The Plodcast
520 episodes - English - Latest episode: 16 days ago - ★★★★ - 48 ratingsBBC Countryfile Magazine brings you The Plodcast - a weekly escape to the British countryside with fascinating guests and the wonders of the great outdoors.
Enjoy a new escape into the countryside every Tuesday and wind down with our Sound Escapes on a Friday.
Find out more about us at www.countryfile.com/podcast
Subscribe to the print version of BBC Countryfile Magazine at https://www.buysubscriptions.com/print/bbc-countryfile-magazine-subscription
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Episodes
Sound Escape 164. Take a mindful moment beside a rushing stream
April 12, 2024 02:00 - 18 minutesYou're beside a stream at the bottom of a wooded valley. You're nearing the end of a long walk so you pause to rest. But soon the rushing water whispers spells and ancient charms of such power that time drifts away. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorded by Fergus Collins, introduced by Hannah Tribe. Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound re...
241. Welcome to spring on the Plodcast - and hear our new theme tune created by Blair Dunlop
April 09, 2024 02:00 - 55 minutesWelcome to spring on the Plodcast and a new season of nature-themed episodes! But first, we have an exciting development! Musician Blair Dunlop and songwriter Duncan Haskell have created an utterly charming theme tune for the Plodcast – so host Fergus met them in a wild corner of Bristol to hear the music live and talk about the inspiration behind the songwriting. It's pure magic - with a natural accompaniment of wild birdsong. Discover more about Blair's music, his new album and upcoming tou...
Sound Escape 163. Eerie soundscapes from inside a Roman amphitheatre
April 05, 2024 02:00 - 13 minutesYou're on the edge of a the ruins of a Roman town lost in the Hampshire countryside. Only the crumbling outer walls remain, enclosing daffodil-fringed meadows. You plunge down an avenue of trees to emerge into a wide, oval space. You stop beathless, this is the amphitheatre. Half expecting the clash of weapons of ghosts of gladiators – you hear only the stirrings of spring. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transpo...
240. In search of the water wolf - the mighty pike - with TV presenter Will Millard
April 02, 2024 02:00 - 54 minutesThis week we're spending the day on a waterway in Gloucestershire in search of a creature that has spawned a thousand myths and monster stories – we're hoping to meet the mighty pike, Britain's largest predatory freshwater fish. Angler and TV presenter Will Millard is joined by the Plodcast team of Fergus and Jack – and later Annabel – to see if they can get close to one of these beautiful and extraordinary creatures. Plus we discuss the ethics of fishing – is it cruel? Listen on for a tru...
Sound Escape 162. Relax to an amazing chorus of toads recorded underwater
March 29, 2024 03:00 - 7 minutesYou're beside a small pond where toads are thronging the margins, jostling and tootling as they prepare to spawn. Through the magic of a hydrophone, you can hear the extraordinary symphony of the toads' underwater world. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorded and introduced by Alice Boyd. Image by Getty Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound...
239. Exploring Roman Silchester and discovering folk music with broadcasting legend Matthew Bannister
March 26, 2024 03:00 - 53 minutesThis week we're off to the Roman town of Silchester deep in the Hampshire countryside. Plodcast host Fergus meets legendary broadcaster Matthew Bannister to talk about folk music and the British landscape and his own podcast: Folk on Foot. Plus, Matthew reflects on his astonishing career with the BBC – and has advice for the corporation and its future. If you've enjoyed the plodcast, don't forget to leave likes and positive reviews. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings ...
Sound Escape 161. The satisfying crunch of footsteps on fresh snow
March 22, 2024 03:00 - 10 minutesWe're in the Bannau Brycheiniog – and an overnight snowfall has dusted the hilltops. It's melting fast so we've headed to the nearest peak for a satisfying dog walk along snow-covered paths marred only by the footprints of foxes and pipits. A skylark rises and sings of warmer days. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorded by Fergus Collins, and introd...
