Chris Skinner's Countryside Podcasts

Send us Fan Mail Amid the thawing remnants of a harsh January frost at High Ash Farm, Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin witness the Norfolk countryside stirring from snowbound stillness, where a mild south-westerly wind sweeps away icy veils to reveal resilient early blooms like sweet violets, viper's bugloss with its ox-tongue bristles, and cobalt-blue speedwells defying the chill on sandy sl...

Send us Fan Mail In the crisp dawn of a new year at High Ash Farm, Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin usher in 2026 with the aerial spectacle of black-headed gulls wheeling westward in V-formations, drawn to ploughed fields teeming with worms, while a muntjac deer ambles across the lawn and scraps from last night's dinner lure a swirling flock to feast. Reflections on evolving habits reveal how...

Send us Fan Mail As the year draws to a close under grey December skies at High Ash Farm, Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin embark on a twilight quest that uncovers unexpected melodies amid urban clamour—a robin serenading from a floodlit supermarket car park in Poringland, its song piercing the roar of lorries and shoppers, a testament to avian adaptability in human realms. Back in the farm's...

Send us Fan Mail In a festive yet contemplative midwinter visit to High Ash Farm, Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin mark the approach of the shortest day with reflections on renewable energy's double-edged sword. Amid the bustling farmyard, tales of a bygone wind pump—installed in the 1930s to harness gusts for electricity and water—spark a journey into modern dilemmas, as they venture to the...

Send us Fan Mail In the mild glow of a mid-December morning at High Ash Farm, Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin bask in unseasonably warm skies, where a jay's loping flight heralds a day of countryside revelations. Amidst the lingering half-moon and sun-kissed fields, they explore the enigmatic European larch—a deciduous conifer that defies tradition by shedding its needles, introduced from so...

Send us Fan Mail Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a frosty early-December morning as they squeeze inside a 350-year-old hollow oak to stand beneath Britain’s largest wasp species’ abandoned hornet palace – a two-foot-tall paper cathedral of perfect hexagonal brood cells and ventilation chimneys, built by a single overwintering queen who turned a rotten heart into a palace of exquisite engi...

Send us Fan Mail Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a crisp, overcast late-November morning in Fox’s Grove as the last leaves carpet the woodland floor and light floods in for the first time since spring. Stand beside the old ash tree that still bears the carved letters “UXB” from 1942, hold the jagged 3 kg lump of bomb shrapnel that tore through the farmhouse wall while Chris’s pregnant mot...

Send us Fan Mail Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a crisp November morning venturing to Lakenham Mill on Norwich's outskirts, exploring the historic River Yare's controlled sluices, ancient mill wheels, and granaries that once ground local grains, amid discussions on recent torrential rains unleashing 220 tonnes of water per acre and innovative flood management through managed re...

Send us Fan Mail Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a breezy mid-November morning at High Ash Farm, strolling along Boudica Way—a historic public footpath turned wide, welcoming trail—amid discussions on evolving access to the countryside, from ancient worker routes to modern stewardship schemes that transformed contentious paths into assets for health, education, and wildlife. Explore permi...

Send us Fan Mail Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a mild mid-November morning at High Ash Farm, where autumn's unsettled chill stirs flocks of goldfinches into a dazzling display amid teasel heads and thistle margins, their yellow wing bars flashing as they feast on seeds in a biennial bounty perfect for butterflies and overwintering cover. Venture to the ancient Roman capital of east...

Send us Fan Mail Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a damp November evening at High Ash Farm for a nocturnal safari, starting in the bustling farmyard where torchlight reveals smooth newts feasting on wriggling worms amid leaf litter, their amphibian lives split between aquatic springs and terrestrial nights, alongside dusky slugs grazing on fungi and leaving slimy trails up mossy walls. Ven...

Send us Fan Mail Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a blustery, rain-lashed Thursday morning at High Ash Farm amid Storm Benjamin's gales, retreating into the vast farm workshop where gleaming tractors, mowers, sprayers, and cultivators—worth fortunes in investment—await winter storage and servicing. Delve into the challenges facing young farmers, from soaring land prices and machinery...

Send us Fan Mail Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a crisp mid-October morning at High Ash Farm, where autumn's gentle bite scatters colourful leaves across the woodland floor and Rat the terrier digs with unbridled enthusiasm. Venture into the bustling sparrow hide, alive with house mice thriving in a commensal harmony amid spilled grain and sparrow chatter, their musty scent and rapi...

