Tag: TV

The Coast of Dreams

For the past twenty years or so, millions of Germans gather around the telly on a Sunday night to watch a family TV movie. These films have one thing in common: they are based on a novel or short story written by a very popular author and are all about love, romance and family fortunes.  They always end well – and they all are set in beautiful parts of the world.  90 minutes of advertisement free soaps offer an escape from reality and a strangely pleasing and light-hearted end to the weekend.

For the first fifteen years  these Sunday evening shows were dominated by the British author Rosamunde Pilcher.  Set in Devon or Cornwall, they feature beautiful countryside, stunning manor houses, rose-clad cottages, good-looking and very well dressed people played by well-known German actors. The storyline tends to be a bit confusing at times, but who cares. Everyone  is only watching it for the countryside anyway!

Yesterday I found out that one of the photographers whose images regularly feature on Exmoor4all and are available for purchase in our online store actually was a member of the English cast in many of these Pilcher films.  I had known someone whose wife had been in charge of the flower arrangements, but hearing that someone I know personally  actually played a part in the films which I probably watched many years ago with my mother in Germany, has connected yet more dots between past and present, and Germany and the UK.

Prompted by John Spurr who took part in 8 (EIGHT!!!!) of these films between 1999 and 2006, each of which has been watched by 12 million viewers, I started to search the internet to find one or two of the films he acted in, but had never watched.  In the process of my research I have come across a film quite aptly named “Coast of Dreams” which is set in locations well known to us on Exmoor and a bit further down the coast in North Devon:  It features the Valley of Rocks and Woollacombe Beach, Clovelly, Northcote Manor as well Tapeley Park in Instow.

 

I do realise that our English speaking followers will not be particularly interested in watching a 90 minute film in German. However, as I said before, not even the German speaking audience really care about the dialogues and storylines. So if you are looking for a little bit of escapism on a not so nice summer’s day, here’s your opportunity.  Enjoy!

(And let us know if you spot John Spurr!)

(Written by Elke Winzer)

 

 

Escape to the Country: BBC films on Exmoor

Last Friday, Neil of Experience Exmoor spent most of the day out on Exmoor with the charming Nicki Chapman and the BBC film crew of ‘Escape To The Country’ .. here are a few pictures:

 

The Culbone Church is the smallest complete Parish Church in England (total lenght of 35 feet – 10.7 m), and nestles in a beautiful little valley near the coast.
Nicky Chapman and Neil at the end of a glorious day of filming on Exmoor.

The episode is likely to be broadcast in about five months.

Exmoor on TV: Great British Railway Journeys on BBC2

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with his copy of Bradshaw’s Victorian railway guidebook. In a series of railway journeys, Portillo travels the length and breadth of the British Isles to see what of Bradshaw’s World remains. Michael follows in the footsteps of the master engineer of the Great Western Railway, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, beginning at the line’s London gateway, Paddington Station and ending in Newton Abbot, Devon, the scene of one of Brunel’s heroic failures. Michael gets up close to a piece of natural history, visits a garden used as a viewing platform for public hangings and experiences a timepiece like no other.

 

Wednesday, 30 January 2012, 6.30 pm  on BBC2:  Taunton to Minehead

102 WSR Michael Portillo BBC Minehead

 

Michael Portillo travels on the West Somerset Railway from Taunton to Minehead.

If you’d like to do the same, then pop over to the West Somerset Railway website:

Our Railway, a true country branch line of the old Great Western Railway is full of fascination whether you are looking for a nostalgic ride back in time through lovely countryside or to study the railway and industrial heritage which our line preserves. The historic steam locomotives, coaches and wagons, and the buildings of our ten unique stations linked by a twenty mile scenic journey will repay hours of exploration. The surrounding countryside is as varied as it is beautiful. The gently rolling Quantock hills and distant Exmoor, unspoilt villages and farms nestling in leafy lanes, the cliffs and coast of the Bristol Channel with views of distant South-Wales, confident Church Towers, Dunster’s imposing Castle and Minehead’s seaside charm are all waiting to be discovered.

There are toilets on each train. Disabled persons accessible toilets are available at Bishops Lydeard, Crowcombe Heathfield, Stogumber Watchet and Minehead stations.

We can carry passengers in wheelchairs in our trains. Please let us know as space is limited and we can book you seats in advance on 01643 700384. Disabled toilets are available in our Lorna Doone carriage which can be booked in advance.

Dogs are welcome on our service trains and are charged £2.00 per dog.

There is a buffet car on most of our trains selling a variety of light refreshments a large number of which are locally produced. Please see the catering page for more information about our catering services.

