The Plodcast

In this episode podcast host Fergus Collins heads to a wild island off the coast of Scotland. Called Handa, it is managed entirely for wildlife by the Scottish Wildlife Trust and is an enchanting, sometimes haunting place to explore.The main quest was to witness the massive seabird cities – but there were plenty of other wildlife surprises along the way. You’ll also hear the voices of fellow explorers Joel Burden and Gavin Meredith. So come us for a very privileged wander into a truly wild place. Image from Getty.Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@countryfile.com. If 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.comPPA Podcast of the Year!Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's a lazy September afternoon on a Somerset canal. You've found an enchanted place to rest beside a bridge – where a robin's wistful song sweetens the stillness. Even the dragonflies are dawdling. Clouds puff in the blue sky, perfectly reflected in the water and the last of summer's house martins are hawking for small insects high above. Nearby, a pair of anglers are catching small fish.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 presented by Hannah Tribe. Image from Hannah Tribe.Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@countryfile.comVisit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.comPPA Podcast of the Year 2022 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to a new season of mindful escapes into the green outdoors in search of wildlife and wild people. As well as heading out into beautiful landscapes as autumn stretches into winter, we’ll be enjoying some episodes that the team and I recorded over the spring and summer – so expect some soothing escapism at this dark time of the year.Our first episode is one such adventure. Plodcast regular Annabel Ross heads to a fabulous meadow in Oxfordshire with a remarkable young botanist Leif Bersweden to meet some of the wildflowers and talk about the importance of allowing more nature into our lives. Listen on for an absolute treat. Image by Trevor Ray Hart.Leif's new book is called Where the wildflowers grow: my botanical journey through Britain and Ireland – Hodder and StoughtonContact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@countryfile.comVisit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.comPPA Podcast of the Year!Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deep in a wooded cwm in Powys, there’s a spot down by the brook, half in the trees, half out, where the sunlight falls in ribbons onto the water. You go to it and settle on the pebble bank. Somewhere above, hidden among the broken canopy that staggers up the steep valley, a robin reels out its morning song.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. Image from Graham.Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@countryfile.comVisit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.comPPA Podcast of the Year 2022 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Season 14 of the Plodcast is all about mindful explorations of wild places – so you can get close to nature and feel like you're walking in wild places, even if you're stuck at work or on the commute. Come with us to the wild islands of Seil, Tiree and Anglesey as well as the New Forest and the Welsh Borders.Plus we have special guests including Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and Leif Bersweden as well as music from The Unthanks and the Proclaimers.So join the Plodcast team of Fergus, Jack and Hannah for a brief preview of the wonders to come.Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@countryfile.comThe Plodcast is the nature and countryside podcast from BBC Countryfile MagazineVisit the BBC Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.comPPA Podcast of the Year!Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's early morning in a secretive bay on northern Anglesey. You're walking on a shingle bank that separates a serene, reed-fringed lagoon from the restless rising tide. The pipes and skirls of oystercatchers, redshanks and curlews rise over the wash of the waves but above them all, the sulphurous scents of beached seaweed.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 Kevin Parr, presented by Hannah Tribe. Image from Getty.Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@countryfile.comVisit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.comPPA Podcast of the Year 2022 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We return to gin makers Warners in the Northamptonshire countryside to roam the gardens and grounds with conservation and sustainability officer Johnny Easter. Planting a huge variety of herbs, aromatics and fruits has the knock-on effect of attracting extraordinary numbers of insects and other life – so enjoy this magical safari and learn about how gins are flavoured using natural ingredients.Later, join the Plodcast team in the studio where they test a special bottle of Plodcast host Fergus's home-made wine – is it better than cheap shop-bought red? Listen on for a very entertaining discussion.Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@countryfile.comVisit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.comPPA Podcast of the Year!Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's a sultry summer's night on a lowland heath in southern England. A warm waft of heather and the gentle chirrup of a cricket break the stillness. And then, as the moon rises, the mechanical churr of a nightjar.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 Kevin Parr, presented by Hannah Tribe. Image from Getty.Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@countryfile.comVisit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.comPPA Podcast of the Year 2022 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Head deep into the Northamptonshire countryside to visit the Warners Gin distillery near Rothwell, Northamptonshire. Warner’s Gin was set up by Tom and Tina Warner on their family farm in 2012 with an emphasis on natural, locally grown ingredients. Since then, things have taken off – especially the transformation of much of the farm for nature. