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The Belted Galloways of Dumfries and Galloway are world renowned for their hardy nature, high class beef and striking white belts that help them stand out in the stark landscapes they graze. Joe Crowley visits Mochrum Castle, home to one of the Belted Galloway foundation herds, to explore not just the history of the cattle but the woman who made them famous, the late Lady Flora Stuart. Joe meets Helen Ryman, the Mochrum Galloway鈥檚 new herd manager, who explains how Miss Flora not only steered the way for improvements to the Belted Galloway breed but also helped to create colonies of 鈥榖elties鈥� worldwide. With that hefty legacy on her shoulders, Helen explains to Joe how she now feels responsible to continue Miss Flora鈥檚 inspirational work, and keep this historic herd in the public eye.

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On an extremely wild, wet and windy day, Anita seeks solace in the polytunnels of the Cree Valley Community Woodland Trust, a local conservation group growing thousands of seedlings from what鈥檚 left of Dumfries and Galloway鈥檚 native mountain trees. Anita meets Paul Collin, one of the charity鈥檚 trustees, to find out how these small seedlings form part of a huge Forestry Commission project that will see native rowan, downy willow, aspen and juniper back on the Galloway Forest Park鈥檚 highest peaks.

A glimmer in the dark鈥� a flash on the ground鈥� Anita Rani is on a safari like no other. Joining wildlife tour guide Keith Kirk at Threave Castle and Nature Reserve, Anita tiptoes into the black of Dumfries and Galloway鈥檚 world-renowned dark skies in the hope of spotting some of the wildlife that comes out at night. Using thermal imagery cameras to pierce through the darkness and bring the landscape to life, Anita and Keith can鈥檛 believe their eyes when they start seeing silhouettes of creatures glow all around them. But a close encounter with a darting field mouse, otherwise invisible to the human eye, is the highlight for Anita. 听

Are our farmers facing the toughest market conditions in decades? Tom Heap meets the Bland family. They鈥檝e taken the plunge and have made the hard decision to sell their herd and their land ending a dairy tradition spanning four generations of the same family. Tom investigates why almost all sectors of industry are struggling to turn a profit at the moment and finds out what鈥檚 creating the 鈥減erfect storm鈥� for the farming industry in 2016.

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Adam Henson and Charlotte Smith meet the third finalist in their search for the Countryfile Farming Hero of 2016. This week they are in Campbeltown, a remote community in south west Scotland. It鈥檚 a place where community really matters and they鈥檙e meeting a key figure, hill farmer John Armour. John helped set up the local community radio station, where he presents a farming show, he also led the campaign for a ferry link to the mainland. He supports countless other projects, including the Kintyre Agricultural Show, schools, sea cadets, young farmers and even stars in award winning am dram shows. Of course on top of all this, he still somehow finds the time to run his own farm!

The award is part of the . The winner will be announced on April 28th at the 听and will appear on Countryfile on Sunday May 8th.

Sean Fletcher visits Haddon Hall in the Peak District to explore how local Derbyshire stone has been used through the centuries. Sean begins his journey in the village of Birchover, home of Birchover Quarry to learn how this stone is extracted. Later Sean meets Mark Eaton a local stone mason who has made the limestone and gritstone of the Peak District his raw materials of choice. Mark has worked at Haddon Hall for more than twenty years repairing everything from walls and Elizabethan windows to Gargoyles. Sean lends a hand high up on the walls of Haddon with some vital restoration work on the sixteenth century gargoyles, helping keep the long history of the hall alive and well.

Back at Mochrum Castle, Joe gets stuck in with Belted Galloway herd manager Helen Ryman as she begins to prepare her prized cows for showing season. Helen鈥檚 forebear, the legendary Flora Stuart, took enormous pride in showing her cattle, but following her death in 2006 the herd all but disappeared from view. This year, Helen has pinned her hopes on two cows, Lila and Lilac the Third, to bring home gold at this summer鈥檚 breed competitions. Armed with brushes, Joe and Helen battle their way through the rain to brush the girls鈥� coats before taking on a more difficult challenge. In order to show them in the ring, the cows need to be halter trained, something Joe quickly realizes is easier said than done.

Having met the volunteers helping to grow seedlings of Dumfries and Galloway鈥檚 native mountain trees, Anita is on her way to meet the hardy folk who actually plant them on the treacherous peaks of Galloway Forest Park. With the clouds closing in, rain lashing down and the wind at its worst, Anita joins James Short and his team of all-weather workers, as they put the seedlings in the sodden ground. While Anita鈥檚 help speeds up the process a little, James reminds her there鈥檚 still a long way to go鈥� 40,000 more seedlings still need to be planted!