238. A special night walk in Epping Forest to bring communities together
March 19, 2024 03:00 - 31 minutesThis week we're off to Epping Forest on the eastern edge of London on a night walk to hear from those who encounter barriers to accessing nature and the countryside because of their social class, race, gender or sexuality. We'll also be talking to organisations that are trying to change things for the better, for everyone. Our guide is folk singer and sound designer Alice Boyd – who joins the Plodcast for the first time. www.aliceboyd.info. Images by Getty. The organisations featured includ...
Sound Escape 160. A gentle morning's chorus of birds in a leafy suburb
March 15, 2024 03:00 - 11 minutesSaturday in a suburb of gardens full of daffodils and crocuses - and the birds are awake long before the human population. House sparrows chatter in the hedges, a coal tit pipes from cherry blossom while goldcrests and jackdaws add their own joyful spring banter. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorded by Fergus Collins, and introduced by Hannah Trib...
237. Join the Plodcast team for a chat about rural issues and the best Plodcast listener recordings from the wild
March 12, 2024 03:00 - 39 minutesJoin the Plodcast team of Fergus, Maria and Jack in the studio to chat about their latest wild adventures and discuss country matters and rural issues that have cropped up in recent Plodcast episodes. Plus, we share some brilliant emails and audio recordings sent in by listeners. If you've enjoyed the plodcast, don't forget to leave likes and positive reviews. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected]. If your letter, email or me...
Sound Escape 159. Gorgeous woodland birdsong heralds the oncoming spring
March 08, 2024 03:00 - 10 minutesWe've stopped in a forgotten, overgrown green lane on a hillside. A bright sun sears deep into the woodland. Winter's blanket is being unstitched by the songs of three birds – a great tit calls, insistently, to his new partner. A song thrush tries out his phrases, testing and repeating them. A goldcrest in the ivy giggles at the throught of spring. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful...
236. On the trail of a water dragon known as the 'Sussex Knucker'
March 05, 2024 03:00 - 33 minutesThis week we're off to Sussex in the great company of Plodcast regular Maria Hodson. Maria heads to the town of Lyminster to hunt for a terrifying creature called the Sussex knucker. What is the knucker, you ask? Listen on to hear an extraordinary tale drawn from the British countryside. If you've enjoyed the plodcast, don't forget to leave likes and positive reviews. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected]. If your letter, ema...
Sound Escape 158. The haunting cries of seals on a Norfolk beach
March 01, 2024 03:00 - 7 minutesThis week we’re at Horsey Gap, a long and sandy beach in Norfolk. Over the roar of the North Sea, we can hear the moans and growls of a nearby colony of grey seals. These seals have made their home here, and can be spotted year round on the beach or swimming nearby. Today, they’re sunbathing in the February sun. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorde...
235. A riverside walk with Wild Woman Philippa Forrester
February 27, 2024 03:00 - 38 minutesEnjoy a walk and talk with documentary maker, writer and TV presenter Philippa Forrester. While exploring a flooded landscape between Bath and Bristol with Plodcast host Fergus, Philippa talks about her inspiring new book: Wild Woman – exploring the challenges and obstacles women face in the world of nature conservation. If you've enjoyed the plodcast, don't forget to leave likes and positive reviews Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@cou...
Sound Escape 157. The delicious patter of rain as you shelter inside
February 23, 2024 03:00 - 8 minutesThis week we're stuck in the greenhouse. We came up to check on the winter salad leaves, and the skies darkened. It’ll only be a short shower, the edges of the cloud are visible through the veil of raindrops on the roof. So, we’ll wait here for a bit, breathing in the rich smell of the earth and listening to the irregular rhythm of the drips off the guttering. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhe...
234. Explore a desolate graveyard of ships on the River Severn
February 20, 2024 03:00 - 37 minutesBetween the villages of Purton and Sharpness on the River Severn, dozens of barges and ships lie on the riverbank, slowly decomposing into the landscape. But the reason why they're here will surprise you. Plodcast host Fergus takes a walk among the river with countryside writer Simon Heptinstall to learn the story of the Purton Hulks. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected]. If your letter, email or message is read out on the sh...
Sound Escape 156. Melodies of a Welsh stream flowing under ice
February 16, 2024 03:00 - 9 minutesDeep in the Cambrian Mountains, just outside Wales' remotest chapel, a small stream flows out of the barren hills. Now, in the depths of winter, a skin of ice has formed but the water still runs beneath, a soft voice in an empty landscape. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorded by Fergus Collins, introduced by Hannah Tribe. Email the Plodcast team ...
233. Uncovering mysteries in the Buckinghamshire village of Brill
February 13, 2024 03:00 - 33 minutesJoin Plodcast host Fergus and countryside writer Professor Fiona Stafford in the curious hilltop village of Brill to learn how to find hidden history in the landscape around you. Fiona's new book, Time and Tide (John Murray) is a series of fascinating adventures looking at how our countryside is transformed over time - and how quickly things are forgotten. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected]. If your letter, email or message...
Sound Escape 155. Enjoy the music of melting icicles in the entrance to a cave
February 09, 2024 03:00 - 18 minutesYou're walking an old tram road in an abandoned quarry in the Welsh hills. It's been deadly cold for weeks and water that normally cascades off the high ground has frozen into dramatic icicles as it runs down rock faces and over cave mouths. But this morning's warm sun has started a thaw and there is a gentle music of water released. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful, wherever you ...
232. Exploring a haunted ruined chapel lost in a Dorset woodland
February 06, 2024 03:00 - 53 minutesThis week, Plodcast regular Kevin Parr explores a lost church in Dorset. St Luke's Chapel was built to serve the village of Sterte near Abbotsbury, in the 1240s. The chapel remained in use until the mid 16th Century when it was abandoned following the Act of Supremacy (1534) that gave Henry VIII the power to disband religious buildings. All that remains of the chapel (and the village) is a single wall and arch, which stands deep in the woodland of Ashley Chase, although a more recently const...
Sound Escape 154. Frosty footsteps on a bright and sunny midwinter morning
February 02, 2024 03:00 - 8 minutesIt's an icy cold morning and you're walking through a once-waterlogged meadow now made crisp by frost. Low winter sun slants across the surrounding hills, picking out shadows and contours, silhouetting lone trees. As you descend into a shallow valley, distant rooks call from an ancient woodland. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorded by Fergus Coll...
231. A tale of bloody massacre in the peaceful Monmouthshire countryside
January 30, 2024 03:00 - 46 minutesHidden in a peaceful corner of the Monmouthshire countryside is a site steeped in blood, treachery and revenge. Plodcast host Fergus and his son Owen set out one cold January morning to uncover the secret of medieval Castell Arnallt (Castle Arnold) - and track down what remains of this ill-fated and now forgotten Welsh castle. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected]. If your letter, email or message is read out on the show, you ...
Sound Escape 153. Bathe in stunning spring skylark song - all the way from New Zealand
January 26, 2024 03:00 - 13 minutesYou are on high country farm road in the Hakataramea Valley in deepest South Canterbury, New Zealand. Skylark song pours from the heavens, cascading over paddocks of ewes with noisy lambs at foot. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorded by Nick Allen. Image by Getty. Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: e...
230. Enjoy a day's beachcombing on Orkney and learn local tales of the sea
January 23, 2024 03:00 - 38 minutesWe're beachcombing on Orkney this week. Plodcast regular Annabel Ross meets Martin Gray who has been finding curiosities on the seashore here for several decades. What will they find today? And what are the greatest treasures Martin has ever found? Listen on for more tales from the landscape. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected]. If your letter, email or message is read out on the show, you could WIN a Plodcast Postbag prize ...
Sound Escape 152. Listen to the eerie calls of cranes on the Somerset Levels
January 19, 2024 03:00 - 10 minutesYou're walking a muddy track beside a farm on the edge of a vast expanse of flooded land, the water perfectly reflecting a rare January blue sky. From the barns, a heady odour of sweat and dung rises from the cattle within. Across the marshes, swans sail, occasionally taking to the air on heavy, whoomping wingbeats. And from out of the ancient landscape, the eeries cries of cranes rise above tractor and quad bike engine. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard fr...
