Â鶹Éç

The Essex coastline, once a hub for shipbuilding and fishing has a maritime history that dates back centuries. Countryfile has gained exclusive access to archive footage from the British Film institute, documenting Essex’s coastal communities over the ages. Matt heads out on the water on board the Pioneer, a restored seventy foot Essex Smack from 1864 and learns about its former life and the restoration process. On board, he meets artist James Dodds and discovers how he’s captured the rebuild through his art. Matt has a go at sailing and chats to the crew whose job it is to keep this beautiful piece of maritime history a float.

The films from the BFI National Archive and East Anglia Film Archive are available to view for free as part of BFI's 'Britain on Film' UK-wide project.Ìý

Across the UK there are scars of contaminated land the size of Somerset, slowly leaching metals and poisons into the environment. Tom Heap visits Wales where old abandoned metal mines are some of the worst offenders. But now there could be a new way to clean this land and people might be able to make a bit of money from it as well.

Ellie visits Foxearth Meadows, the only nature reserve in Britain managed primarily for Dragonflies and Damselflies. It was a lifetime’s work for conservationist Keith Morris. Thanks to Keith’s dedication, the site is now home to twenty one different species. Ellie meets David Chandler who’s played a huge part in surveying and tracking down the current number of species. Together they explore the dragonfly's lifecycle and witness the early summer spectacle as they leave the safety of their underwater world and take to the wing.

Steve Brown swaps wildlife for archery as he heads into the woods near Chelmsford for a masterclass in medieval long bow making. His tutor, Tom Mareschall, has been creating Longbows for over fifty years and shows Steve how to turn a piece of Yew into a longbow. Steve then joins Blacksmith Rick Sherwood in the forge as they produce an arrow head, before learning to shoot his longbow like the archers of old. But, will Steve be able to hit the target in a medieval style archery competition?

Matt heads for dry land where he visits Harkers Boat Yard, the base for the Pioneer Sailing Trust, the charity behind the restoration of the Pioneer. Here, Matt gets hands on as he learns about the trust’s latest restoration project ‘Priscilla’ and catches up with the apprentices who are learning the craft of boat building.Ìý

Adam and Charlotte have a go at clay pigeon shooting when they meet the third finalist in the Countryfile Young Farmer Award 2017. She’s 24 year old hot shot farmer Vicky Furlong from Northumberland. ÌýVicky grew up on her family’s tenanted farm, but there was no room for her to stay on and join the business. ÌýInstead she’s now running a neighbour’s farm - which is even bigger than her dads!

Adam and Charlotte will judge all three finalists over the next few weeks and the winner will be announced at the in September.

Ellie is exploring the glistening backwaters of Essex in search of seals of a different kind, rather than grey and brown, these seals are Red. We join coastal warden Leon Woodrow on board his boat, as they navigate the creeks searching for the seals out on the mud flats. Ellie then meets Darren Tansley from the Essex Wildlfie Trust, who’s been running a major study on the seals. A number of them have been tagged and tracked, revealing some astonishing findings.

Ìý

Matt’s back out on the water and this time he joins the Harkers Boat Yard gig racing team as they row in a special race on the River Colne. Matt receives a quick tutorial in gig racing from his cox, Felicity Lees and joins his crew on the water as they vie for victory with Brightlingsea Coastal Rowing Club, but who will come out on top?Ìý