Discover the locations and the wildlife featured in episode 1 of Sir David Attenborough’s brilliant new BBC series: Wild Isles – and learn how to visit some of these amazing places
Britain and Ireland have some of the most diverse and beautiful landscapes on Earth. In this major new landmark series, Sir David Attenborough celebrate the wonders of the islands that we call home, revealing surprising and dramatic habitats.
Filmed over the course of three years, this five-part series investigates how our woodland, grassland, freshwater and ocean habitats support wildlife of all kinds. Using the very latest technology, each episode will capture dramatic and new behaviour across the British Isles, from battling butterflies to mighty killer whales on the hunt.
Our guide gives you a chance to learn more about the astonishing places and wildlife featured in episode 1 of Wild Isles and even visit some of the locations for yourself. Find out everything you want to know about the upcoming BBC series in our TV guide.
The best wildlife action sequences from Wild Isles: Episode 1
We’ve picked out some of the best wildlife action and behaviour captured for episode 1 of Wild Isles – and the locations where they were filmed.
Orcas hunting seals, Shetland Isles
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Shetland is the only place in the British Isles where orcas breed. The team filmed this footage over three years using drones and specialist camera equipment on board their boat. The crew were in contact with a group of about 250 local people who helped them to trace the orca along the coast.
Find out more about visiting Shetland, its landscapes, people and wildlife in our special guide
Golden eagles in ‘Britain’s Arctic’, Cairngorms National Park and Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park
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Wild Isles explores how golden eagles carve out an existence in the often challenging habitat and climate of this massive mountain range. The Cairngorms offers a stirring landscape of towering trees, shimmering lochs and majestic wildlife but can experience winter conditions to match the Arctic. For all wild creatures there, even the mighty eagles, life exists on a knife edge.
The area was designated as a national park in 2003, and later extended in 2010. It is our largest national park – almost twice the size of the Lake District – and home to four of the five highest mountains in Britain.
Find our more about walking in the Cairngorms with our travel guide
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park was established on 8 July 2002 and became operational on 19 July 2002. Five days later, on 24 July, the park was formally opened by Anne, Princess Royal.
The national park is known for its beautiful lochs and imposing mountains – there are 21 Munros (mountains over 3000ft/914m) and 19 Corbetts (2,500ft-3,000ft/762m-914m).
Loch Lomond is the largest waterbody in the park, stretching 5 miles (8km) across at its widest point and 24 miles (39km) long. It has the largest surface area of any Scottish loch and is 190m deep and its deepest point.
Explore Loch Lomond and the Trossachs with our guide
Watch a trailer for the upcoming series
Mighty oak trees
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Of all Britain’s trees, one name conjures a greater sense of majesty and legend more than any other: the oak and the myriad wildlife it hosts make a star appearance in the opening episode of Wild Isles.
The oak tree is entwined within British history and culture, and plays a vital role in our natural history. But there is more than just a singular species.
There are two native species of oak in the UK – the English (or common) oak and the sessile oak – as well as several more introductions or ornamental varieties, including the holm oak, Turkey oak, cork oak and northern red oak.
Find out more about oak trees in our guide
Badgers and bluebells
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Taking a woodland walk among bluebells is one of the most thrilling things you can do in the British countryside in spring. According to the Wildlife Trusts, Britain has about 50% of the world’s bluebell population – a key reason for their appearance in episode 1.
Seeing a vivid carpet of delicate bluebells on the woodland floor is a seasonal delight and is one of the early signs of spring.
Enjoy the very best bluebell walks Britain has to offer
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Badgers are Britain’s largest remaining land carnivore – and the UK has one of the densest populations of these sociable animals. The cubs emerge around the same time as bluebells – an irresistible opportunity for the Wild Isles film-makers to celebrate the magic of our ancient woods in spring.
A wild goose chase, Islay, Inner Hebrides
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Episode one features some extraordinary footage of white-tailed eagles hunting Greenland white-fronted geese on the island of Islay. The geese arrive in autumn from Greenland – and as they refuel head-down on vegetation, the eagle strikes, hoping to surprise its prey.
