Taking a walk on the wild side

A bit of a departure for regular readers in my viewing habits this week – a slice of nature!

is a little hidden gem, on BBC 2 on Saturday evenings at 6pm, and is a 12-part series with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall exploring the flora and fauna of the West Country in the UK.

Along the way, Hugh also talks to enthusists who enjoy watching and interacting with their local wildlife in beautiful places from Dartmoor to The Forest Of Dean.

There’s the IT man who has converted his back garden into an outdoor studio, meaning he can watch all the personal habits of winged and four-legged visitors in amazing close-up, and the chap who has become so friendly with a family of long tailed tits (lovely little fluffy birds) that they don’t bat an eyelid when he observes their little-seen roosting habits.

And, cutest of all, the Brazilian who keeps a very close eye on the dormouse population, even managing to weigh them while they hibernate! (Please note, a special licence is needed for this sort of interaction!). So, if you fancy 60 minutes of relaxation, then tune in. The series so far is also available on BBC iplayer.

In complete contrast, we started watching

this week. Wow, so far, utter madness. Enjoyable madness though, with a storming turn by David Morrissey. You can watch it all now on Sky Box Sets.