Countryfile: Tyne and Wear

Ellie Harrison and Matt Baker are in Tyne and Wear. Matt visits a country park just a stone's throw from Newcastle, built on the site of what was once one of the biggest coal mines in Britain. Matt joins warden Chris Tucker to see for himself the rich wildlife and wetland birds that have made this once derelict site home. He helps the volunteers with habitat restoration and speaks to Matt Sharpe, a young farmer raising sheep and cattle on 140 acres at the edge of the reserve. Ellie is down the coast near Sunderland where restoration of the beautiful Roker Lighthouse is nearly complete. She discovers the secret tunnels used by the lighthouse keepers to get to the light in rough weather. And she learns that in its day it was the most powerful lighthouse in Britain. Ellie then travels further down the coast to Seaham where she goes in search of seaglass - glass smoothed by the tide and highly valued by collectors from all over the world. A legacy of the town's Victorian glass industry