Send us Fan Mail Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a mild mid-October morning at High Ash Farm, where Rat scampers ahead amid grey skies and the vibrant blaze of autumn foliage—Norway maples glowing with reds and oranges from flavonoids and carotenoids, while elms, oaks, and beeches shed leaves in a seasonal symphony shaped by abscission layers and wind. Delve into the farm's fungal tr...

Send us Fan Mail Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a crisp October morning for an away day to the serene Forncett St Peter Low Meadows, an SSSI beside the River Tas, where frost lingers and fog clears to reveal plans for re-wiggling the river—restoring ancient meanders to slow flows, curb flooding, and revive oxbow lakes. Explore this unimproved grassland's biodiversity, from four orch...

Send us Fan Mail Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a changeable September morning at High Ash Farm, where Rat eagerly explores hedgerows amid fleeting showers and sunshine. Discover the unexpected dominance of yellow foxtail in the overwinter wild bird seed mix, its delayed dormancy creating a seed bonanza for linnets, yellowhammers, and goldfinches, while swallows skim the crops on their s...

Send us Fan Mail Join Chris Skinner for a twilight woodland wander at High Ash Farm, where the evening air hums with pipistrelle bats darting acrobatically overhead, serotines weaving through the canopy, and noctules launching into the dusk—accompanied by the rustle of roosting jackdaws, rooks, and the earthy scents of fox and fungi. Shift to a rainy morning in the farmyard, celebrating a bountifu...

Send us Fan Mail Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a crisp September morning at High Ash Farm, where the farmyard's ancient oak hosts a luminous display of sulphur polypore—known as chicken of the woods—its vibrant, edible brackets spilling like molten gold. Bid a heartfelt farewell to the swallows in the stables, with over 100 fledglings reared amid a frenzy of aerial feeds. Wade into...

Send us Fan Mail In this captivating episode of the Countryside Podcasts, Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin wander through High Ash Farm’s breezy late August pastures, where September’s dawn heralds autumn’s subtle arrival. Autumn hawkbit carpets the hillside with dazzling yellow blooms, its serrated leaves hiding antioxidants and vitamin C, a medicinal marvel for eyesight once mistaken for hawk bi...

Send us Fan Mail Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a sun-drenched late August morning at High Ash Farm in the Norfolk countryside. This episode explores the serene beauty of the farm’s lake, where a majestic young mute swan is moulting amid darting swallows, vibrant kingfishers, and upending mallards. Discover the perils of lead poisoning for swans and the thriving aquatic plants like gipsy...

Send us Fan Mail In this breezy episode of the Countryside Podcasts, Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin confront August’s slate-grey skies at High Ash Farm, where autumn’s approach stirs poignant reflections. The grey partridge, a red-listed farmland icon, haunts Chris’s memories—once shot in coveys of 50, now vanishing due to habitat loss, early harvests, and predator control, despite biodiversity...

Send us Fan Mail In this breezy episode of the Countryside Podcasts, Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin witness High Ash Farm’s summer crescendo, where flocks take flight. Mixed groups of goldfinches and linnets—up to 250 strong—swarm over chicory fields, their silvery undersides gleaming as they devour seeds, evading kestrels and peregrines in a dazzling display of survival. Clouded yellow butterfl...

Send us Fan Mail In this gusty episode of the Countryside Podcasts, Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin embrace August’s wild turn at High Ash Farm, where autumn whispers through the breeze. Rowan trees (mountain ash) dazzle with orange-red berries, a thrush feast and historical charm against witches, while blackthorn hedges yield a bumper sloe crop, ripe for Chris’s granny’s sloe gin recipe. A thriv...

Send us Fan Mail In this tender episode of the Countryside Podcasts, Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin greet August’s first whispers at High Ash Farm, where summer fades into autumn’s embrace. Migratory swallows—juveniles from the north—sweep overhead in chattering flocks, while Barnfield’s wild bird seed mix bursts with flax, its Wedgwood-blue blooms echoing 1950s harvests, alongside thistles, mus...

Send us Fan Mail In this vibrant episode of the Countryside Podcasts, Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin revel in a glorious late July morning at High Ash Farm, where nature dons its finest. Over a purple knapweed sea—its hard heads buzzing with bees—six-spot burnet moths dazzle with jet-black wings and crimson spots, emerging from reflective cocoons after a cyanide-rich diet of birdsfoot trefoil. P...