Voices of the Countryside

This July marks my ten-year anniversary working in the media and rather self-indulgently, I have been reflecting on the very exciting, albeit chaotic journey my life has taken and where it all began, at the BBC. I’m aware that the BBC often gets a bad rep in farming circles, receiving criticism for not showing enough interest in rural issues or sensationalising headlines around agriculture’s impac...

One of my favourite sayings is, “Live as if you will die tomorrow; farm as if you will live forever.” And I have tried to follow that policy as far as my finances have allowed. There is always a temptation to think short-term and scrimp, or take a shortcut. To avoid thinning a young plantation or re-establishing a grass ley, or carry out building repairs with cheap materials that won’t last, or us...

If you sup with the devil, use a long spoon. The RSPB has an odd approach to polluters. If you are big enough and rich enough it may not be a deal breaker to pour untreated sewage into rivers and lakes. United Utilities obviously has a very poor relationship with many of the people it is supposed to serve. This is not just because of how it treats longstanding shooting tenants, who have run their...

We all know commercial shooting is often one of the Achilles heels of the shooting debate but why do they need to survive, who do they help, what benefit do they bring and how do they need to adjust? Commercial shooting seems to be a close second when it comes to criticism of the shooting community by the shooting community, as well as from outside it. Number One being raptor persecution. I do not...

Damage a tree and its reaction is to try to heal itself. A lot of this action happens below ground in increased root growth. This leads to 'Carbon Capture.' So next time you see a tree, bash it and help save the planet. So goes the new theory... Coming soon to a cinema near you, Wilding.  According to The Guardian, this is “The film about the farming couple who struck gold through rewilding.”  Not...

Decades of mismanagement and poor policy has left our rare and precious chalkstream environments in a perilous state Two rare environments are close to my heart – Heather Moorland and Chalkstreams. Both are almost unique on a global scale and thus massively important. You might think these are two very different environments; well, yes, they are – but there are many similarities. They are also sup...

It’s hard to believe but during the Second World War it was only legal to make one type of regulation Cheddar in Britain – making any other sort of cheese was banned. Sixty years on, however, the British cheese industry is flying. There are over 750 different types, some of them ancient and others very new, and prizes for cheesemaking are hotly contested.  Patrick sets off for Norfolk to visit Mrs...

The classic Macnab - salmon, stag and grouse - may be costly but try one of the variants and the experience will never be forgotten What would be your choice for Desert Island Discs? I pondered on this while the Sealyhams worked a brash pile for a rat. Plastic Bertrand’s Ca Plane Pour Moi definitely, along with Noel Coward’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen if the BBC allowed it (unlikely). Then the sound...

When June weedcut is done and peace returns to the chalkstreams the trout become fickle and the fishing is engrossing The time of the Mayfly hatch on the chalkstreams has long been one of the highlights of our fishing calendar. Normally through May and early June this wonderful insect that even us uneducated entomologists can identify have fishermen headed to the banks for their nearest river to p...

What if our uplands are already producing good biodiversity and tree planting will damage this and their potential to capture carbon? Is there time to rethink, or has the expensive rewilding express train already left the station?   Whilst few could argue that our country needs more woodland, the difficulty is agreeing on where we plant all those trees. We frequently hear politicians uttering the...

I unearth some home truths about nature writing and try to explain why it matters   For the last three mornings, I’ve been up at 4.00 am murdering adverbs. I have just finished my book on Britain’s coastline, and my agent thinks I need to reduce the word count by about 4,000, of which at least a quarter will come from adverbs. She is right. Adverbs are what I do when I want to use emphasis to camo...

The Norwegian Government has shut down salmon fishing on some of the country’s most storied rivers. Should it serve as a warning to us all? Tom’s grandfather had a fine death. He was discovered lying on a gravel bank of the river Orkla in Norway, his hat tilted to shield his face from the sun. His fishing rod rested neatly beside him, and next to that was a bright 42lb salmon. The family theory is...

Living and working in the countryside often requires a creative approach to problem-solving, best demonstrated by the improvised solutions we come up with. They may not be pretty, or even terribly safe, but they get the job done You will, I am sure, be familiar with the concept of a ‘life hack’. Social media and the press are awash with  videos and listicles called things like ‘The 93 life hacks t...

