In his BBC2 programme last night, Nicholas Crane followed the path of William Cobbett's Rural Rides. The programme was distinguished by the appearance of John Copper to sing verses from two contemporary songs. The programme is repeated tomorrow evening at 7 o'clock.

19:00 Thursday 6 September 2007
Great British Journeys - William Cobbett's Rural Rides
A farmer's son and one-time ploughman, William Cobbett was born in 1763, in Farnham, Surrey. A highly politicised writer and champion of Radicalism, Cobbett loved the countryside, and his Rural Rides are one of the best known elegies to rustic southern England. He cared passionately about the plight of humble farm labourers, and he understood that the agricultural crisis of the early 19th century would eventually lead to outright rebellion. He railed against corrupt statesmen and dodgy middlemen, and celebrated the intrinsic worth of old-fashioned farming practices. Nicholas Crane sets off to discover whether Cobbett's tirade was justified and whether today it's still possible to find anything of Cobbett Country. >>