The Chronicles of Strangford - Season 1

Filmed across a year, the series starts with autumn. Grey seals look after their pups, thousands of geese arrive, and we meet the people living and working around Strangford lough.

It's winter, and work continues to protect the lough's wildlife despite stormy weather. Boats need repaired, livestock moved, winter birds tagged and nesting boxes checked.

As winter migrants leave and summer visitors arrive, Strangford Lough is in a state of flux. National Trust ranger Hugh Thurgate is preparing Swan Island for the return of sandwich terns. Near Greyabbey, sheep farmer Kerry Angus is busy with lambs. Spring is also songwriter Brigid O'Neill's favourite season, and she talks about how images found in nature can pop up in her songs years later.

Near Portaferry, now the winter storms have abated, it's time for entrepreneurs David and Jill Crawford to plant out the remaining tea plants in their fledgling tea plantation. As the weather warms up, it's also time for boats around the lough to return to the water. In Whiterock, Kenny Smyth is getting ready to launch his sailing boat Laragh, a historical class of sailing boat that is unique to Strangford Lough.

We also meet artist Kieron Black, who is getting his father's boat ready for new owners in Scotland. It's an emotional job: his father was Brian Black, a much-loved broadcaster who was killed in 2020 when he became trapped in his car as it rolled into the lough. Watching the boat sail away is a bittersweet moment for Kieron.

It is summer, and humans and birds flock to the lough to enjoy its unspoilt beauty and unique habitats.

At Slievemoyle farm, Mark McCormick from the RSPB is camping out for a dawn chorus survey. Coming home and working with nature has helped him get over PTSD from witnessing the Westminster Bridge terror attacks. He is hoping he will hear the distinctive call of the endangered yellowhammer.

Summers on Strangford Lough mean long evenings stretching into glorious sunsets. The Crawford family enjoy an evening picnic, while in Portaferry, four generations of the Murray family take the St Brendan out for an evening of fishing.

Summer is regatta season on the lough, and a big moment for Kenny Smyth and his River-class sailing boat Laragh. It's 100 years since the Rivers were built, and Kenny is hoping to wrestle the series race trophy from his brother Graham.

Away from the buzz of summer activities, Katy Bell is hoping to find healthy barn owl chicks. Wet and extremely hot weather has meant most of the sites have failed this year, but a new site may have some healthy chicks.

Out on the lough, wildfowl expert Kerry Mackie is counting greylag geese. It is important to monitor the populations as they can cause problems for farmers. Carrying out the counts reminds him of his deep family connections to the lough and a lifetime of memories.

Kieron Black is also out, snorkeling and remembering his father Brian. He would try to fill every day with experiences, something Kieron also tries to do as he loses himself in the otherworldly surroundings of the lough's sea bed.