How natural flood defences can prevent flooding and increase biodiversity. Annabel Ross takes a walk with the Chair of the Environment Agency Emma Howard Boyd and Tom Dauben who is the Environment Agency’s lead for the natural flood management scheme. The Dartmoor Headwaters Natural Flood Management project aims to reduce flood risk to communities on and around Dartmoor using natural solutions. It is a partnership between the Environment Agency and Dartmoor National Park Authority, working in co...
Apr 12, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast It's a sunny Sunday afternoon on the allotment with a cool, gentle breeze. You can hear the murmur of allotmenteers at work with a backdrop of birdsong and the occasional barking dog. As the smell of cut grass raises the spirits, you can hear that the new season has given everyone a spring in their steps. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a gentle postcard from the British countryside each week that allows you a soothing few minutes escape into the wild, wherever you are. Recorded by ...
Apr 08, 2022•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast In part two of our special angling adventure on the Rivers Isle and Parrett in Somerset, Kevin Parr and plodcast host Fergus continue their gentle meander along the water chatting about wildlife and occasionally catching a fish. Later, Kevin joins the plodcast team in the studio to talk pike, adders, otters and other wildlife joys of spring. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 05, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast It hadn’t rained for a week, but just as the garden was beginning to show its thirst, a single drop falls. Then two more. The sky releases a long, slow rumble then spills open like a long-held breath finally being freed. The sound of the rain is most satisfying down by the pond, somewhere to sit a while and enjoy the gentle patter of the year’s first spring shower. Recorded by Daniel Graham, presented by Hannah Tribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about y...
Apr 01, 2022•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Angler and writer Kevin Parr leads a gentle day's angling on the River Isle. Plodcast host Fergus joins Kev to learn the art of coarse fishing in the peaceful surrounding of the Somerset Levels. Listen on for a marvellous day in very early spring with birdsong, fish and the voice of the river. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 29, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast Where the heath meets the woods by a pool, deep in the New Forest, the warm spring sun stirs many birds into song. A marsh tit sings and then a stock dove repeats its prudish crooning to a backdrop of blue tits and robins. A Forest pony comes closer to investigate. Recorded by Fergus Collins and presented by Hannah Tribe BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a gentle postcard from the British countryside each week that allows you a soothing few minutes escape into the wild, wherever you a...
Mar 25, 2022•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Head for a wander around RSPB Otmoor in Oxfordshire in late winter with Rebecca Wrigley from Rewilding Britain argues the case for huge change across the countryside to provide space for nature and opportunities for local people. Annabel Ross is your host. Later the Plodcast team discuss how to rewild a city plus the power of the urban peregrine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 22, 2022•54 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast It's high tide on the northern coast of mainland Shetland – a bitterly icy day but the sun is out, puffins are on the water offshore and fulmars are scouting breeding sites on the nearby cliffs. In a small, seldom visited cove, the waves surge up and down the shore. Recorded by Megan Shersby and introduced by Hannah Tribe. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a gentle postcard from the British countryside each week that allows you a soothing few minutes escape into the wild, wherever you...
Mar 18, 2022•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Alix Chiddley-Uttely helps run her family's 100-acre farm in the stunning Shropshire Hills. In this episode, she invites Plodcast host Fergus to meet her ewes and newborn lambs as well as a host of other colourful animal characters during the morning rounds of feeding and checking. She reveals how it's still possible to make a good living from a small family-run farming business and tells some wonderful stories about local legends. Plus, everything you need to know about sheep. Hosted on Acast. ...
Mar 15, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast A day of rain has left the river running high and fast. The path on the bank is muddy. The air dank and cold. It could be deepest winter, if not for the riot of dusk birdsong spilling down from the trees beside the track. Gulls, blackbirds, wrens, great tits, and at one point a buzzard. There’s something about chatter of a heron – perched on his huge nest in the trees – that brings the greatest joy. Recorded by Daniel Graham and presented by Hannah Tribe. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes...
Mar 11, 2022•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Why eBikes can make a huge difference to how you explore the countryside. Plodcast host Fergus enjoys a day's cycling in the Forest of Dean in the depths of winter with Tom Marvin from BikeRadar to talk about the joys of mountain biking and the magic of riding the woodland paths on an electric bicycle. Plus, later, the Plodcast team meet to discuss the day out, enjoy listeners' emails and the Sound of the Week. Image from Getty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn ...
Mar 08, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast The happy, mesmerising chirping of a colony of house sparrows. As crocuses bloom in a small front garden, a dozen sparrows bubble with an incessant chatter full of infectious excitement – a sure sign that this little colony is turning its thoughts to the breeding season. Recorded by Fergus Collins. Introduced by Hannah Tribe. Image from Getty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 04, 2022•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Meet Angela Williams and Jenny Barlow who are helping the people of Langholm in south west Scotland make the most of their purchase of 5,200 acres from the Duke of Buccleugh. Rob Yorke walked some of the moors and woodlands to talk about what plans the community has to provide renewable energy, local jobs, wildlife habitat and an attractive destination for tourists. Recorded in autumn 2021. Image by Rob Yorke. More on the Lanholm Initiative and the creation of the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve Ho...
Mar 01, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Relax to the gentle trilling of a party of greenfinches. Walking an old footpath on the edge of a town, you stumble across a ruined farmhouse. Trees and scrub have invaded the farmyard creating a haven for birds including a group of 10 greenfinches. As the first warmth of spring stirs the air, the males chatter and wheeze their songs, while the females forage. These birds have undergone a decline in the UK in recent years so their once-familiar songs are harder to find on a country walk. Image f...
Feb 25, 2022•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Enjoy a wild winter's walk around the town of Mossley in Greater Manchester where the surrounding moors, woods and crumbling industrial heritage inspire two local artists. Meet Liz Ackerley and her partner Hugh Winterbottom to hear how the ever-changing seasons and atmospheres influence their very different styles of work. You can see their work in an exhibition called: Landscape Inside Out, Gallery Oldham, Oldham, Greater Manchester from 5 March to 4 June. For more information, see their You Tu...
Feb 22, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast After a cold and wet day in the hills, you light a fire in the stove and make a welcome cup of tea. You settle into a favourite armchair to watch the dancing flames and relax to the crackle of the wood. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a gentle postcard from the British countryside each week that allows you a soothing few minutes escape into the wild, wherever you are. Image from Getty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...
Feb 18, 2022•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Poet and BBC Radio regular Kenneth Steven takes us on a gentle winter's walk through the lanes and fields of his home island of Seil in the Inner Hebrides. Enjoy meetings with kestrels, buzzards and robins, plus a special poem A Winter Light. Later join the Plodcast team for some Sounds of the Week and the latest from the Plodcast Postbag. Image of Seil from Getty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Feb 15, 2022•41 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast A horde of starlings descends on a dairy farm in the Vale of Pewsey to forage among the piles of gently steaming fodder and manure while cattle shelter inside the barns. The birds' voices create a waves of soft chatter to warm up this bitter winter's day while tractors come and go. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a gentle postcard from the British countryside each week that allows you a soothing few minutes escape into the wild, wherever you are. Recorded by Tanya Jackson and presen...
Feb 11, 2022•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Setting out to give voice to forgotten lowland landscapes of Monmouthshire overlooked by visitors, plodcast host Fergus instead get lost as the little-used footpaths have disappeared or been blocked. With ravens and skylarks for company, he finds that the countryside can sometimes be a frustrating place to explore on foot. Back in the studio, we meet Jack Cornish, Head of Paths for the Ramblers, to discuss what can be done when footpaths go missing… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor...
Feb 08, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast It's a cold, clear day with frosted grass and glass. You're walking beside the very-full Kennet and Avon canal and water rushes noisily through a loch. But soon, this serene waterway leads you past moored boats and out into the wider Wiltshire countryside. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a gentle postcard from the British countryside each week that allows you a soothing few minutes escape into the wild, wherever you are. Recorded by Tanya Jackson and presented by Hannah Tribe. Image...
