The Plodcast

Welcome to theSound Escape from BBC Countryfile Magazine – a chance for a few minutes relaxation as you listen to the sounds of nature and the countryside. In this episode we head along the sea defences of the Ribble Estuary in Lancashire on a bright February morning. Big skies dominate the low-lying marshes and farmland. The birds you can hear are mostly wigeon and skylarks. Presented by Hannah T...

Dee Dee Chainey has been collected stories and legends about folklore from around the world during her Folklore Thursday sessions on social media – in this episode she reveals tales of ghosts, monsters, spirits and superstitions that abide around our waters. Listen on if you dare. Dee Dee and Willow Winsham have a great book on the subject: Treasury of Folklore: Seas and Rivers. Plus, a brilliant...

Welcome to the second Sound Escape from BBC Countryfile Magazine, a short meditative journey into the countryside right now to immerse yourself in the sounds of nature. In this episode, we take an icy dawn walk along the frozen Mon-Brec canal in Monmouthshire to hear song thrushes, siskins, tits, a great spotted woodpecker and even a brief burst of treecreeper. Plus, we meet the first of this year...

Angler and writer Andrew Griffiths takes us for a charming summer's ramble around his local waterways on the Cheshire-Derbyshire border. He chats to passers-by, goes pond-dipping with children and meets a man hoping to catch the first salmon on the River Govt. Plus, don't miss the latest Listeners' Sound of the Week Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your...

Welcome to the first Sound Escape from BBC Countryfile Magazine – five minutes' blissful peace in the countryside as we wind down for the weekend. Every week, we'll upload some beautiful and relaxing sounds of nature. We will capture the spirit of the moment to give you a perfect audio snapshot of what's going on in the countryside right now. This week, we are escaping to a little wooded valley on...

After the heavy rain and floods of mid January, we head out on a cold, clear morning into the waterlogged woods and farmland along the River Usk in Monmouthshire to discover how the landscape has changed and how the wildlife and livestock are coping. Listen on for an evocative walk in the countryside accompanied by the very first stirrings of spring. Plus don't miss the Podcast Postbag and two won...

We return to the island of Seil in the Inner Hebrides to spend a day with poet Kenneth Steven exploring the wildlife and wild waters that swirl around his island home. He tells of terrifying power of the nearby Corryvreckan whirlpool and recounts the tale of a prince and his ship lost beneath the writhing currents. Plus, join us for nature sound of the week and the Plodcast postbag Hosted on Acast...

Join angler and writer Kevin Parr as he spends a day at a local lake in Dorset explaining the joys and frustrations of angling. His quarry is the predatory perch, a fish that become more solitary and elusive as it grows larger. Kevin also enjoys some gentle wildlife encounters along the way. Plus, don't miss the Plodcast postbag and sound of the week… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor...

Lucy Pendrick is an artist and nature lover who is a keen listener to the Countryfile Plodcast. In this episode, she takes us to her local river to explore how nature's calming power – especially moving water – can bring peace and mental clarity to our lives. She also reveals how she finds inspiration for her art in her wild surroundings. A delightful, personal and uplifting podcast – and you can...

Holy wells are a magical feature of the Welsh landscape – places where people have found dependable clean water and made offerings since ancient times. But over time, many have been forgotten or overlooked in the modern landscape. So in this episode, we head into the hills north of Pontypool to try to track down a well that has been used since Roman times – and trace its fascinating story through...

Meet the Severn Bore – a dramatic tidal wave that surges up the River Severn on rare occasions each year. Plodcast host Fergus joins local resident and naturalist James Fair for a wander along the river just before the Bore struck. A fantastic audio adventure with some great wildlife and surprise guests… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices....

Explore rivers, lakes and canals in this special season of podcasts. From meeting the Severn Bore and climbing remote hills in search of holy wells to finding treasure in streams and reflecting on the healing power of water, we enjoy the magic of our waterways over the next 12 episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoic...

Join the Countryfile Magazine plodcast team as we celebrate how the natural world has helped us – and you – through 2020. Plus, we reveal the podcast highlights of the year and what to look forward to in 2021. So pour yourself a warming drink, find a comfy armchair and enjoy a gentle chat and ramble through rural Britain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more abou...

