Village of the Year

In the first of a brand new series, Penelope Keith along with village judges - archaeologist Alex Langlands, garden designer Juliet Sargeant and craft expert Patrick Grant - weighs up four contenders vying for the title of 'Village of the Year'. This week we are in the western zone made up of some stunning seaside and rural idylls. Penelope is by the seaside in Charmouth, Dorset. In Redbrook, in the Wye Valley Patrick bridges the divide between Wales and England. Juliet uncovers her inner Viking in Lydford, Devon, and Alex learns to thatch on the coast in Aberdaron, Wales. Which village will make it through to this week's semi-final and be in with a chance of winning £10,000?

Penelope Keith and the Village of the Year team of judges travel the British Isles to report on four villages hoping to be crowned Village of the Year. In Devon, the Lympstone Brass Band puts on a performance for Penelope; Alex Langlands investigates an alien invasion in Llwyngwril, North Wales; Patrick Grant learns about the peculiar art of swede racing in Colwinston, South Wales; and Juliet Sargeant helps spruce up the idyllic village of Porlock. Only one of the four villages can make it through to the semi- final and be in with a chance of winning £10,000.

Penelope Keith and the Village of the Year panel of judges visit four villages going head-to-head in their bid to be crowned Village of the Year. Penelope meets an army of volunteers on the Dorset coast in Burton Bradstock; surf's up for historian Alex Langlands at the world's first surfing lake in Dolgarrog; anything goes for Patrick Grant in Llangwm's museum of everything; and Juliet Sargeant has a real taste of the sea in Mousehole, Cornwall. Find out which village becomes a semi-finalist and is in with a chance of winning the £10,000 prize money.

Travelling the length and breadth of the British Isles, Penelope Keith and her team of judges are looking for the UK's Village of the Year. In Betws-y-Coed in the heart of Snowdonia, Alex Langlands gets adventurous; Penelope is horsing around in Charlton Horethorne; Juliet Sargeant reels in the catch of the day in Polperro, Cornwall; and on the Gower Peninsula, Patrick Grant is digging for cockles in Penclawdd. Which village woos the judges to become a semi-finalist?

Penelope Keith and her panel of expert judges investigate four more villages competing to win the title of 'Village of the Year'. On the Jurassic coast Penelope's all at sea with Beer's historic fishing fleet, and Patrick Grant is 'boule-d' over in Sherston, Wiltshire. In Devon, Juliet Sargeant meets the Clovelly donkeys, and Alex Langlands goes native in the Welsh village of Llanllyfni. But which village will secure a coveted place in the semi-finals and the chance of winning £10,000?

Five villages from this week's heats go head-to-head for a spot in the grand final and the chance to win Village of the Year and the ú10,000 prize money. Penelope Keith and her three judges have been searching for the very best of British village life, and in this episode they find out even more from the five contenders in the Western Zone. Will the buildings, the scenery or good old British eccentricity win the day?

Penelope Keith and her fellow Village of the Year judges are searching the British Isles to find the very best in village life. From the South East, four more shortlisted villages have their chance to impress the judges. Penelope discovers eccentric events in Elstead, Surrey. Alex retraces ancient footsteps on the Norfolk coast in Happisburgh. In the heart of Berkshire in Hampstead Norreys Patrick explores a tropical rainforest. And Juliet rounds up a flock of rare sheep in Ashwell in Hertfordshire. But which village will be in with a chance of winning a place in the semi-final, and a chance to win the ú10,000 prize money?

From the north of Scotland to the west of Cornwall, Penelope Keith and her team of judges are on the hunt for the Village of the Year. Craft expert Patrick Grant helps to update the 3000-year-old white chalk horse of Uffington. In Kent, Penelope takes in the magnificent views of peg-tiled roof tops in Goudhurst. Archaeologist Alex Langlands travels to Suffolk and finds the Bardwell bells appealing. And in Blunham in Bedfordshire, garden designer Juliet Sargeant comes up smelling of roses at their yearly floral festival. Which village will have a chance of being a Village of the Year finalist?

Penelope Keith explores a medieval masterpiece in the Kent village of Penshurst. On the Norfolk coast, Alex Langlands meets the volunteers keeping Mundesley's beaches ship-shape. Juliet Sargeant has a go at building a traditional wall in Haddenham. And in the New Forest, Patrick Grant falls under the spell of the ancient village of Burley. Which village will be selected to make it through to the semi-finals?

Archaeologist Alex Langlands meets the residents of Rowhedge, Essex, who are making a splash in the river Colne. Craft expert Patrick Grant visits Findon; a village that's breeding winning riders and horses. In Redbourn in Hertfordshire, Juliet breaks bread with the local miller. Penelope Keith attends the world custard pie championships in Coxheath in Kent. Which village is in with a chance of winning £10,000?

In West Sussex Penelope Keith meets the harbour master of Lindfield's village pond. Alex travels to the heart of Constable country in East Bergholt in Suffolk. Juliet gets green-fingered in Woburn in Bedfordshire. And Patrick is swanning around in Cookham in Berkshire. Which village will make it through to tomorrow's semi-final?

