solution to Britain's rural housing shortage. In order to test the health benefits claimed for outdoor swimming, Jules Hudson takes the plunge in the wintry seas off Somerset. And, as the disease threatens to sweep the country once more, smallholder Paul Martin is finding out what we can do to help combat avian flu.

Jules Hudson and the Countryfile Diaries team travel the length and breadth of the UK to uncover the best winter stories. Jules is on the island of Anglesey, celebrating its winter landscape and wildlife. Keeley Donovan is on the trail of the puppy farmers in Ireland whose cruel trade is flooding the UK market. An undercover investigator reveals some of the horrors that he witnesses and how easy it is to be duped into buying a sick puppy. Keeley discovers how agencies and ferry operators are cracking down, and she gets the lowdown on what to look out for when buying a puppy. Paul Martin picks up some thrifty and clever ideas from wildlife saviour Kate McCrae on how to help winter garden visitors get through the season, with a little bit of know-how in the kitchen. From a whisk birdfeeder to a little sieve, a feeding station that defies raiding rats and squirrels, Paul also helps to make a pool from an old tyre to home amphibians or simply act as a winter watering hole.

Jules Hudson and the Countryfile Diaries team travel the length and breadth of the UK to uncover the best winter stories. In Buckinghamshire, Margherita Taylor meets a 71-year-old who has been without heating or hot water for three years because she's trapped in fuel poverty. It means surviving with minimal heat from an electric radiator, going without hot meals and wearing three layers of clothing every day, but Margherita discovers how people can all help loved ones stay warm and safe throughout the winter. Jules is at the Royal Welsh winter show, where the top farm animals in Wales are strutting their stuff. But this is more than just a beauty parade, as Jules finds out how the winners and losers in the show ring are dictated by changing tastes. In the New Forest, Paul Martin gets a bird's-eye view from the top of a mighty beech to do a health check on the trees.

Jules Hudson and the Countryfile Diaries team travel the length and breadth of the UK to uncover the best winter stories. Jules continues to reveal some of the best winter beauty spots on Anglesey, while Margherita Taylor is in the Peak District to discover why wellies are damaging people's feet in winter. Every week in Bakewell there is a queue of farmers looking for respite at the weekly pop-up clinic. Margherita finds out what wellies are best for which activity, be it a winter walk or making a splash at festivals. Jules meets his sailing hero, Ben Ainslie. The Olympic legend is taking on ocean plastics in the wake of predictions that suggest that there could soon be more plastic in the seas than fish. Ben is starting his crusade at his training pontoon in Portsmouth with a bin that could herald a revolution that could save the oceans and marine wildlife. Jules also finds out how plastic can be recycled and picks up a few tips on how changing shopping habits could help.

Jules Hudson and the Countryfile Diaries team travel the length and breadth of the UK to uncover the best winter stories. Paul Martin is at his Wiltshire smallholding and wants to find out how people with just a balcony or even a windowsill can grow vegetables in winter. From cut-and-come-again salads to veg grown in old wellies, a garden in a carton and herbs in old guttering, there is no shortage of clever, thrifty ideas to brighten up the smallest of spaces. Jules is in Milton Keynes finding out how dogs are being trained to detect cancer. With a sniffing prowess than can detect a teaspoon of sugar in somewhere the size of two Olympic swimming pools, these detectives on four legs are helping to push the boundaries of medical science. In the Lake District Ellie Harrison gets stuck in as she finds out how footpaths are kept open in the winter for people to enjoy some of the most breathtaking scenery in the UK.

Jules Hudson and the Countryfile Diaries team travel the length and breadth of the UK to uncover the best winter stories. Jules files his final reports from Anglesey, including the top signs that spring is finally on its way. He's also on the island of Llanddwyn, home to Wales's patron saint of love. Margherita Taylor meets the duo responsible for saving the world's cocoa crops, which are being decimated by bugs and disease. Beavering away in greenhouses in Reading, they are raising and nurturing disease-free cocoa plants. In Aberystwyth and Borth on the Welsh coast, Keeley Donovan battles the elements for the rockpooling expedition of a lifetime. The coast in this area is one of the most diverse in the UK, and tidal patterns reveal pools which are vital nurseries for sealife. Paul Martin unravels why his pigs might just hold the secret to a cure for the common cold.

Jules Hudson meets the UK's first squirrel dog battling a lethal pox threatening our endangered reds, and Paul Martin learns how to drive safely on lethal winter roads.

The team discovers how golden eagles are poised to soar once more in the skies above Wales after an absence of 200 years. But some Welsh sheep farmers fear for their flocks.

The team investigates why our endangered hedgehogs are in more trouble than ever and what we can all do to help.

The team investigates a medical breakthrough poised to wipe out flu and meets a miracle hearing dog working wonders for a deaf teenager.

The team discover how one pioneering dog could save thousands of shattered lives around the world and learn what it takes to do one of the UK's toughest winter jobs.