Windswept and Interesting

NatureScot woodland champion Kate Holl and I head for an extraordinary lost world on an island, off an island, off the west coast of Scotland. A little extra for the faithful followers of the podcast... and great fun to make. Windy though! We took this trip a while back but Kate is still at it with NatureScot flying the flag for woodland restoration. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

This week I have had the pleasure of a half an hour or so in the company of Nick Kempe. He's a blogger, campaigner - and one of the nicest obsessives you could hope to meet! He helped create our access laws, was on the board of SNH and now holds our national parks to account. Fine out if he believes: The access laws need revision "King" Charles should change his behaviour Social work helps your ca...

We're taking a different tack this week with a senior representative of an organisation that has its roots in the world of hunting, shooting and fishing. Rory Kennedy was a lad with a fly rod and a ferret, and now he's the head of the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust in Scotland. His views on some issues might surprise you... he tells me: How lynx might be a gateway to restoring the wolf Why r...

With Chris Packham declaring Glen Coe to be an ecological desert, many people will be interested in how National Trust for Scotland manages the glen. Last year I made this programme for BBC Radio Four about the battle over deer management, which is at the heart of the problem of tree cover that Chris wants to see. Hear about: The NTS side of things What deer managers think What has been done to re...

How do you go from wannabe truck magnate to campaigner for rewilding in Scotland, with a brief to bring back the lynx? That's what Peter Cairns has done, and for this episode he talks about the evolution that has made Scotland: The Big Picture a major part of the conservation landscape in Scotland. Find out what he thinks about: Whether rewilding is a useful term What gang small landowners with a...

It's common sense, but is anyone listening? Nick Underdown of the Open Seas marine charity is the straightest-talking man in conservation, and his sense of disbelief at the way our seas are being managed is palpable in this interview. Listen to his inimitable, resonant tones as he explains: Why Scotland's much-vaunted marine protected areas are just paper parks Why proposals for much greater prote...

Polly Pullar is well-known as a writer and conservationist, but her remarkable collection of rescued animals, and her views on how farmers should be helped to live with rewilding, need more attention. She's a farmer herself and has robust opinions. She also has a crazy squirrel named Alistair, a fecund one-eyed hedgehog named Reggie, and some very funny stories - including one about a kid with a h...

We all use footpaths but do we think for a moment about who builds and maintains them? In this episode we talk to footpaths ace and outdoorswoman Shona Irvine, who organises volunteering and more for mountain paths charity the Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland. We're finding out about: How paths get worn and battered What you can do to help put things right Sandwich fillings, pink trousers and the...

It's not set in stone, but I reckon Dr Eileen Tisdall is the most enthusiastic scientist you're ever going to meet. She's been mad about rocks from an early age, and now preaches the importance of geology - how it shapes our lives as well as the landscape around us. In this episode she tells me How the glaciers helped build the second Forth road bridge What a real rock festival is about How Scotla...

This time we're talking to Steve Micklewright, the chief executive of up-and-coming nature charity Trees for Life. In his time in the job he has doubled the charity's staff, established the UK's first rewilding centre, and tackled the Scottish Government in court over beaver shootings. That's despite working WITH the government on many issues.... So Do too many NGOs back off from such confrontatio...

It's 48 years since white-tailed eagles were brought back to Scotland. Since then they have delighted conservationists and twitching tourists, who flock to see them on Scotland's west coast. but horrified sheep farmers, who blame them for lamb losses. So what does John Love, one of the people responsible for their reintroduction in 1975, think about them now? Has the environment changed too much t...

It’s windswept Wednesday again, and this week I’m finding out how the estate at the heart of Scotland’s rewilding journey is still forging ahead with restoring nature. I’m talking to Sophie Ramsay, daughter of arch beaver enthusiasts Paul and Louise, at their transformed estate at Bamff in Perthshire. She has picked up the rewilding baton from her parents and is now leading on much of the project....

Here’s a bonus for loyal listeners, one from my archives, previously unpublished, revealing something of how Scotland’s Green environment minister Lorna Slater thinks about a lot of issues close to the hearts of those who care about the Scottish environment. The deer management stuff and the green finance plans may worry some in the conservation world… Music created for this podcast by Nottingham'...

This week we're at Mar Lodge, arguably Britain's most important conservation estate, covering 70,000-plus acres. David Frew is the man in charge - we're finding out: why a conservationist has had thousands of deer shot whether no fences make good neighbours why the National Trust estate still has commercial stalking and whether David would like to organise a cull of hillwalkers. We're getting list...

It's the first Windswept and Interesting podcast, on what I'm hoping will be Windswept Wednesdays. This show features the ever-youthful Andy Meldrum, the man who took on the Glen Coe Ski Centre and won, turning it into Glencoe Mountain resort, complete with fabulous cafe, mountain biking, accommodation pods and more. So - is it true he didn't tell his wife the full story when he remortgaged their...

Do you want to hear more from the folk in the know about Scotland's countryside? If so, this is the place to come! In my work as a broadcast and print journalist specialising in Scotland's outdoors and environment, I meet lots of really interesting folk, but a four-line quote or a couple of 30-second radio clips rarely does them justice. This podcast aims to set that right, giving the people at th...