The Cotswolds & Beyond with Pam Ayres - Season 1

The poet explores places surrounding the region, along the way meeting people who call this corner of England home, beginning by heading to Stonehenge in Wiltshire. With private access to this ancient stone circle, Pam watches the sun rise and chats to expert Susan Greaney to find out more about this historic landmark.

In this episode, Pam's journey begins beyond the Cotswolds borders at Highclere Castle, one of Britain's most recognisable stately homes. Highclere is better known as Downton Abbey, and Pam's finding out about this famous home with owner Lady Carnarvon. As well as exploring some rooms that will be familiar to millions of TV viewers, she finds out more about Highclere's fantastic gardens, designed by Capability Brown. She also learns about Highclere's involvement in the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in Egypt exactly 100 years ago. Pam's next destination lies to the northwest and the Malvern Hills. She meets TV presenter Anne Diamond, who gives her a guided tour of her hometown of Great Malvern. They taste the water, visit Malvern College, where Anne tells the story of her dad working on radar there during the war. They then visit the Malvern Hills, where a spectacular view awaits. Pam's journey continues back in the heart of the Cotswolds and her hometown of Cirencester. First, she explores the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre on the edge of town, and then travels 20 minutes up the road to one of the best preserved Roman villas in the country — Chedworth. She finds out why they built here and what life would have been like for the wealthy Romans who might have lived there. She also learns that the Romans left something behind that still thrives today — snails! A colourful and fragrant treat awaits at Charles Hudson's amazing flower farm, where every day is a celebration because the flower petals are used to make biodegradable confetti. The final stop in this episode is in Somerset and the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare, where Pam explores the resort's history, centred around its magnificent pier. She meets current Grand Pier owner Michelle to learn about the two devastating fires that destroyed the pier before being rebuilt for a third time at a cost of over £39m. She then tucks into some fish and chips at local institution Papa's, and joins the restaurant's hall of fame, which includes Ken Dodd and Boris Johnson. She ends her visit, and the show, by reciting her poem Seagull from a deckchair on the town's sandy beach.

In this episode, Pam's got a royal appointment at Highgrove Gardens, run by The Prince's Foundation and adjacent to the private residence of HRH The Prince of Wales, where Pam meets His Royal Highness himself. The Prince escorts Pam on a personal guided tour of his gardens to discover his passion for gardening and his vision behind the series of interlinked gardens that he's designed and nurtured over the past four decades. Along the way, His Royal Highness and Pam discuss his commitment to the environment and how sustainability is at the heart of everything he does at Highgrove. Pam also meets garden guide Emma Cochran-Patrick, and she gets hands-on with making traditional plaster decorative mouldings at The Prince's Foundation Barley Court workshop with Esme Walker. From Highgrove, Pam heads northwest and over the Cotswold border to the Forest of Dean, where she goes full steam ahead behind the controls of a locomotive on the Dean Forest Railway. Pam then heads to Tewksbury to tackle some prickly animals that have found themselves in a pickle. She's at the Vale Wildlife Hospital to meet the volunteers helping get poorly and injured hedgehogs back to the wild. And finally, Olympic rowing multiple gold medallist Sir Steve Redgrave takes us on a guided tour of another regal event, the Henley Royal Regatta.