Cornwall with Simon Reeve — Season 1

Simon Reeve returns to visit one of Britain's favourite counties to discover what life is really like for the locals after the summer crowds have gone.Filmed as the energy and cost-of-living crisis began to take its toll, this is an eye-opening look at why Cornwall is one of the most desirable parts of the country and an iconic holiday destination but also one of the poorest counties in England.

Simon Reeve travels through Cornwall as the county emerges from lockdown, discovering the impact of Covid-19 on a part of the country highly reliant on tourism. Simon discovers the ongoing impact of the collapse of the tin-mining industry in the 1980s when he visits one of Britain's poorest estates, and meets the entrepreneurs who sell homemade food on the beach who are struggling to make enough money to last the winter.

In the second of two programmes, Simon investigates the environmental challenges facing Cornwall and the rest of the country, and on the way encounters some of its iconic wildlife, including Britain's largest predator, the huge grey seal. More than a third of the global population is found in UK waters, where they are threatened by ocean pollution. Diving into coastal waters, Simon accompanies the volunteers who clean up the discarded fishing nets that can entangle and drown the seals.Travelling inland from the beautiful coast, Simon crosses a county of stunning moorlands. Agriculture is still Cornwall's biggest employer and there are exciting new visions for how less intensive forms of farming could be more profitable and environmentally friendly. Simon also discovers the rewilding project where reforesting uplands and introducing beavers promise to tackle the problem of widespread flooding.