The cure for busy modern lives? A walk in the park! Caroline Quentin explores Britain’s beautiful National Parks in a scenic new series…

When former Men Behaving Badly star Caroline Quentin isn’t busy acting she’s usually tending her 35-acre Devon plot or out on a hike. 

In fact, she’s such a keen rambler she’s been president of the Campaign For National Parks, which makes her the perfect presenter for More4’s new four-part series about these treasures.

‘National parks are still a big part of my life,’ says Caroline, 63. ‘We live only 15 minutes from Exmoor. It’s the best place in the world if you’re keen on birds and butterflies, as I am.

‘It can be a joy to just watch and listen. We’re so conditioned these days to want things and to interact with our phones, which is the antithesis of just being outside with nature.’

In The UK’s National Parks With Caroline Quentin she visits several of these rural paradises, from the New Forest to the Cairngorms and the Yorkshire Dales, meeting locals, revelling in the scenery and revealing secrets of the parks’ histories. ‘They’re here for all of us,’ she says.

Caroline meets the abbot of Dartmoor’s Buckfast Abbey, makes a Bakewell Tart in the Peak District and views seals off the Pembrokeshire Coast. 

‘I met park rangers who seemed to find their place in the world when they began working in a national park,’ she says. Pembrokeshire National Park ranger Megan Pratt tells Caroline, ‘It’s the best office in the world.’

In the Lake District Caroline was inspired by the Black Girls Hike group, founded by Rhiane Fatinikun after she learned only one per cent of park visitors were from an ethnic minority. 

Rhiane tells Caroline some of the group have come off anxiety medication since joining, while another member, Liz, says walking with them made her feel welcome in the parks. 

Previously she’d been the only black face and other walkers would ask if she was lost.

Caroline meets the abbot of Dartmoor’s Buckfast Abbey, makes a Bakewell Tart in the Peak District and views seals off the Pembrokeshire Coast on the show

Acting-wise, Caroline’s role in Sky’s The Lazarus Project has been beefed up for series two and she’s currently in a play, Infamous, with her daughter Rose, 24. 

‘I love working with her. She’s generous, brilliant and funny,’ says Caroline, who also has a son William, 20, at university. Her husband Sam Farmer runs a skincare brand.

Her gardening skills are so impressive, too, that she was interviewed by Monty Don at the Chelsea Flower Show this year, and she’s currently writing her first gardening book and also doing the watercolour illustrations.

She sees a parallel between her national parks series and her hobbies – it’s about casting aside your fear of failure. 

‘It’s clear from my artwork I’m not Leonardo da Vinci, but I hope people think, “If she’s enjoying it, maybe I could too.” So even if you don’t think you’re a hiker, you could still go for a little walk and feel the benefit of being in nature. Life is short and we should fill it with things we enjoy.’

• The UK’s National Parks With Caroline Quentin, Monday, 9pm, More4.