Jules Hudson has been helping people find their rural dream for over 13 years as host of the BBC's show Escape to the Country. Now he's written a book full of practical advice on how anyone can make the leap from urban stress to country retreat. Fergus Collins met Jules at his home in Herefordshire to discuss the dos and don'ts… Find out more in Jules's Escape to the Country Handbook, published by...

Star of The Office, Detectorists and several blockbuster films, Mackenzie Crook has also written, directed and starred in a new adaptation of Worzel Gummidge. Christmas 2020 sees the third episode in the series and Mackenzie joins Maria Hodson to discuss why he loves this countryside character and how nature infuses his life. Plus, we introduce the Plodcast postbag – our listeners reviews and comm...

Come with us to a narrowboat on the Kennet and Avon canal to talk to Nick Hayes, author of the The Book of Trespass, about how little of the English countryside is open to walkers, riders and canoeists. Learn how our landscapes came to be owned by so few people – and how it might benefit the nation's health to open them up to the public Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

20 years ago, the RSPB bought Hope Farm in Cambridgeshire to explore how best to farm sustainably and profitably while also creating a home for nature. Meet lapwings, linnets and wildflowers as we wander the farm in the company of manager Georgie Bray to discover that it is possible to create wildlife habitat and make a living from the land. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informat...

Join Maria Fernandez-Garcia as she walks the riverbank and woodlands of Conham River Park on the edge of Bristol in search of autumn edibles. From ruby rosehips and hawthorn berries to lush lichens and nettle seeds, Maria discusses the many medicinal plants that can be gathered in autumn and used to make herbal medicine. Expect seasonal jams, root-based coffees, and hot, healing teas. Find out mor...

We escape back to summer in this podcast to explore a forgotten peninsula near the town of Caernarvon in North Wales. Enjoy beachcombing, plus a ramble over salt marshes and wildflower-filled sand dunes accompanied by curlews, oystercatchers and other seabirds. Pure wildlife delights! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoice...

Horrible Histories, Ghosts and Detectorists star Simon Farnaby talks to Maria Hodson about his new book for children – where a Dark Age wizard turns up in the 2st-century countryside. Funny and thoughtful, Simon reveals his own rural childhood and his hopes for a wilder childhood for his own family. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

Storyteller Martin Maudsley takes a walk along Blood Lane and other ancient Dorset tracks telling tales old and new that celebrate the countryside and its people. Prepare to be thrilled and chilled as Martin explores the twilight world of spirits, strange events and weird wildlife. Find out more at https://martinmaudsley.co.uk/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn mor...

The Black Mountains are the northern, often overlooked corner of Brecon Beacons National Park in south-east Wales – a land of seldom visited peaks and hidden valleys full of tales. Editor Fergus Collins meets Black Mountains resident and rural commentator Rob Yorke to discuss wildlife, farming, hunting and rewilding over breakfast on the Gaer, an ancient hillfort. Find out more robyorke.co.uk Host...

Nature writer Helen Macdonald is best known for her critically acclaimed book: H is for Hawk. While this award-winning tome focuses on Helen's efforts to train a goshawk, it struck a chord with many in the way it deals with family, belonging and grief – as well as the beautifully drawn explorations and adventures in the British countryside. Helen has a new book out, Vesper Flights, and she talks a...

Mya-Rose Craig – aka Birdgirl – is rapidly become one of Britain's leading environmental campaigners and an eloquent and persuasive voice for nature and for young people. Having just finished school, she talks about her hopes for our wildlife while taking Countryfile Magazine's Annabel Ross on a birdwatching tour of her home in the Chew Valley in North Somerset. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv...

Welcome to episode 1 of season 7 of the BBC Countryfile Magazine plodcast – and meet the honey buzzards in a secret forest in South Wales. Honey buzzards are scarce summer migrants to the UK – a bird of prey that feeds mainly on wasps. Here Fergus Collins joins an expedition led by ornithologist Steve Roberts to locate a honey buzzard nest and ring the chicks in order to monitor their progress as...