The white-tailed eagle is the UK’s largest bird of prey, but remains scarce. Breeding and reintroduction programmes are particularly prevalent on the west coast of Scotland, but in recent years there have been more intensive efforts made across the rest of the British isles.
Magical river life, River Isle, Somerset
Stunning images of kingfishers catching tiny fish and banded demoiselles performing their graceful aerial mating dances are a reminder of how precious our rivers and other freshwater habitats are.
The demoiselle feature was filmed on the River Isle in the Somerset Levels – a rare example of a relatively unpolluted waterway in southern England. For an audio adventure on the river Isle, listen on.
And for more inspirational adventures among aquatic life, join filmmaker Jack Perks in another of our award-winning Plodcasts.
The gannet mega-city at Bass Rock
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Arguably Britain’s greatest wildlife treasure is its astonishing populations of seabirds. Being and island helps, of course, but a significant proportion of the world’s guillemots, puffins, gannets and Manx shearwaters breed on our cliffs and islets. Perhaps the most spectacular location is Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth. In summer, 150,000 birds gather here, and from a distance the island appears snow-white due to the density of the birds.
Discover why Chris Packham loves Bass Rock
Puffins and pirates
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Some 450,000 puffins make their nests on the coasts of the British Isles – coming ashore in spring after a winter feeding far out in the Atlantic. Wild Isles caught up with these characterful birds at two locations – the Farne Islands off the Northumberland Coast and the island of Skomer, Pembrokeshire. Here, the film-makers captured the action as the puffins run the gauntlet of a range of raiding gulls, who try to steal the puffins’ catch as they make their way back to the nesting burrow. But the puffins have evolved their own extraordinary strategy to beat the pirates.
Explore the magical Farne Islands
Enjoy a brilliant walk on Skomer
The geology of the Wild Isles explored in Episode 1.
Episode 1 of the Wild Isles series examines our diverse geology in a fabulous array of locations. Explore them with our walks and days out.
1. Wastwater and Wasdale, Cumbria
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Wastwater is a 3-mile (5km) long lake within Wasdale and is surrounded by some of the mightiest peaks within the Lake District including Great Gable and Scafell Pike. At 79m deep, Wastwater is England’s deepest lake.
Check out our walking guides to Wasdale and around the Wasdale Head Inn.
2. Old Harry’s Rocks, Dorset
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These chalk pillars stand in the sea at the end of Handfast Point in Studland Bay on the Dorset Coast. Old Harry and The Needles (another chalk rock formation) on the Isle of Wight were linked by a line of chalk hills that eroded away during the last ice age. On a clear day you can see The Needles from Studland Bay. The name Harry may come from a local pirate, Harry Paye.
Try our walk around Studland Bay with superb views of Old Harry’s Rocks
3. Glen Affric, Scottish Highlands
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Often hailed as the Highlands’ most beautiful glen, Glen Affric not only boasts shimmering lochs and rugged mountains, but it is also one of the largest remnants of the pine forest that used to cover much of Scotland. For centuries the flanks of the glen were blanketed with birch,rowan and magnificent Caledonian pines.
Make the most of a visit to Glen Affric with our carefully chosen walking route
4. Ingleborough, Yorkshire Dales
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Ingleborough (723m) is the highest of the Yorkshire Dales’ Three Peaks and has always been a favourite.
Take an intriguing walk in the area
5. High Force Waterfall, North Pennines
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High Force is one of the most impressive waterfalls in England. The River Tees has been plunging into this gorge for thousands of years but the rocks it reveals are far more ancient – with origins dating back over 300 million years.
Find out more with our guide to the best waterfalls in Britain
6. Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland
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The undeniably impressive Giant’s Causeway is Northern Ireland’s most popular tourist attraction – with 40,000 basalt columns creating an extraordinary coastal marvel. But step off the beaten track and you’ll be able to marvel at this coast’s geology, myths and breathtaking views in virtual solitude.
Here’s how to see the Giant’s Causeway at its best