229. A gentle day's fishing with Will Millard and Kevin Parr on the Mon-Brec Canal
January 16, 2024 03:00 - 45 minutesThe Plodcast goes fishing this week with plodcast regular Kevin Parr and author and TV presenter Will Millard. Host Fergus meets them on his local waterway, the Monmouthshire and Breconshire Canal, to talk about why fishing matters to much to them. It's the perfect combination of gentle adventure, chat and humour. But will they catch any fish? Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected]. If your letter, email or message is read out ...
Sound Escape 151. Walk beside a wild river tumbling from the hills
January 12, 2024 03:00 - 10 minutesYou're walking beside a stream swollen by rain, which tumbles through a wooded valley, crashing over rocks and weirs. Dippers chatter and dive for food, a heron hunts eels in the mill leat and watery sunlight breaks through the leafless canopy. A heavy scent of deep winter leaf decay fills the air. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorded by Fergus Co...
228: Walk in the footsteps of soldiers in bloody combat on a Civil War battlefield near Bath
January 09, 2024 03:00 - 58 minutesPlodcast host Fergus joins historian and battlefield tour guide Julian Humphrys at the site of a Civil War battlefield in the hills just north of Bath. It's a dark winter's day and fog descends creating an atmosphere of 'gunsmoke' and eerie sounds. Listen on to hear about how the dramatic battle unfolded... Find out more about the Battlefields Trust of which Julian is a trustee at https://www.battlefieldstrust.com. And Julian's own website is full of great information: http://www.julianhum...
Sound Escape 150: Be uplifted by a chorus of New Year's robins
January 05, 2024 03:00 - 23 minutesAfter weeks of rain, it's a clear, calm rosy sunrise. A pair of robins in neighbouring gardens welcome the early sun with wistful phrases as if chatting over the fence. It's a duet to warm the soul in the depths of winter. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorded by Fergus Collins. Image by Getty Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound record...
227: Tales of birding in wild places with naturalist and author Stephen Moss
January 02, 2024 03:00 - 54 minutesPlodcast host Fergus joins broadcaster, writer and, best of all, brilliant birder Stephen Moss on a wild stretch of the Somerset coast to look for winter birds on the marshes and mudflats. Stephen also talks about his time as a BBC Natural History Unit producer and his lifelong love of wildlife. But what did they discover today? Stephen's new book The Owl: A Biography is published by Square Peg. Link https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/455675/the-owl-by-moss-stephen/9781529908268 Image by Gett...
Sound Escape 149: Be soothed by the rhythms of the sea rising and falling in a remote Welsh cove
December 29, 2023 03:00 - 8 minutesThis week we're on the Ceredigion coast - a lonely cove of shingle with the Irish sea rolling with a soothing rhythm. No one else is around, no one that is apart from a seal bobbing just offshore. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorded by Catrin Collins. Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@coun...
226: Brace yourself for a wild nighttime swim under a full moon in the depths of winter
December 26, 2023 03:00 - 57 minutesWhat is it like to swim outdoors under a full moon in the depths of winter? Maria Hodson braves the inky waters of Clevedon Marine Pool with the Bristol Blue Tits to learn about what cold water swimming can do for you. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected]. If your letter, email or message is read out on the show, you could WIN a Plodcast Postbag prize of a wildlife- or countryside-themed book chosen by the team. Visit the...
Sound Escape 148: A morning of gulls and rooks on the Somerset Coast
December 22, 2023 03:00 - 9 minutesWhere the Somerset Levels meet the sea, broad, marshy pastures and forgotten fields host gulls, rooks, crows and egrets, foraging for food stirred up cattle and horses wintering here. But the birds are ever watchful – there are hunters here, peregrines roving the overcast sky ready to strike. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorded by Fergus Collin...
