Hugh's Wild West

Episode 1

Dippers

Hugh becomes captivated by the extraordinary life of the dipper, Britain's only aquatic songbird. He meets one of his wildlife heroes, Stephanie Tyler who has studied these birds for 40 years.

Episode 2

Cuttlefish

59 mins

Hugh explores the Jurassic Coast investigating the life of an ocean oddity - the cuttlefish. On the shingle expanse of Chesil Beach a team of volunteers keep watch over a colony of terns.

Episode 3

Longtailed Tits

59 mins

Hugh explores the ancient woods and valleys of Dartmoor to find out more about the long-tailed tit. He then tracks down a hibernating dormouse and gets a little too close to some feisty wood ants.

Episode 4

Beavers

59 mins

Hugh is one the Dorset/Devon border where he investigates the return of beavers. He also visits Abbotsbury Swannery and a former mansion that has been turned into luxury accommodation for greater horseshoe bats.

Episode 5

Starlings

Hugh is in the Somerset Levels to witness one of our greatest wildlife spectacles - huge winter flocks of starlings swirling in the sky as they come in to roost. The reed beds where they seek refuge have been created from old peat quarries and thanks to dedicated volunteers they are now a haven for rare bitterns and great white egrets.

Episode 6

Wild Boar

As he continues his wildlife adventures across the West Country, nature lover Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is on the trail of woodland creatures in the Forest of Dean with the help of dedicated local naturalists.

Episode 7

Buzzards

This time, Hugh's journey takes him across Dartmoor, from the granite peaks to the sea. Hugh follows the fortunes of a buzzard family as their single chick fledges and heads towards independence, he seeks out salmon as they migrate upstream to breed, and he helps marine biologists to survey dolphins off the Devon coast.

Episode 8

Dorset Deer

Hugh is exploring the diverse county of Dorset, where the mild climate creates ideal conditions for all kinds of creatures. In spring, Hugh joins ornithologist Martin Cade at Portland Bird Observatory to monitor migrating birds like blackcaps and wheatears as they arrive on our shores after their epic journeys from Africa.

Episode 9

Barbel

Hugh is in the Wye Valley hoping to come face to face with an animal that has intrigued him since boyhood - the barbel, also known as the Prince of the River. With the help of local angling guide, the appropriately named Adam Fisher, Hugh wants to fulfill his dream of swimming with these large, regal fish.

Episode 10

Swallows

Hugh discovers how the people and animals of Dartmoor live alongside each other in this challenging landscape. He visits an ancient hill farm with dozens of nesting house martins and swallows that thrive thanks to the careful farming practices of tenants Mark Owen and Naomi Oakley.

Episode 11

Badgers

Wildlife enthusiast Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall meets the creatures and nature lovers that make the West Country so special, this time exploring the Somerset Levels. Hugh visits Worthy Farm, the home of Glastonbury Festival, to see how the wildlife copes when a quarter of a million festival goers descend on the countryside, and discovers that the badgers seem pretty unfazed by their new neighbours.

Episode 12

Hedgehogs

Nature lover Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall pays tribute to the wildlife heroes who are protecting the West Country's creatures. He meets Beryl Casey, who has transformed her home into a hedgehog hospital, nursing sick and injured hogs back to health. The UK's hedgehog population has halved since the millennium so every animal counts, and Hugh helps return one of Beryl's patients to the wild. Across the region, Hugh discovers volunteers working hard to safeguard their local wildlife.