Oxfordshire Limited Edition – August 2019

August 2019 |OxfordshireLimitedEdition| 21

FEATURE

OneofthemainattractionsatCountryfileLiveisseeing

theprogramme’spopularpresentersinaction.Limited

EditiontalksexclusivelytoEllieHarrisonaboutlifeinthe

countrysideandwhyit’sgreattobebackatBlenheim

Whatareyoulookingforwardtomost
aboutCountryfileLiveatBlenheim?
Everyyear,CountryfileLivehassomething
new.Ilovethatitisacontemporarycountry
showthatfeelsrelevant.Thedebatesarean
importantpartofthat.Soistheemphasis
onleisureasanindustryinthecountryside.
Myfavouritepartsarekayakingontheriver,
ropeaccesstreeclimbingandtheBBCMusic
IntroducingStage.Thisyearwe’realsogoing
tointervieweachotherontheMainStage
forthefirsttime.Ican’twaitforit.Ihopewe
getnewinsightsfromeachotheranddelve
deeperintoourpsyches.Itwouldbegreatif
itfeelsdifferentforouraudience.

Anyfavourite/funnymemoriesfrom
yourtimeasaCountryfilepresenter?
Ithinktheaudiencecantellwhenastory
hasreallymovedthepresenter.Itcould
bebecauseit’ssomethingtheyloveto
doorbecausethere’sbeenanimportant
connectionwiththecontributor.Generally,
IlovethestorieswhereI’mactive.Iloved
cyclingBealachnaBaintheHighlandsin
ahailstorm.Itwasademandingclimbin
70 mphhailandnoteasytofilmbutitwas
spectaculartobethereandfeelchallenged.I
alsolovedcanoeingsomeofthenorthcoast
ofIreland,divingonthewreckoftheHMS
ScyllainCornwallandclimbingSymondsYat
rockwithbuzzardscirclingoverhead.
Ifindhuman-intereststoriessomeofmy

COUNTRYSIDE

CONTEMPORARY

favouriteandmostmeaningful.Iremember

goingtotheLaneEndFarmTrustwhere

teenagerswithlearningdifficultiescango

andworkwiththeanimalsonthefarm.I

heardaboutincredibletransformationsinthe

students,oneinparticularhadbeenalmost

non-verbalwhenhearrivedandwasnow

givinganbrilliantandconfidentinterview

tousoncameraafewmonthslater.Ora

woodlandtherapygrouphelpingex-service

menandwomen,someofwhomciteitas

thereasonfortheircarryingonthrough

thedarkesttimes.Thestoriesofthose

experiencesfeelimportanttome.

YougrewupintheCotswolds,andlive

intheCotswoldsnow,doyouhaveany

favouriteplaces?

TheStroudValleysaremynascentlandscape

andarespecialtome.Itisn’thugelywild

butitmeansalottomeasitwashowI

experiencedtheoutdoorsasachild.Alittle

furtherwestisthebeautifuldeepWyeValley

withresidentperegrines.

Whatmakesitsuchagreatplacetoraise

afamily?

Beingcloselysurroundedbynaturethatis

freeandeasytogetto.Everychildconnects

readilywithnaturalplaces.Mostdon’tlikea

walkfromAtoBlikeadultsdo,butifyougo

toaspotandstopforawhile,that’swhen

childrencomealiveandconnect.