225: It's the Plodcast Christmas special - join the team for the Christmas quiz and other seasonal silliness
December 19, 2023 00:00 - 1 hourJoin Plodcast host Fergus and regulars Kevin Parr and Annabel Ross as well as editor Dan Kramer-Arden for a lighthearted look back at a year of recording nature – and take part in Kev's great Christmas quiz! Plus plenty more natural silliness to enjoy. Wild wishes from the Plodcast team and have a very merry Christmas. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected]. If your letter, email or message is read out on the show, you could...
Sound Escape 147: Be calmed by the autumn song of a Welsh mountain river
December 15, 2023 03:00 - 8 minutesYou're in a wintry valley following a boisterous stream high into the Welsh hills. After recent rain, the water boils and churns and the river's song is wild and free. Fighting against the current are huge salmon, leaping lightning fast through the rough waters to reach the calmer spawning grounds. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorded by Fergus C...
224. A quest to see salmon leaping in a Welsh mountain stream
December 12, 2023 03:00 - 51 minutesCome with us deep into the Welsh hills, to Gilfach Farm, a magical Radnorshire Wildlife Trust reserve in Powys. Here, in the tumbling River Marteg, salmon still leap waterfalls and rapids to reach their spawning grounds. Will plodcast host Fergus spot this incredible natural spectacle. With huge thanks to naturalist Megan Shersby and Radnorshire Wildlife Trust's head of conservation Sylvia Cojocaru for the wildlife insights and expertise. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound record...
Sound Escape 146: Revel in the crackle and murmur of an autumn night's party beside a bonfire
December 08, 2023 03:00 - 10 minutesIt’s a chilly evening and you are gathered with a crowd of others next to a large bonfire. The warmth it provides is a welcome break from the chilly air and the glow lights up the faces of joy around the neighbourhood park. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorded by Jack Bateman, presented by Hannah Tribe. Image by Getty Email the Plodcast team – ...
223: Hear the mysterious tales of Orkney's might stone circle: The Ring of Brodgar
December 05, 2023 03:00 - 49 minutesExplore the magic and myth of the Ring of Brodgar – an astonishing neolithic stone circle on Orkney in the company of local ranger Sandra Miller and the Plodcast's own Annabel Ross. Enjoy a blend of history, mystery and folklore… Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected]. If your letter, email or message is read out on the show, you could WIN a Plodcast Postbag prize of a wildlife- or countryside-themed book chosen by the team. ...
Sound Escape 145: Let sea and birdsong transport you to a wild corner of Orkney
December 01, 2023 03:00 - 8 minutesYou're on the wild and windy beach of Orkney’s South Ronaldsay. You listen to the cry of turnstones, plovers, sanderlings and redshanks, competing for the lead solo part, as they take flight from the water’s edge with the grey seals peacefully watching on. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorded by Annabel Ross, presented by Hannah Tribe. Image by G...
222: Follow in the footsteps of St Patrick on the stunning coast of County Down
November 28, 2023 03:00 - 56 minutesJoin Plodcast host Fergus and wonderful storyteller Duane Fitzsimons as they following in the footsteps of St Patrick along the coastline of Co Down. As they search for St Patrick's Well and his final resting place, Duane recounts tales of local folklore, shipwrecks and chilling ghost stories. This is the final episode of 4 in 2023 exploring St Patrick's Way in Northern Ireland. For more about Duane and the magical Lecale Peninsula see www.lecalepeninsula.com/ A huge thanks to Tourism North...
Sound Escape 144: Relax to the crackle of falling beechnuts in an autumn woodland
November 24, 2023 03:00 - 8 minutesAs the fluttering of pigeons' wings loosen the last beech nuts of the season, you stand under a gentle shower of nature’s crackles and pops, reminding us that autumn is in full flow. Majestic beech trees envelop you, offering up their fruits to passing wildlife. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorded by Annabel Ross, presented by Hannah Tribe. Imag...
221: Experience a night walk in an ancient woodland in a forgotten corner of Gloucestershire
November 21, 2023 03:00 - 36 minutesEnjoy a night walk in an ancient forest in Gloucestershire with the Plodcast team of Fergus, Hannah and Jack. What is it like walking in the pitch black – and what stories and wild encounters will they experience? To help them in their quest, they deploy night vision scopes… The night vision devices used by the team were: Bushnell Equinox X650 Nightfox Corsac Night Vision Binoculars Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected]. If y...
