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At just 26 sq miles, Cannock Chase is mainland Britain’s smallest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). With increasing pressure from industry and urban sprawl on all sides, it was designated to protect the precious lowland heath and preserve it as a wild space for all to enjoy. And enjoy it they do, in their millions. The vast majority of visitors are fairly local and cherish the area for dog walking, horse riding and mountain biking. But such activities in a small area often come into conflict, and Julia Bradbury is on a quest to find out how the AONB engages volunteers to make sure everyone gets their fair share of the Chase.

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More than 70 per cent of the land in the UK is used for agriculture, but if you’re not from farming stock and set to inherit how do you get your foot in the farm door? One answer is to become a County Council tenant. Since 1913, Staffordshire County Council has provided land for its farmers, and generations of rural workers have grown up as county tenants. Matt Baker joins new tenant Giles Bristol for the morning milk round and finds out how the first year on his own farm has gone. Later Matt meets Gareth Acreman, a second-generation tenant farmer who has worked his way up Staffordshire’s farm tenancy ladder, improving and growing his business along the way.

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These days enthusiastic amateurs are getting more and more involved in important scientific research. From the invasion of Spanish slugs to ash dieback disease, the public can collect large amounts of data in a fraction of the time it would have taken a small team of scientists – especially when they use modern technology to help them. As Tom Heap discovers, people canÌý even get involved in the processing of scientific data. He tries out an online game which is helping scientists analyse the DNA of the fungus that causes ash dieback. But how reliable is the information collected by untrained amateurs? Tom investigates.

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In 1914, with the Great War well underway, two camps the size of small towns sprung up on the heathland of Cannock Chase.Ìý By the end of the war around half a million troops had passed through the Chase before marching to their uncertain fate on the front line. It is hard to tell now though, as the camps have long since disappeared and the wild heathland has returned. Jules Hudson walks in the footsteps of the men who came to train on Cannock Chase nearly 100 years ago. He meets the county archaeologists excavating an intricate scale model buried beneath the heather. Jules discovers the story it tells of the Battle of Messines – one of the most ambitious military operations of its time.

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After exploring the woods and heath of Cannock Chase, Julia heads to the parkland of Shugborough Hall. The estate here was once the seat of the Earls of Lichfield – the most recent resident being the 5th Earl, royal photographer Patrick Lichfield. Although now owned by the National Trust, it is leased to Staffordshire County Council, and can lay claim to being the largest council house in the UK. Julia learns that the walled garden is as important today as it was in the past, and tries to find out exactly how you go about running a stately home on a council budget.

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This year Ireland suffered from the worst fodder crisis on record.Ìý Poor weather conditions meant the grass didn’t grow and as a result livestock starved and even died. Adam Henson meets up with doctor and farmer Steve Collins. He wasn’t affected by this crisis even though he farms Dexter cattle high in the mountains on poor quality pasture. Dexter cattle are native to Ireland and are the smallest breed in the British Isles. They are adapted to this environment and with Steve’s husbandry techniques can thrive on mountain pasture. Using a simple hydroponic system Steve can also grow fresh fodder every day of the year regardless of the weather. It has been the key to his success in tricky times.

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