Oxfordshire

David Attenborough reveals the secret lives of the animals that inhabit a wild, unruly garden straddling a tributary of the River Thames in Oxfordshire.

A thousand-year-old mill house sits at the heart of this unusual garden. Owners Henry and Sara have learned to let much of their land go wild, creating a haven for wildlife and a stage for some remarkable nature stories.

As the winter floods recede, a male kingfisher battles to survive, hunting through murky waters in the hope of winning a mate and raising a family in a hidden burrow only just above the river’s edge. A shy bank vole must evade a range of dangers – from robotic lawnmowers to predatory grass snakes – seeking safety, food and a place to rear her young. Otters and red kites patrol the river, day and night. And Doris – the garden mallard – must outwit predators and floodwaters as she shepherds her nine ducklings from their treetop nest to a life in the river below.

As spring turns to summer, the garden erupts with new life. Mayflies rise en masse after years underwater. As the males dance above the lawn, a female has just one day to find a partner and lay eggs. Daubenton’s bats skim the river for insects, catching up to 3,000 a night. And Doris, despite being targeted by a hungry otter, manages to keep all nine of her ducklings alive.

But this is a fragile Eden. A sudden downpour sends the river waters surging back into the garden. The kingfisher chicks face drowning in their burrow before they are ready to fly, and the vole must flee her flooded woodland. At least it’s nice weather for ducks.

Through the eyes of Henry and Sara, beautiful cinematography and immersive storytelling, this episode reveals the astonishing resilience of Britain’s garden wildlife in the face of unpredictable change. It is a celebration of how leaving nature to its own devices can turn an ordinary patch of land into a hugely rich and highly rewarding wildlife refuge.