Joe Crowley and Steve Brown are on the North Yorkshire coast in the beautiful village of Staithes to find out how the traditional fishing community is adapting for the future. Where once there was a fishing fleet of 80, now there is just one fisherman left. Joe goes out to sea to discover how one skipper has swapped nets for wildlife tourism, while Steve takes a look at Staithes's art heritage and tastes some locally smoked goodies. Adam Henson finds out about the challenges facing a sheep dairy, and Charlotte Smith investigates the latest developments behind one of Britain's biggest ecological marine disasters.

Celebrating the seventieth anniversary of the first recorded summit of the highest point on earth, Mount Everest, Ellie Harrison is in Kettering at one of the world's most advanced materials research facilities to put outdoor gear – and herself – to the test. As well as getting to grips with a pair of expedition boots that made it to the top of the world, how will Ellie bear up in a cold chamber where the mercury can hit -40 Celsius? The UK may not be able to match the dizzying heights of Everest, but we do have our own extreme landscapes, so how can we best be braced to deal with them?

Ellie also dips into the Countryfile archive to remind us of some pretty bracing encounters with the worst the weather can hurl at us.