Northumberland to feature in new episode of BBC One series Countryfile

Matt Baker and Charlotte Smith headed to Northumberland to explore some of the 250 square miles of England’s largest forest.

Charlotte discovers how this man-made landscape supplies a quarter of England’s timber - from the joists in your house to the chair you sit on - and heads to a ‘rock festival’ as Northumberland Wildlife Trust celebrates its 50th anniversary by revealing secrets going back millions of years that are hidden in the stones that shape this landscape.

There she interviews Ian Jackson, a geologist and trustee of Northumberland Wildlife Trust, in a remote old quarry in the forest, south of Wark and on the Whin Sill, north of Sewingshields Crags.

Ian worked for the British Geological survey for 38 years, before leading national, European and global projects to make geoscience data digital and web-accessible.

Over the past 12 months, he has recorded 12 films around the region, revealing the geological secrets of a number of well known, but also some well-hidden, sites in Northumberland, Newcastle and North Tyneside.

Meanwhile, Matt finds out how the forest is managed for its wildlife, helping a team clean out osprey nests 65 feet high up and foraging for fungi that help the forest thrive.

Adam Henson gets to grips with the latest entrants into the milk market - camels - and Joe Crowley investigates whether schemes to reduce the impact of big building projects on wildlife are working.

Countryfile is on BBC One on Sunday, December 5 at 5.20pm.

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