Feb 04, 2022•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Take a wander in wooded coombe near Bristol with the Jane Lomas, series producer of the Countryfile TV show. The Sunday evening programme is one of the most important voices on countryside matters in the UK and Jane, talking to our own Annabel Ross, reveals some valuable insight into the ethos of the show and how it is put together. Photo by Oliver Edwards Don't forget you can catch up on any recent episodes of Countryfile on iPlayer. We'd also like to thank Radio Lento for their help with the r...
Feb 01, 2022•56 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Be soothed by the gentle rise and fall of waves. On the north coast of Devon, where the high cliffs of Hartland plunge into the Atlantic Ocean, is the small village of Buck’s Mills. The road in is steep and winding, flanked with white-washed cottages and banks of deep-green ferns and bare trees. You have to walk the final stretch down to the sea, but it’s worth it. Winter beaches are quiet, and down here, among the boulders and churning waves, there isn’t a soul in sight. BBC Countryfile Magazin...
Jan 28, 2022•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Discover how the British countryside has inspired great composers over the centuries – and how their music helps us evoke landscapes and their wildlife. BBC Music Magazine's Jeremy Pound takes our own Fergus Collins for a walk over Leckhampton Hill to meet his countryside musical heroes, from Delius to Vaughan Williams and from Holst to Elgar. Image from Getty. Enjoy listening to the music discussed on this podcast on our Spotify playlist Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati...
Jan 25, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Ravens call over the stark winter landscape of farmland in deeply rural Monmouthshire. Robins sing and, from a distant barn, cattle low. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a gentle postcard from the British countryside each week that allows you a soothing few minutes escape into the wild, wherever you are. Recorded by Fergus Collins and presented by Hannah Tribe. Photo from Getty Images. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...
Jan 21, 2022•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the first episode of the new season, Voices of the Countryside, plodcast host Fergus heads to the wild marshes of WWT Steart on the Somerset coast with author and naturalist Ben Hoare. The two old friends recount the joys of walking in nature and have a surprise encounter with one of Britain's great wildlife spectacles – a swarming flock of small wading birds called dunlin. With a backdrop of curlew and lapwing song, this is a podcast to transport you into the wild. For more on Ben's new book...
Jan 18, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast You're walking up a old green lane carved into a frosty hillside, and your feet sink deep into the waterlogged leaf litter. Early January sunlight is driving off a cold mist, encouraging roving parties of blue tits and goldfinches to forage in nearby oak trees. High above, redwings call softly from the canopy. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a gentle postcard from the British countryside each week that allows you a soothing few minutes escape into the wild, wherever you are. Recorde...
Jan 14, 2022•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Join the Plodcast team of Fergus, Hannah and Jack to hear about upcoming adventures in the countryside in season 11 of the Countryfile Magazine Plodcast: Voices of the Countryside. From the sounds and songs of wild creatures to the wise words of farmers, conservationists, artists and writers, we're heading out for 12 joyful episodes celebrating the wonders of the land. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoice...
Jan 11, 2022•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast On a winter's morning in Dorset, a song thrush starts up its first practise songs of the new year in preparation for the coming breeding season – to a backdrop of sparrows and other garden birds. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a gentle postcard from the British countryside each week that allows you a soothing few minutes escape into the wild, wherever you are. Recorded by Kevin Parr and presented by Hannah Tribe Photo from Getty Images. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mo...
Jan 07, 2022•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dusk falls on a still, winter's day at Steart Marshes WWT on the Somerset coast. On a lagoon near the mouth of the River Parrett, a host of wading birds is settling down to roost. You can hear the strange murmur and wheeze of lapwings, the fluting cries of redshanks and the occasional plaintive notes of curlews as the darkness falls. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a gentle postcard from the British countryside each week that allows you a soothing few minutes escape into the wild, w...
Dec 31, 2021•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Enjoy part two of our plodcast Christmas party where we make plans for wildlife adventures in 2022, play a Christmas bird spotting game and remind ourselves of Fergus's worst countryside jokes of 2021. With guests Kevin Parr and Annabel Ross and regular team members Hannah Tribe, Jack Bateman and Fergus Collins Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 28, 2021•48 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast 
