Near Windermere, upland farmers Pete and Rona Webster are expecting their first child as they prepare to move to the Dales and take over Rona's dad's farm as he retires. They plan to become the first producers of sheep's milk ice-cream in Yorkshire. Game dealer Andrew Dent and gamekeeper Ian Sleightholm are setting heather ablaze in Wensleydale. In the market town of Leyburn, in Lower Wensleydale, antiques dealer Ken Garrett looks to drum up some business. And in Borrowdale, a team of National Trust rangers need to shift thirty tonnes of stone from the valley floor to the summit of Sty Head.

As winter descends, farmers and their milk are stranded by the snow. A sheep gets stuck in the mud and a slate mine becomes an impromptu ski resort.