The Plodcast

Despite the endless drought, the river still runs. Reduced yes, but still a generous artery of life in a parched countryside. You sit beside it, cooled and reassured as numerous small birds: long-tailed tits, wrens and wagtails find similar sanctuary near the water. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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 Tribe.Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: theplodcast@countryfile.com<p...

Since they escaped into the wild in the mid 20th century, American mink have wreaked havoc on our waterways, virtually wiping out water voles and other aquatic wildlife. But a new and highly effective plan is in place to clear these small, deadly predators from the countryside. Plodcast host Fergus Collins visits the High Weald in Sussex to meet Jason Lavender who is leading the operation in the area – and learns how this decades old problem is finally being solved. Jason also has hopeful insights into how we can manage our farmed landscapes to cope with climate ch...

It's too hot for gardening so you retire to a wildflower meadow where a cooling breeze and gentle conversations of sparrows and jackdaws soothe your soul.BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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 Natasha Goodfellow and introduced by Hannah Tribe.Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: theplodcast@countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We head to Dorset this month to spend a day fishing at a lazy summer lake in the company of Plodcast regular Kevin Parr. But in a perfect Plodcast twist, Kev first has something amazing to reveal to Plodcast host Fergus – a remarkably rare bird in woods not far from his home. Listen on for adventures with long-eared owls and to hear about Kev's new writing adventures. Image by GettyKevin's book, Woodlore: Discover the Seasons and Stories of the Forest is published by Magic Cat Publishing. The new issue of Rivers Run: An Angler's Journey Fr...

Walking high in the parched hills you suddenly hear the welcome music of running water. After a brief search, you find a small cave mouth where a spring gushes continuously. The cool water is clear and clean. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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 Tribe.Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: theplodcast@countryfile.com Learn more abou...

When we go on holiday to the coast, we tend to overlook the stories of the people who live and work there. Natasha Carthew grew up in a working class community in Cornwall and has travelled around the UK's coast to discover the hidden world of the modern seaside. Plodcast host Fergus Collins meets Natasha for a wander around Bristol Harbour to hear some of these sad, beautiful and sometimes tragic stories.Natasha's book, Rough Edges: Where Land Meets Water, the Untold Stories of Coastline Communities, is published by SceptreGet in touch on Facebook! Search "...

It’s a sunny morning on the seashore and the tide is going out. It’s Leaving behind shallow rockpools, perfect mirrors of the crisp, blue sky. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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 Hannah Tribe.Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: theplodcast@countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Back in 1926, the first Winnie the Pooh book was published – and became one of the most loved children's stories of all time. One hundred years later, Plodcast host Fergus Collins joins Jane Riordan in the land of Pooh – Ashdown Forest in Sussex – to celebrate the work of AA Milne and EH Shepherd and hear about Jane's wonderful new sequels to the original stories.Included in this Plodcast: whitethroats, skylarks and an intense game of Poohsticks!Jane Riordan's Winnie the Pooh sequel is A Little Boy and His Bear published by Farshore.Get in touch on Facebook! Search...

As you crest a little riverside cliff, the air is filled with clicks, trills and buzzes. Squadrons of sand martins career wildly around you from their colony – a series of burrows dug into the sandy cliff face. The air is alive with aerobatic birds, including the first broods of this year's youngsters who are revelling in flight for the first time. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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 Tr...

One of the biggest issues facing our wildlife and wild places is our own disconnection from the natural world. You've got to love it to save it, says this week's guest Alastair Humphreys. Plodcast host Fergus Collins meets Alastair on the River Medway in Kent to hear how we have become 'Unwilded' and what we can do to bring nature into every day of our lives – and make positive changes to the world around. Plus, Alastair takes the plunge into the river for a magnificent finale.This Plodcast also contains whitethroats, yellowhammers, kestrels and many other wild sp...

Walking beside the deep green River Medway in Kent, your path takes in a broad meander that curls around a wildflower-rich meadow. Blackcaps and whitethroats sing from hedges, young kestrels call for food and a song thrush vies with a skylark for performance of the day. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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 Tribe.Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: thep...

Is the chalk stream the purest and most delightful natural habitat in England? Plodcast host Fergus Collins heads to the Hampshire-Wiltshire border to meet author and fly fisher Simon Cooper – who lives on a mill above one of these beautiful and rare waterways. It's the perfect chance to learn why these rivers are so magical – and hear Simon's own remarkable Tales from the Mill, the title of his latest book, published by 10 Degrees Publishing.Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref...

You’ve taken a break on the cliff path. A young family of ravens tilt and whirl beneath you. They seem so small against the outstretched sea. Near the shore its glittering surface is spotted with a colourful group of paddleboarders.BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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 Hannah Tribe.Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: theplodcast@countryfile.com Learn more a...

Cool off with a Plodcast adventure to Portland Bill, the southernmost tip of Dorset, to spend a day fishing with expert Callum Harris. The quest is to catch a ballan wrasse, a stunningly patterned fish that inhabits the rocky coves and gullies. Plodcast host Fergus Collins joins Callum in the hope of seeing some wildlife and learning about the joys of seafishing.Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast is the Publishers Podcast...

It's an early summer morning. The sun is already shining through the woodland. Its gleaming rays dapple the well worn path. A gleeful chorus of birdsong welcomes the coming day.BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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 Hannah Tribe.Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: theplodcast@countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, the Plodcast visits Penstone Learning Centre – a farm on the edge of the town of Cheddar in Somerset where students who struggle in mainstream education – often with very challenging behaviour – are taught outdoors among the animals. The results are remarkable. Plodcast host Fergus is shown around by Centre Manager Abbie Ridler and her colleague Tilly Bean – and meets some of the young people whose lives are being turned around. Listen on for a moving, funny and beautifully hopeful Plodcast episode. The star animals are the rescue hens, courtesy of the British Hen Welfare Trust. Find out more...

It’s evening on the clifftop. You’re sitting on short grass. It’s still holding the heat of the day, and it’s as soft and warm as a blanket. For the nearby lambs, it’s time for bed.BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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 Hannah Tribe.Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: theplodcast@countryfile.com Learn more about your ad...

This week, the Plodcast heads to the island of Bute off Scotland's west coast to meet author and naturalist Lucy Lapwing to talk about her new book Love is a Toad – discussing relationships with nature with naturalist friends. Annabel Ross wanders Bute's shores with Lucy. Lucy's book is published by Bonnier Books.Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast is the Publishers Podcast Awards Special Interest Podcast of the Year 2024 & 2025 and the PPA Podcast of...

High in the hills you enter a deep valley, green with the exuberant growth of early summer. As you wander into the woods listening to birdsong, the oak, beech and hazel gently shelter you from the soft rain.BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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 Tribe.Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: theplodcast@countryfile.com Learn more...

After exploring the wild inspiration for the Woodland Trust's Forgotten Forests garden at the Chelsea Flower show in last week's episode, Plodcast host Fergus Collins heads to Chelsea on Press Day to see the finished garden. He meets up again with garden designer Ashleigh Aylett and Nick Philips from the Woodland Trust to explore the magical garden and learn some of the secrets of the world's greatest gardening show.For more on the Woodland Trust's Forgotten Forests campaign: www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/protecting-trees-and-woods/campaign-with-us/forgotten-forests/For more on award-winning garden designer Ashleigh Aylett: https://aylettstudio.co...