BBC Countryfile Live National Trust Theatre

Our beautiful countryside deserves a bright future and that means getting to grips with some controversial issues. What does Brexit mean for our farmers and for nature? Can we continue to produce cheap food? How do we do more for nature while meeting housing and infrastructure needs?

We will discuss these important questions - and celebrate our love of the British countryside and its wildlife - with a host of guests including Michaela Strachan, Ray Mears, Simon King, Mike Dilger and Naomi Wilkinson.

Advance bookings for the National Trust Theatre are no longer available. A limited number of seats are available for walk-ins so feel free to stop by the theatre entrance to find out.

Michaela Strachan

Thursday 3 August 

Our Director-General, Helen Ghosh will officially open the National Trust Theatre kicking off our exciting schedule, followed by an interview with Michaela Strachan who will reflect on her career as a wildlife television presenter. She was last seen presenting Springwatch from the National Trust’s Sherborne Park Estate in Gloucestershire. Countryfile presenter Matt Baker will also join us to announce this year’s winner of the Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize.

See all sessions in a downloadable PDF
Wildlife presenter Mike Dilger

Friday 4 August 

We debate the future of our uplands and there’s an opportunity to hear more from Helen Ghosh in a special interview with Charlotte Smith. Plus the One Show’s Mike Dilger talks about the trials and tribulations of being a wildlife presenter, while Simon King will bring us some fascinating stories from the natural world, both home and abroad and Alys Fowler will talk about gardening and her latest book Hidden Nature.

See all sessions in a downloadable PDF
Matthew Oates, our specialist volunteer for butterflies, holding a pair of binoculars

Saturday 5 August 

A host of celebrities including Ray Mears, Simon King, Mike Dilger and our very own ‘Butterfly Man’, Matthew Oates, will be discussing nature, survival and the future of our natural world. Today’s lunchtime debate will consider the farming landscape in the UK post-Brexit and asks what this means for farmers, consumers and conservationists.

See all sessions in a downloadable PDF
Simon King

Sunday 6 August 

A thought-provoking discussion on our declining wildlife species will be today’s lunchtime debate, while Simon King, Naomi Wilkinson, Gillian Burke and Mike Dilger will bring their own experiences with wildlife directly to the National Trust Theatre.

See all sessions in a downloadable PDF