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BBC 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/podcastSubscribe to the print version of BBC Countryfile Magazine at https://www.buysubscriptions.com/print/bbc-countryfile-magazine-subscription
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 26, 2025 • 20min
Sound Escape 240. Wind down to the evening song of a rural farm
As the day draws to a close, the cattle gather for their night-time routine, and the birds sing their final calls of the day. The pink-and-orange sunlight spills through the trees and onto the farmyard's vast fields.
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 Lewis Dobbs 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

Sep 23, 2025 • 55min
317. Haunting poetry and crashing waves on the Cornish coast with poet Katrina Naomi
The Plodcast heads to Penzance in Cornwall this week to hear the haunting poetry of Katrina Naomi. Katrina met Plodcast host Fergus on a beach near the town to discuss her latest collection of poems Battery Rocks, inspired by the sea in all its dark beauty.
Poor Katrina had injured her foot so was on crutches – and the whole Plodcast team wish her a speedy recovery.
Battery Rocks is published by Seren.
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sep 19, 2025 • 18min
Sound Escape 239. Listen to the night-time snuffles of a garden hedgehog
Just as you're closing the back door as dusk falls, you hear a rustling in from the end of the garden. Is it a cat or a rat? No, it's a hedgehog foraging for slugs, beetles and worms around the compost heap. You sit quietly and listen to your visitor - its snuffles like the puffs of a tiny steam train.
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 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

Sep 16, 2025 • 51min
316. Inspiring conservation stories from the Global Birdfair 2025
This week we return to the Global Birdfair, held in summer at Rutland every year. Hear two inspiring conservation stories: the first interview is with Stephanie Borrelle who works with Birdlife International to conserve seabirds such as albatrosses in the Southern Hemisphere.
The second chat brings us back to the UK and efforts to save two endangered birds: the curlew and the corncrake. Nick Acheson is our guest, talking about his work with the Deepdale Conservation Trust.
Find out more about Stephanie's work: https://stephborrelle.com/
Find out more about Nick's work: https://deepdaleconservationtrust.org.uk/
These interviews were recorded live on the Swarovski Podcast stage – with thanks to Charlie Bingham and Oscar Henderson for helping organise and record the sessions.
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sep 12, 2025 • 19min
Sound Escape 238. Pause on a bridge over a late summer stream
Deep in a cool woodland, you hear the rumour of a stream long before you see it. A small stone bridge crosses the water, just above a small waterfall. It's the perfect place to stop and dream.
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 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

Sep 9, 2025 • 53min
315. Relax with a dreamy day's fishing beside a sleepy Somerset lake
Let the Plodcast take you to a peaceful lake deep in the Somerset countryside. Lily pads float in margins, dragonflies buzz past and kingfisher makes regular sorties across the water.
And you'll meet the Plodcast team of Fergus, Hannah, Lewis and Kev chatting on the bank, and trying to catch the elusive tench – a mysterious fish of lazy summer ponds. Listen on for a joyful adventure...
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sep 5, 2025 • 15min
Sound Escape 237: Soak in the sounds of rushing rain through the drainpipes
We're listening to the rain. Its been dry for weeks, and this shower feels like its washing the world clean. The water runs down the roofs and gurgles in the drainpipes.
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 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

Sep 2, 2025 • 38min
314. Meet the people behind the Merlin app that helps you ID birdsong
This week we're at the Global Bird Fair, held every summer on the edge of Rutland Water in the tiny county of Rutland.
Plodcast host Fergus met two of the people behind the incredible Merlin app which you can use to help you identify birdsong. Alli Smith and Ian Davies from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology on the podcast stage at Birdfair to hear how the magic happens.
With special thanks also to Charlie Bingham for organising the Birdfair podcasts, Oscar Henderson for recording and producing, and to Swarovski for sponsoring the podcast stage.
Credits for the birdsong recordings used in this episode:
Leach's storm petrel by Diane Tessaglia-Hynes; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Bobolink recorded by Wil Hershberger Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aug 29, 2025 • 18min
Sound Escape 236. Perch by a still Somerset lake
Soothed by the gentle lapping of water, you pause by a quiet lake. It's a hot day, but you find refuge sheltered under the rustling willow trees. Moorhen families drift by as the lively fish swim beneath.
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 Lewis Dobbs, 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

Aug 26, 2025 • 1h 11min
313. A quest to find storks and turtle doves at Knepp Wildlands - with Isabella Tree
An extremely special edition of the Plodcast this week as we head to Knepp Wildlands in Sussex to look for storks and listen for turtle doves in the company of Isabella Tree.
Isabella and her husband Charlie Burrell have transformed their former dairy farm into one of the best examples of rewilding in Europe – and it's a magical place to explore. Plodcast host Fergus was lucky enough to meet up with Isabella one midsummer evening.
Isabella's new book Wilding: How to Bring Wildlife Back is illustrated by Angela Harding. It is published by Pan Macmillan.
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices