Scotland Outdoors

The rare Dark Bordered Beauty moth is found in only two sites in Scotland and one in England. Mark joins Dark Bordered Beauty Moth Champion Pete Moore at RSPB Insh Marshes nature reserve to find out more about attempts to reintroduce the moth to other areas in Scotland. Dark Bordered Beauty moths in Scotland are reliant on aspen suckers - shoots that sprout from the roots of an aspen tree, acting...

The Whithorn Way follows an ancient pilgrim route from Glasgow to Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. In this episode, Mark and Rachel begin at Crossraguel Abbey at Maybole, once a significant stopping off point for pilgrims. Then it's off to the once very popular holiday destination of Girvan to learn about a new community led tourism initiative. And they are given the grand tour of the town endin...

It’s anchors aweigh for Out of Doors as we are live from the Tall Ships Races in Aberdeen.

Mark Stephen meets Harold Murray, veteran cattle breeder and author from North East Scotland. Now in his nineties, Harold has spent his life working with cattle and more recently has turned his hand to writing and poetry

In a couple of weeks, swifts will leave our skies and depart for their wintering grounds in Africa. Author and naturalist Mark Cocker has spent a lifetime observing them and Rachel meets him in Crail to chat about the migrating birds and his new book One Midsummer’s Day - Swifts and the Story of Life on Earth. Never a stranger to getting his hands dirty, Mark grabs a trowel and joins community vol...

The Whithorn Way follows an ancient pilgrim route from Glasgow to Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. In this episode, we begin on the waterfront at Irvine looking at the unique remains of an automatic tide signalling apparatus - we learn more about it at the Scottish Maritime Museum. This is followed by a walk along Irvine beach which can only be described as 'hoaching'. As they wander along the b...

Mark visits a Moray estate to hear about the incredible rescue of 3 osprey chicks after wildfires raged through vast areas of the Highlands and neighbouring Moray Campaigner David Brown specialises in removing fishing debris from our beaches, Rachel pops along to Cairnbulg Harbour by Fraserburgh to find out about his ghost net campaign Mark visits the National Museum of Flight in East Lothian as t...

Josie Vallely - also known as Quinie - is a multi disciplinary artist based in Glasgow. She also loves horses and spends her free time exploring the Scottish countryside - mostly on foot - with her horse Maisie. Helen goes out for a walk with Josie and Maisie near Dumbarton and tunes into their slow approach to moving through the world.

The Whithorn Way follows an ancient pilgrim route from Glasgow to Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. In this episode, Mark and Rachel visit the Lochwinnoch Community Larder where food waste from supermarkets is re-distributed to the community. This is followed by a refreshing visit to the Lynn Sprout waterfall. Then it's off to Kilwinning to meet the Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers. Mark and...

Mark and Helen visit Ingliston for this year’s Royal Highland Show. They meet a nurse with her prize winning Highland cow and They also explore the history of the Highland pony, and its enduring connection to Scotland’s rural heritage. A festival devoted entirely to composting is taking place in Fife. Rachel visits Cambo Gardens to discover what it's all about, with head gardener Callum Halstead a...

The Perthshire scientist hopes the wheel will encourage people to rediscover some of the lost tastes and uses of our wild plants.

Rachel catches up with Nick Ray who previously kayaked around the coast of Scotland, sharing his journey and mental health challenges on social media throughout that year. He’s just completed another journey but walking this time, from far north to south via east and west. Rachel finds out why he decided to hang up his kayak for this challenge. Mark’s in Aberdeenshire and hears from Jim Wilson fro...

The Whithorn Way follows an ancient pilgrim route from Glasgow to Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. In this episode, Mark and Rachel start with a quick stop off at Renfrew to contemplate the motivation for pilgrimage in medieval times. Then they head to Paisley Cathedral to learn about the unearthing of a drain which revealed a slate containing musical notation from the 1400's. And they end up at...

A new initiative in Buchan called Sma Wids to encourage farmers and landowners to plant trees, the largest surviving ice house in the UK at Spey Bay, lapwing chick ringing in Upper Deeside, the rare dandelions of Shetland, the seabird village of Fowlsheugh near Stonehaven and the latest news from the osprey nest at Loch Garten plus the tale of a medieval drain at Paisley Abbey along with the drama...

Mark Stephen visits Auchnerran, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust farm on Deeside to watch some lapwing chicks being ringed by research assistant Max Wright and data collector Honor Jones

Dendrochronology is a niche field of study, used to work out the age of trees, forests and wooden objects. However, it is not only useful for looking at the past, but also for considering how to manage wooded areas in the future. Mark met with expert dendrochronologist Dr Coralie Mills, and Borders Forest Trust Project Officer, Catriona Patience, to find out more about more about these scientific...

The Whithorn Way follows an ancient pilgrim route from Glasgow to Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. In this episode, Mark and Rachel focus on the start of the journey at Glasgow Cathedral. Mark and Helen cycle down to Glasgow Green and imagine how pilgrims would have crossed the River Clyde. They then follow the River westwards to the new Govan- Partick pedestrian bridge. In Govan, they meet up w...

Nature-based solutions are a key tool in solving environmental problems such as flooding. Rachel met with Dr Rebecca Wade from Abertay University, who is a big advocate for these solutions, to find out more about how they are actually implemented, and why they are so important. The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s demonstration farm in Auchnerran near Logie Coldstone, is home to numerous spe...

Rachel Stewart meets environmental scientist Dr Rebecca Wade from Abertay University.

This week, we are coming to you from the village of Whithorn, in Galloway, broadcasting from the replica Iron Age Roundhouse in the village. Julia Muir Watt from the Whithorn Trust, and Shaun Thomson from Building Futures Galloway feature as live guests, to share the history of the area, and the importance of promoting heritage crafts and building techniques within the local area. Whithorn has a t...

Mo Wilde is a forager, herbalist and author who is also founder of the Wild Biome Project. In this podcast, Helen Needham meets her at Cambo Estate in Fife where they go foraging and discuss the benefits of a wild food diet.

Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart with stories from the great outdoors

Mark Stephen meets head of soil forensics at the James Hutton Institute, Professor Lorna Dawson. Mark meets Lorna at the Institute's research farm, Glensaugh in Aberdeenshire to find out what exactly her job entails

Peregrine falcons have been in residence at the University of Glasgow’s Gilbert Scott Tower for a number of years now, with a new clutch of chicks being born again this year. Rachel met with Clarke Elsby from the university and John Simpson, from the Scottish Ornithologists Club, to get a glimpse of these magnificent birds of prey. Solsgirth Home Farm near Dollar is home to a large variety of anim...

Rachel Stewart speaks to Dr Kenny Taylor at the Montrose Basin about 60 years of the SWT