 

Thursday, 31 January 2012, 6.30 pm on BBC2:  Lynton and Lynmouth to Exeter

 

103 Michael Portillo Lynton Railway

You can find out more about the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway on their website:

Steam trains through rolling countryside, with views out to wild moorland and the rugged coastline.

Originally opened in 1898, and closed in 1935; what you can see today at Woody Bay is just the beginning of an exciting project to rebuild one of the world’s most famous and picturesque narrow gauge railways; the legendary Lynton & Barnstaple Railway.

This initial section allows our visitors to experience a taste of what will one day become one of the ultimate narrow gauge treasures of the world as they once again travel by train along the original route above the delightful Heddon Valley near Parracombe in Exmoor’s National Park on the longest closed section of railway line to have ever been reopened solely through volunteer effort.

 

Watch Exmoor on BBC Countryfile

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Matt Baker and Julia Bradbury head to Exmoor, a bleak and remote place where moorland and farmland give way to a spectacular coastline. For centuries its wild beauty has inspired writers, painters and poets.

701 BBC CountryfileJulia is on the trail of a little-known photographer who spent his days capturing life on Exmoor. A hundred years ago, Alfred Vowles photographed everything from villages to building to hunting. He produced thousands of postcards using just a folding pocket camera, a tripod and his trusty old pushbike. Julia finds out about the man behind the picture and she puts his techniques to the test, recreating one of his many photographs.

Vowles wasn’t the only one captivated by the landscape of Exmoor; novelist RD Blackmore literally put this place on the map when he penned the book Lorna Doone, which was to give birth to Lorna Doone country. Matt turns investigator as he tries to discover if this fictional tale is more fact than fiction.

Elsewhere, Tom Heap is in Leicestershire finding out how the Schmallenberg virus looks set to spread across the country, with devastating effects for farm animals. Down on the farm, Adam takes his Exmoor foals to a world-class equine centre in Cheshire for some basic training.

  • Pictures of Exmoor

Ray Turner

In the early 1900s when photographs were still a novelty, Alfred Vowles was as close as you could get to a one-man photo booth. Julia Bradbury discovers how this extraordinary man cycled over hill and dale, leaving a legacy of pictures which document rural life on Exmoor at the start of the last century. But in the days before digital cameras, darkrooms were needed to develop pictures. For Alfred that often meant using a stable, a chicken shed, or even the caravan where he lived and worked for much of his time on Exmoor. To find out just how tricky this all was, Julia works with amateur photographer Ray Turner to recreate and develop one of Alfred’s classic pictures of a local trailing hunt, the Minehead Harriers.

 

See some modern days photos of Exmoor

  • In search of Lorna Doone

    Matt sitting

    The Victorian novel Lorna Doone is a romantic adventure, which has become a best seller. The book, by R. D. Blackmore, made Exmoor famous. Tourists flocked to follow in the footsteps of the lovelorn couple at the centre of the story and explore the stronghold of the villainous Doone gang. But where does fiction end and fact begin? Matt Baker tries to solve the mystery of what is real and what is make-believe – a journey of discovery that takes him to some of the remotest parts of Exmoor.

     

    Take a walk though ‘Doone Country’

  • Learning to behave

    Indoor horse training

    Eric the Bull’s calves are growing up fast and as they approach adulthood Adam Henson decides to give them a very successful first lesson on the halter. But his Exmoor foals are proving to be more of a handful, so Adam takes them off to a world-class equine college. Here he gets some help with the foals and discovers how young horses – and students – go through some unusual routines as they undergo training.

     

    Find out more about Exmoor ponies

     

New homes for owls

Owl in a box

It is thought that, in the last 80 years, the UK’s barn owl population has dropped by a staggering 70%. One major reason for this is the loss of many of their traditional habitats, such as old trees and ruined buildings. Julia Bradbury visits a project which could change the odds by putting a barn owl box in every parish in Somerset. That’s 335 new boxes by next year. Julia teams up with Chris Sperring from the Hawk and Owl Trust. Together they go to meet Jonathan Webber, who’s willing to host an owl box. But will his family farm come up to spec?

 

Find out more about the project to house Somerset owl

 

  • Schmallenberg returns

    Ram and lamb

    Tom Heap investigates the return of the Schmallenberg, a virus which leads to the birth of deformed or dead lambs and calves. In the last six months the number of British farms affected by the disease has more than tripled. New cases are being reported daily and farmers right across the UK are becoming increasingly worried about the affect on their livestock and their incomes. But, as Tom discovers, Schmallenberg could be just the first of a new wave of diseases to reach our shores.

     

    Find out more about Schmallenberg

    Credits

Series Producer
Teresa Bogan
Presenter
Matt Baker
Presenter
Julia Bradbury
Presenter
Tom Heap
Presenter
Adam Henson

Broadcasts