The Plodcast

Your cool, shady walk through a riverside woodland is pierced briefly by a kingfisher's wheezed whistle. The water roars as you approach rapids, then subsides as you turn away deeper into the trees. A wren sings and a robin scolds the earthy smells that tell of autumn.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, presented by Hannah Tribe. Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Be transported to the tranquil shores of the Cromarty Firth on the east coast of Scotland. Here, thousands of waders and wildfowl gather as autumn approaches, providing a magical spectacle for human visitors. Join Plodcast regular Annabel Ross and birders Fiona and Graham Reid so see what might turn up in this wild estuary.Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@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.Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.comWrite to us: Plodcast,Countryfile MagazineEagle HouseBristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a sunny afternoon of exploring the rock pools you take a seat and listen to the waves crash gently against the rocky shorefront. Down the beach visitors enjoy a quiet lunch whilst enjoying the sea breeze.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 Brittany Collie.Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Enter the wild worlds of Narnia and Game of Thrones as Plodcast host Fergus and local outdoorsman John Keating seek out the great Mourne Wall deep in the magical Mourne Mountains of Northern Ireland. What is this strange monument and why was it built? And why is this land associated with great fantasy epics?Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@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.Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.comWrite to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Magazine Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's early morning and as the sun breaks through the canopy of leaves and the wrens, blue tits, robins begin their cheerful chatter.A new day is coming to life and you're in the centre of it.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.Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Island poet Kenneth Steven reveals the wildlife marvels on his doorstep – the Isle of Seal in the Inner Hebrides – and introduces us to a range of avian characters. Plus, enjoy his wonderful poetry. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@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.Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.comWrite to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Magazine Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we're paddleboarding on the River Wye, Leave all your worries on the riverbank and be lulled by the gentle, rhythmic swish of the paddle blade. The water swirls around you, shoals of fish shoot away from your bow, birds peep from the stooping alders.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 Maria Hodson, presented by Hannah Tribe.Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the second part of our exploration of the St Patrick's Way pilgrimage in Northern Ireland, Plodcast host Fergus Collins and guide Peter Rafferty walk south along the Newry Canal in Armagh. Abandoned in the mid 20th century, the canal is now a haven for wildlife – with whispers of history at every turn. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@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.Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.comWrite to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Magazine Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're in Beinn Eighe (Ben Ay) in the Scottish HighlandsThe mountains this morning are ill-manner; the trails rough, the gullies deep, the mist consuming. Winds elbow by like rushing commuters, and with them they bring rain. But such is the nature of summer in the Scottish Highlands that just as afternoon breaks the skies clear and a new day appears. Jubilant with the sparkling light, you pause by a high loch among even higher peaks to dry off and soak up the scene.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 Daniel Graham, presented by Hannah Tribe.Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we’ve invited a former Plodcast guest to take the reins. Back in episode 199, I met James MacDonald Lockhart to hear the songs of skylarks in the Cotswolds.This week, we’re releasing him into his natural habitat – the wilds of Glenfeshie and surrounding Cairngorm mountain range – in a quest to meet one of Britain’s most unusual birds: the dotterel.Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@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.Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.comWrite to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Magazine Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices