Forest of Bowland

Margherita Taylor and Joe Crowley are in the Forest of Bowland for a sensory spring feast – soaking up the sights, sounds and flavours of the season.

Covering 312 square miles of Lancashire and Yorkshire, the forest is a landscape of global importance. Its moorlands support breeding upland birds, while surrounding farmland has been shaped by generations of farmers, many now playing a key role in its conservation.

Joe meets a third-generation farmer working with the RSPB to bring back the lapwing and discovers how conservation efforts are making a difference to this once familiar sound of spring that’s seen a 62 per cent decline since 1967. And in the uplands, an artist is using sound recordings to connect new audiences with the natural world.

Margherita teams up with a local photographer who is passionate about the role of farmers in protecting the land. Together, they get stuck into seasonal jobs, while the photographer’s lens is never far away. To round off this celebration of the senses, Joe samples a spring cheese made from milk produced by cows grazing on lush seasonal pastures that influence its flavour. Meanwhile, Datshiane Navanayagam investigates the sharp rise in rural fly-tipping, where illegal dumping is costing farmers and councils millions each year.