Andrew Marr experiences his biggest adventure yet, plummeting from an airplane in his first-ever sky-dive – all in the name of exploring the nation from above. During the course of his travels, Andrew discovers how some of the greenest, most natural-seeming landscapes across the country have actually been shaped by human hands.

This week’s journey begins 10,000 feet above ground in East Anglia, where a familiar patchwork quilt of fields lies below. This is the breadbasket of the nation, producing over a quarter of the country’s wheat and barley. But it’s not as natural as it looks. Here, farmers are harnessing military technology to help them manage their farms. Spy planes, normally used to snap reconnaissance photos of Iraq or Afghanistan, have been converted to crop-cams. Using GPS, the computer-controlled crop-cam flies over farmland, recording images as it goes.

Flying over Savernake Forest near Swindon, experts are employing modern technology to see beneath the forest canopy and reveal the nation’s ancient history below. A plane-mounted laser flies over the forest. This laser – known as LiDAR – scans the ground, firing 33,000 times each second. The recorded impulses produce a model of the ground beneath the trees, revealing a temple-complex dating back to the Iron Age.

Finally, Andrew explores the nation’s National Parks, witnessing them as a host to wildlife, countless leisure activities and sheep. He sees their fight against destruction and their role as a testing ground for fast jet aircraft like the Eurofighter.

This programme is accompanied by Britain From Above – The Land on Sunday at 10pm.

Sunday 17 August
9.00-10.00pm BBC ONE