Iolo's Borderlands

Iolo Williams explores the Welsh Marches, the borderlands with England, discovering amazing wildlife in this surprisingly diverse area.

In the Gwent Levels, he is treated to a chorus of birdsong and hunts for one of the rarest bees in Britain - the shrill carder bee. In the Wye Valley, he sets trail cameras to capture shots of elusive wild boar and searches for the rare hawfinch and camouflaged nightjar.

Iolo ends this portion of his journey at Llanthony Priory, where house martins are nesting in the ruins.

Iolo Williams explores the borderlands of the old county of Radnorshire. He begins his journey along the banks of the Wye between Hay-on-Wye and Glasbury, where he discovers nesting little-ringed plovers and oystercatchers. Further upriver at Llyswen, he finds spawning sea lampreys - extraordinary metre-long jawless fish.

In woodlands below the Black Mountains, he comes up close with a dormouse among the ancient oak trees which began life during the reign of Elizabeth I. On Stanner Rocks near Kington, he walks on some of the oldest rocks in Wales and discovers rare plants including one that grows nowhere else in Britain. Iolo also looks for roe deer in the Radnor Forest and yellowhammers on Offa's Dyke.

Iolo Williams explores North Radnorshire and Montgomeryshire. Iolo begins his journey on a beautiful pasture at Tylcau Hill near Llanbister bursting with colour from wildflowers and rare butterflies. Next stop is Dolfor near Newtown, one of the last remaining strongholds for the curlew in Wales. Along the ancient and historic landscapes of the Kerry Ridgeway and Offa's Dyke, he discovers stunning male linnets singing on the gorse. Further north near Welshpool, Iolo finds some lovely old meadows full of colourful orchids and insects. This leg of the journey ends on the Montgomery canal which is a great place for dragonflies.

Iolo Williams explores the borderlands of north east Wales. Iolo begins his journey on a moor near Llangollen to see hen harriers, one of our most threatened birds of prey. He sets his alarm for 4am to catch one of the best wildlife spectacles in Britain – the black grouse lek. Next stop is an important nature reserve on a bog with an astonishing mix of wildlife including raft spiders, dragonflies, and hobbies, a bird of prey that migrates from Africa.

North of Wrexham, Iolo explores the wildlife that's colonised Marford Quarry after stone was extracted during the mid-1900s to supply aggregate for the building of the Mersey Tunnel. His trek along the Welsh border ends on the Dee Estuary, where he sees thousands of wading birds near Point of Ayr, and on the dunes and beach in nearby Gronant, he finds beautifully coloured sand lizards and one of our rarest seabirds - little terns. It is the only site in Wales where they breed.