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.

Our national parks are beautiful wild spaces that are free for us all to explore and enjoy. But what does the future hold in light of funding cutbacks and the recent wild camping ruling on Dartmoor? Charlotte Smith discovers how cuts are affecting management of wild landscapes and finds out how political parties are squaring up to the right to camp debate. She also catches up with author Guy Shrubsole to discover a rare rainforest here on Dartmoor, while Matt Baker helps budding conservationists with a bird survey and takes to the airwaves of Skylark FM.

With the Cheltenham Festival around the corner, Adam Henson visits an equine rehab centre to find out what it takes to keep racehorses in peak condition. Paralympian Sammi Kinghorn meets the volunteers opening up Dartmoor for everyone in Miles without Stiles, and in the second of a four-part strand, Adrian Chiles discovers what it takes to be a hill farmer in Wales.