Penelope Keith and the team of judges are in the Central Zone heat of the Village of the Year. In Rutland, Penelope meets Lyddington's own Sherlock Holmes. In Edale in the Derbyshire Dales, Patrick explores a unique method of beer delivery. In Northamptonshire Alex gets a chance to sample Aynho's apricots. And in Eglinton in County Londonderry in Northern Ireland, Juliet enjoys a good old fashioned ceilidh. Which of the villages will secure a place in the semi-finals?

Penelope Keith and her panel of expert judges investigate four more villages from the Central Zone. In Lincolnshire, Penelope looks in on Irish dancing in Nettleham. Alex Langlands goes cuckoo for a water garden in Pembridge, Herefordshire. In Ulster Juliet attends the first wife-carrying championships in Glenarm. And Patrick takes a cruise down the Union canal in Gnosall in Staffordshire. Which village will impress the judges the most?

Penelope Keith and her panel of judges consider four more villages from this Central Zone heat. Penelope bonds with alpacas in Houghton and Wyton in Cambridgeshire. Alex Langlands bangs his drum with the last village band in Bretforton in Worcestershire. Patrick Grant learns what it is to be to the manor born in Tissington in Derbyshire. And Juliet takes a hair-raising back seat ride in Armoy, County Antrim. Which village wins over the judges for a spot in the semi-finals?

Penelope Keith and her team uncover the very best of British village life. In this heat Penelope unleashes her inner graffiti artist in Histon and Impington in Cambridgeshire. Patrick Grant pilots a rocket in Audlem, Cheshire. Juliet Sargeant is out to sea in Strangford in Northern Ireland. And in Frampton-on-Severn in Gloucestershire, Alex Langlands explores the largest village green in England. The competition is tough as four villages go head to head for a spot in the semi-finals.

Four more villages compete for a chance to win £10,000 and to be crowned Village of the Year. In Lincolnshire Penelope tracks down a seriously good sausage in Woodhall Spa. Alex Langlands get jiggy with the Morris men of Illmington in Warwickshire. Juliet Sargeant explores the blooming beautiful Broughshane in County Antrim. In Cheshire, Patrick Grant takes tea by the lake in Pickmere. With one more slot to fill for tomorrow's semi, which village will be joining the line-up and in with the chance to win £10,000?

It's the semi- final where five villages from the Village of the Year Central Zone compete for a place in the final - and the chance to be crowned Village of the year. With ú10,000 up for grabs, Penelope Keith and her team of expert judges are searching for the very best of what British village life has to offer. From the West of Ireland to the heart of the Midlands, five villages show they have even more strings to their bow as they continue to try to woo the Judges. Which village will be selected to represent the Central Zone in the Village of the Year Grand Finale?

Penelope Keith and her team of judges weigh up four contenders in this first heat from the Northern Zone, stretching from Scotland to Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Northumberland. In Inverness-shire Penelope discovers Boat of Garten, the village that brought ospreys back to the British Isles. Alex plays king of the castle in Bamburgh, Northumberland. Juliet takes in the beauty of the Lake District in Grasmere and Patrick explores the once independent state of Embo in the Scottish Highlands. Which will be the first village from the Northern Zone to secure a spot in the semi-finals?

Searching for the very best of British village life, Penelope and her team explore four more worthy contenders from the Northern Zone. In Aberdeenshire, Penelope discovers the inspiration for great art in Catterline. Alex checks out the North Yorkshire village of Goathland that's no stranger to the cameras. Juliet Sargeant pops into the Lancashire local that's reviving the heart of Bolton-by-Bowland. On the Isle of Skye, Patrick Grant explores Tarskavaig, a unique community who are thriving on the edge of the Atlantic. Which village will be put through to the semi-finals?

Penelope Keith, Patrick Grant, Alex Langlands and Juliet Sargeant are in the Northern Zone looking to crown one village Village of the Year. Penelope visits a Moray village that was planned to perfection: Fochabers. Alex explores the smuggling stronghold of Robin Hood's Bay in North Yorkshire. Patrick dances to a Scottish tune in Acharacle and Juliet is in hot pot heaven in Croston, Lancashire. With a place in the semis up for grabs, which village will win over the judges?

In the last of the Northern Zone heats, Penelope enjoys going back to the land in Kinloch Rannoch in Scotland. Alex Langlands draws his sword in Great Ayton in Yorkshire. Patrick Grant tries his hand at the local lingo in Avoch in Ross-shire. In Cumbria, Juliet Sargeant immerses herself in the hustle and bustle of Staveley. With stunning landscapes and exceptional traditions, which village will win over the judges?

It's the Northern Zone semi- final. Four villages compete for a slot in the final and the chance to be crowned Village of the Year. From the north of Scotland to the heart of Lancashire, four villages have made it on to the judge's shortlist, but only one will be in with a chance to win ú10,000. We'll see a bit more from each of the semi-finalists, including hearing what they would spend the prize money on. The stakes are high for Penelope Keith and her team of expert judges.

It's the grand final of Village of the Year. Across 19 heats and four semi-finals, 76 villages have been whittled down - and now only four remain. There's one last chance to impress, as each of the villages put on a special event for the judges to showcase everything they think makes their village great. Then, residents from each of the final villages gather together at a Village of the Year fete. The judges consider everything they've seen before Penelope Keith announces which village will be crowned Village of the Year and win £10,000.