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Countryfile Winter Diaries

Series 2

Episode 4

Duration: 44 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC One Scotland HDLatest broadcast: on BBC One Scotland HD

Available for years

Jules Hudson continues to unveil the winter beauty of the isle of Anglesey while Keeley Donovan investigates how our trains take the strain in the winter. Britain has the oldest railway in the world - thousands of miles of track carrying millions of passengers. Keeley is at Tonbridge discovering how the experts deal with ice and snow, and in Folkestone she finds out how Network Rail is shaping up to the future to take on the forces of nature and climate change which threaten storms and landslides.

Paul Martin is at his Wiltshire smallholding and, while he has no shortage of space to grow veg, he wants to find out how those of us with just a balcony or even a windowsill can grow our own in winter. From cut and come again salads to veg grown in old wellies, a garden in a carton and herbs in old guttering, there are no shortage of clever, thrifty ideas to brighten up the smallest of spaces - a feast for your eyes as well as your stomach.

Jules is also in Milton Keynes finding out how dogs are being trained to detect cancer. With a sniffing prowess than can detect a teaspoon of sugar in somewhere the size of two Olympic swimming pools, these detectives on four legs are helping to push the boundaries of medical science. He discovers how one of these super-dogs saved his owner's life and also sees if his own labrador Teddy has what it takes to join this elite squad.

In North Yorkshire, Jules encounters an unexpected British first in the world of pet life savers and helpers. Digby is a miniature pony, and in two years' time he will be ready to be the eyes of a young man who has a degenerative eye disease and who is dog-phobic. Mohammed is introduced to Digby for the first time as the tiny pony is put through his paces. But how do you house-train a horse?

In the Lake District Ellie Harrison gets stuck in as she finds out how footpaths are kept open in the winter for all of us to enjoy some of the most breath-taking scenery in the UK. Show less

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