Cornwall: A Year by the Sea

Cornwall thrives in spring with farms bursting into life, gardens blooming and tourism industries recovering from winter and preparing for summer.

Summer is hectic for pasty makers, surf schools and wedding venues alike.

The pregnant ewes are being scanned to see how many lambs they can expect next year.

In a bid to extend the season and entice winter guests to Cornwall, Veryan and Richard make sure the Headland is as festive as possible, deploying volunteers to decorate the hotel.

On the dramatic north coast, the sweeping sands of Watergate Bay are coming back to life. Here, teams race to rebuild storm defences, craft new seasonal menus, and ready the surf school for its busiest months. Far to the south, at the iconic Minack Theatre, perched high on the cliffs above the Atlantic, anticipation builds as the curtain rises on a new season of performance.

On the windswept hills above Port Quin Bay, the Williams family enter the most demanding and rewarding season of their year - lambing time - a round-the-clock labour of care, skill and instinct. On the southern shores of the Helford River, the reigning world champion gig rowing team are back on the water, training hard for the challenges ahead.

In the harbour town of Padstow, local fisherman Johnny Murt heads out to sea as dawn breaks, in search of the prized catch of lobster. Battling changing tides, unpredictable weather and rising pressures on the fishing industry, Johnny's livelihood depends on what he can haul from the sea each day. At the Camel Estuary in Rock, pressure mounts at the boatyard as Easter approaches as the team races against time to return more than 20 boats to their moorings. The historic estate of Trewithen prepares for the arrival of spring and summer guests. On the wild and windswept edge of Bodmin Moor, thousands of starlings gather overhead.