Press Release

The Trees That Made Britain

BBC TWO, Autumn 

Two of TV's best known tree lovers make a welcome return to the small screen in the autumn with their very own series, The Trees That Made Britain.

Tony Kirkham, the head of the arboretum at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and his colleague, tree-climber Jon Hammerton, both of whom were favourites in the BBC TWO series A Year at Kew , will be travelling across Britain delving into the cultural, architectural, historical, economic and pleasure-giving properties of Britain's native species.

Their journey will take them north to view forest destruction in the highlands of Scotland, south again to see the good ship Mary Rose in the ancient docklands of Portsmouth, east to collect tree fossils on Scarborough beach and west to see how they handle a wooden coracle in Wales.

Throughout the eight-part series, Tony and Jon meet many interesting characters, including actor Robert Hardy - an expert in the long-bow, the medieval weapon of choice, food historian Marc Meltonville, who advises on how to make the popular Roman tipple crab-apple mead as well as giving a few tips on how trees are used to make gunpowder, and Nancy Harrison, whose garden boasts the Bramley apple tree from which all other Bramleys throughout the world stem.

The series sees the pair getting to grips with history, as well as having a hands-on experience of shaping planks, building chairs, and taking to the sea in Bronze Age boats. Tony, who has 14,000 trees, 50 staff and 300 acres in his care at Kew Gardens and is credited with bringing more trees to the UK than anyone else alive in his role there, is keen to learn more about the species featured. But tree surgeon Jon still believes the best way to get to know a tree is to climb it - and he'll be making several forays skywards in the branches.

The series will take a different native tree as its starting point each week, and look at its significance in both the current British landscape, and the nation's past:

The Yew is the oldest living tree in Britain, thanks to its unique way of rooting. Tony and Jon find why so many live in churchyards, learn to photograph them, give help to an ailing Northern Irish tree and meet Robert Hardy to try their strength at using the longbow.

The mighty Oak needs two programmes to cover its contribution. The first looks at its use historically, in transport particularly, as it carried both Bronze Age man as a dug-out and supplied the wood for Henry VIII's favourite warship, the Mary Rose, while the second covers its cultural and economic heritage, from its use in tanning and whisky making to myths surrounding the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest.

Pine is a globe-trotting programme as Tony sets out from checking over forest destruction in Scotland and looking to settle the dispute between the Scots and their Celtic cousins, the Welsh, as to which nation has the tallest tree, before jetting off to Australia, where a prehistoric plant, the Wollemi pine, has recently been discovered.

The Apple episode celebrates that fruit's part in the British economy and culture in an industry worth £50 billion a year, from apple pies to cider. Tony and Jon try their hand at making - and tasting - cider in the traditional way, cook ancient apple recipes and join the a wassailing ceremony on Twelfth Night, dancing round an apple tree in an ancient pagan ritual.

The Alder combines with hedgerow for the next programme, as Tony and Jon step up to the challenge of a hedge-laying contest, and learn what enclosure meant for the British countryside, while they later find alder charcoal was used for more than just barbecues in the old days - it was a vital ingredient of gunpowder.

The versatile Ash has taken the strain for hundreds of years, and continues to be fashioned into chairs and even coracles as Tony and Jon join fishermen seeking their catches from a precarious perch on the river Teifi. The final programme looks at the demise of some species and the predictions for others as the pair seek Gingko fossils on Scarborough beach and help secure a green future by running in a tree-athlon to raise money to plant trees in cities.

The Trees That Made Britain is a testament to the part the trees have played in the past, and the powerful force they remain in today's countryside. You may never look at a tree in the same way again!

A book to accompany the series, written by acclaimed tree expert and photographer Archie Miles and featuring an introduction from Tony and Jon will be available from BBC books from September 7th.

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