Scotland Outdoors

In the early twentieth century, very few ospreys were breeding in Scotland. They had been persecuted for decades and their eggs stolen by collectors. In 1954, a pair successfully raised two chicks near Loch Garten which gave conservationists hope that they could return to Scotland as nesting birds. Operation Osprey was launched to protect them from those intent on raiding their nests, with volunte...

We are in East Lothian with Patricia Stephen, founder of Phantassie Organic Produce. They head out to the fields during pumpkin planting and chat about the growth in organic food and farming over recent years. Friday 12th July was the launch of this year’s Big Butterfly Count organised by the charity Butterfly Conservation. Mark met Apithanny Bourne, their East Scotland branch chair, at the Royal...

Rural Wales and rural Scotland face many of the same issues: a lack of affordable housing, limited opportunities for young people and the prospect of rewilding. In this podcast, Helen visits Welsh musician Owen Shiers who lives in a housing cooperative up a long steep track in West Wales. They discuss culture, trees, housing, farming and the nuances surrounding rewilding, and discover that there a...

This week Out of Doors is live from the village of Cullen in Moray. The village is popular with holiday makers over the summer months but it’s home to a thriving community all year round. Mark went for a wander to hear more about what people are up to. And we’re joined live by David McCubbin from Discover Cullen who tells us about what attracts visitors to the area. Rachel finds out that the Culle...

Rachel Stewart visits Tricia Stephen of Phantassie Organics in East Lothian

The 29th of June marks the beginning of swift awareness week. Mark meets Cally Fleming of the Huntly Swift Group at the Bennachie Centre to chat about these amazing birds. The beautiful garden at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre celebrates the Scottish plant explorers of the past. In recent years, a major project has been underway to restore the Explorers garden. Head gardener Caroline Bavey gives R...

Mark Stephen visits Lotte Glob and learns about her deep connection to landscape and rock

This week Rachel has been at the Royal Highland Show at Ingliston just outside Edinburgh. One of the first places she headed to when she arrived was the goat tent. She meets some of the keepers as they got their animals ready for judging and met some goats with an Outlander connection. Mark visits the village of Ochiltree in East Ayrshire where the local community has established a heritage walk t...

Helen Needham goes for a walk in Aberfeldy with writer Linda Cracknell to discuss the new edition of her book 'Doubling Back'.

Open Seas is a Scottish charity that focusses on protecting our marine environment and the things that live in it. A few weeks ago, Mark joined them in Skye where they were carrying out seabed surveys. While the weather didn’t play ball and they didn’t get out on their planned boat trip, the team did manage to show him the kind of footage they record and why it’s important in influencing the kinds...

Rachel Stewart speaks to Artist in Residence Liz Myhill. The landscape and wildlife artist has been creating pieces based on her time at the Rahoy Hills Reserve in the Morven peninsula. It is managed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust and is widely regarded as being a unique and wild place. Her role is to raise awareness of the huge reserve and encourage people to visit and explore. She has spent seve...

Rachel meets Peter Livingstone who has spent a decade campaigning to save the Aspen tree. Thanks to his hard work, numbers of Aspen in Renfrewshire have grown from single digits to thousands. He shows Rachel his nursery near Bishopton. Andrew O'Donnell is a natural history film maker and musician who records under the moniker of Beluga Lagoon. In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast, Maud Start m...

Rachel visits the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Montrose Basin reserve in Angus where a group of nursery children were out exploring the mudflats to see what beasties they could find. She speaks to nursery and reserve staff about the importance of getting young kids involved in nature. Isle Martin is a small island just three miles off the coast of Ullapool. It’s had many uses over the years including...

Mark Stephen visits Isle Martin which forms part of the Summer Isles lying north of Ullapool in Wester Ross. The island is owned by a community trust and one of it's directors, Lesley Strachan shows Mark round the island

Rachel visits Fairhill Rise, an education centre in East Lothian which is part of the Ruskin Mill Trust. The centre provides outdoor learning and activities for those with autism and additional needs. Rachel meets the manager and hears about their work. Ahead of World Otter Day this coming Wednesday, Mark visits International Otter Survival Fund in Broadford on Skye to hear about the work they car...

Mark Stephen visits the Chippendale International School of Furniture near Haddington in East Lothian. He meets the principal and students from home and abroad taking part in the courses run by the school

In our latest Scotland Outdoors podcast Helen Needham meets regenerative farmer Nikki Yoxall in the hills of Aberdeenshire. Nikki’s cattle are outside all year round, moving from field to field as part of a system called mob grazing. She tells Helen about the benefits it has for the cattle and the land. In the last few years, there’s been an explosion in the number of community run gardens across...

Helen Needham visits Nikki Yoxall and her herd of pasture fed cattle in Aberdeenshire

Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart follow the river Tweed from Kelso to Berwick Upon Tweed. In Kelso, they visit Floor Castle and Gardens in the company of Matt Thomson and Simon McManus. Jonathan Garrett shows Mark round the town's racecourse In Coldstream, John Elliot of the local historical society tells the story of one of the earliest bridges built across the Tweed into England, Mark delves into...

Helen Needham learns about the We Feed the UK project

On Thursday this week campaigners gathered outside the Scottish Parliament to protest the proposed plans for a new powerline between Kintore and Tealing. SSEN Transmission says the upgrade is needed to meet net zero targets, while protestors say they haven’t been properly consulted and the scheme will blight the countryside. Mark went along to speak to Thomas Nicoll from SSEN Transmission and some...

Producer Alastair Fothergill has spent decades making nature documentaries around the world, often working closely with Sir David Attenborough. His work includes Blue Planet and Planet Earth. In this podcast, Alastair discusses why he felt the time was right to make a series concentrating on the nature and wildlife that can be found in the British Isles. He talks about the challenges of securing t...

Back in 2020, some of farmer Steve Barron’s cattle fell ill and died. Initially he had no idea what had caused their sudden deaths until lead poisoning was found to be the reason. He tells Mark about what happened and the impact it had on him. Steve’s cattle died so had no chance of entering the food chain, but Food Standards Scotland take incidents of livestock poisoning very seriously. They are...

Helen Needham hears from musician and composer Anne Wood

American Mink are an invasive non-native species which have become widespread in parts of Scotland after their release from fur farms. Rachel meets Karen Muller from the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative on the River Spey to hear why it’s important to catch the mink. They also scope out a potential site to set a mink trap. In his day job, George Sherriffs is an acquisitions librarian with the R...