325. Roam a Hampshire woodland in search of rare hazel dormice

This week we're in Hampshire, looking for dormice. These tiny, charming little mammals are hard to find at the best of times but numbers have been declining for decades mainly due to changes to how we manage our woodlands.

Plodcast host Fergus joins Ian White from the People's Trust for Endangered Species, Charlotte Rimmer who is Senior Countryside Officer for Test Vally Borough Council and Richard Genn who owns the woodland to find out more about the plight of Britain's dormice – and hopefully meet one of these 'fairy' creatures.

Image from Getty

Also, the Plodcast is very proud to announce that it is media partner for the Speakies – the British Audio Awards from The Bookseller Magazine. These new awards celebrate the very best in audiobooks. The Plodcast is partnering in the non-fiction category.

Find the shortlists here: www.thebookseller.com/the-british-audio-awards

And now you can get in touch with the Plodcast team via:

The BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast group on Facebook & BBC Countryfile Magazine's Instagram page.

The BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast is the Publishers Podcast Awards Special Interest Podcast of the Year 2024 & 2025 and the PPA Podcast of the Year 2022.

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: theplodcast@countryfile.com.

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.

The Plodcast is produced by Jack Bateman and Lewis Dobbs. The theme tune was written and performed by Blair Dunlop.

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