Fieldsports, along with Israel and private schools, are red meat for the rabble of Labour backbenchers. As a public-school-educated trophy-hunter with a Jewish surname, I'm off to an internment camp. Good intentions are wonderful things. In June 2024, they paved the way for 60,000 people to march in London alongside Chris Packham, Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil and the National Trust. They en...

We’ve undoubtedly all seen wood pigeons but did you know they are one of Britain’s biggest agricultural pests? It’s estimated they cause over £75m-£100m worth of damage to farmers’ crops every year. They are also delicious and are highly prized, gastronomically, in pubs and restaurants.  Patrick sets off for the Cotswolds to shoot some pigeons over a pea crop they’ve been feasting on. He spends an...

We’ve probably all heard the term ‘regenerative farming’ but what does it actually mean, how do you farm regeneratively, and what does it achieve? Patrick heads to North Norfolk to meet Jimmy Goodley, a farmer in the Stiffkey Valley who is trying to create a financially viable and sustainable farming business for his young children to one day take on. Patrick and Jimmy discuss wheat, why Jimmy has...

It's often said that, within 25 years, the turtledove will be gone from England's hedgerows. When they go, if they go, we will lose something that is a huge part of British culture – they are present in our folk songs and our poetry and for centuries the sound they make, a sort of sweet purring, has been synonymous with springtime. But in Suffolk, on the old road to Norwich, Graham Denny, a small-...

Around half of Britain’s farmers rent some or all of the land they work, but in Britain's changing agricultural landscape, where significant profits can be made through rewilding, tree planting and renting out rural properties to city-dwellers, it is becoming harder and harder for aspiring farmers to find any ground. They were once a cornerstone of rural society but tenant farmers are becoming a r...

Inspired by the chance discovery of an egg vending machine deep in rural Norfolk, Patrick Galbraith reflects upon the changes to village life that have occurred over the last hundred years or so.  Patrick goes in search of the farmer who owns the pickled egg dispenser - David - and discovers that his family has farmed the land around Great Snoring (yes, really) for the last 150 years, and that Dav...

Patrick Galbraith meets Marcus Armytage, Grand National-winning jockey and Scribehounder, at his home in Berkshire to find out what   it takes to win the most famous horse race in the world. Patrick learns about Marcus’ route into racing and why he never made the step from amateur to professional, despite still holding the record for the National. Next Patrick visits legendary National Hunt traine...

Patrick Galbraith learns about offal and why chefs love cooking with it. First, he heads to Norfolk with his friend Sachin Kureishi to shoot some woodpigeons and some squirrels. Mission accomplished, he returns to London where the young butcher, chef, and offal devotee, Flossy Philips, comes over to his flat to cook some really impressive dishes, using squirrel and pigeon offal as well herbs forag...

Patrick Galbraith plunges into the fascinating world of English wine. He chats to Henry Jeffreys, the celebrated drinks journalist, about his highly-acclaimed new book Vines in a Cold Climate: the people behind the English wine revolution. Henry tells him that the world of English wine is still very much in its infancy – he also paints a picture of an industry full of extraordinary people who will...

Patrick Galbraith shoots a Chinese water deer and learns about Britain’s growing deer problem. There are more deer in this country than there’ve almost ever been and they are causing all sorts of problems. In Scotland they are destroying pine forests and in England they are browsing out scrub and bramble where nightingales used to sing. It’s very easy to say that we simply need to start eating mor...

Patrick Galbraith learns about hedges and what they actually mean. With the help of Dr Leonard Baker, who is an expert on enclosure and those who rose up against it, and Richard Negus, a Suffolk-based conservationist, Patrick discovers that the history of the hedge is thorny and very political. In the nineteenth century hedges were seen as symbols of oppression and across the country they were tor...

Patrick Galbraith delves into the world of sustainable farming and its impact on Britain's rural landscape. With the help of a farmer, an upland conservationist, a restaurateur and a butcher, he explores the environmental benefits and gastronomic delights of native cattle. Patrick begins his journey by meeting up with fellow Scribehounder and best-selling author Patrick Laurie, who has a herd of R...