Sound Escape 143: Be soothed by waves on pebbles in a small Scottish harbour
November 17, 2023 03:00 - 8 minutesWhere the Burn of Latheronwheel meets the North Sea, you sit silently on the ancient harbour wall soaking in autumn sun, The waves draw the pebbles back down into the the depths of the peaty water. Once home to fifty boats, where salmon was a regular catch, Latheronwheel is now a ghost of its past, with the voices of long gone fishermen whispering onto the shore. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you some...
220: Tales of ancient fossils and fossil hunters in Dorset
November 14, 2023 00:00 - 59 minutesThis week, the Plodcast tales are as ancient as can be. We’re in Dorset with Plodcast regular Annabel Ross hunting 500-million-year old fossils in the company of author and paelontologist Wolfgang Grulke, who has amassed an extraordinary collection of the strangest and rarest fossils on earth. Join them for a weird and wonderful adventure into prehistory. For more about Wolfgang Grulke, inclusing details on how to visit his collection, head to https://wolfganggrulke.com/author. Contact the...
Sound Escape 142: Listening to a storm outside while sitting indoors by the fire
November 10, 2023 03:00 - 15 minutesWe’re in a little cottage deep in the Dorset countryside. The fire is lit. Steam swirls from a mug of tea. The curtains are drawn and we wait. Outside, there is a moment of calm as though the world is taking a deep breath. A storm is rolling in off the Atlantic, but before the wind comes the rain. Thudding into the brickwork and flicking off leaves and guttering. In the warm, we cosy up to listen. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to he...
219: Meet Mark Beech – the new series editor of the Countryfile TV programme
November 07, 2023 03:00 - 49 minutesMeet the new boss of Countryfile and learn about what he has planned for the UK’s most popular countryside TV show. Plodcast regular Annabel Ross takes Mark for a walk in a wonderful Mendip vale in north Somerset – listen on for some fascinating insight into rural passion and programme making. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected]. If your letter, email or message is read out on the show, you could WIN a Plodcast Postbag prize...
Sound Escape 141: Pause beside a roaring and refreshing mountain stream
November 03, 2023 03:00 - 8 minutesWe're following a narrow mountain path through thickets of inpenetrable birch. It's been a long, hot, footsore day and so you are easily seduced by the sound of a tumbling stream. From a rocky cleft, ice-cold clear water pours. You stop to bathe your feet and splash your face. It is delicious. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorded by Fergus Collin...
218: Spend an evening in the company of a deer stalker in southern England
October 31, 2023 03:00 - 59 minutesIt’s dusk in a valley somewhere in Dorset. Plodcast regular Kevin Parr has joined a local deer stalker to talk about why – and how – he culls these large mammals. Join the Plodcast team later in the studio to discuss some of the issues raised. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected]. If your letter, email or message is read out on the show, you could WIN a Plodcast Postbag prize of a wildlife- or countryside-themed book chosen b...
Sound Escape 140: The dreamy sound of the autumn meadow
October 27, 2023 02:00 - 13 minutesWe're resting on a field gate. Late summer warmth spills into the autumn. The sun slow to rise but blazing when it does. The overnight dew clings on in the shadows, while the long grass of the field margins rattle with the chirrup of grasshoppers. Flies and bees buzz. A nuthatch bubbles from the hedgerow. A last hurrah before the first frost. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewhere beautiful, wher...
217: Hear the mysterious and magical songs of trees – with musician Tiny Leaves
October 24, 2023 02:00 - 58 minutesIn our latest quest seeking tales from the British landscape, musician Tiny Leaves takes Plodcast host Annabel Ross onto a mysterious hill in Shropshire known as the Long Mynd. Here, Tiny Leaves has discovered a way of recording the songs of trees and plants and incorporating them into his music. But what do the ‘voices’ of trees sound like? Listen on to find out – it’s pure magic. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected]. If you...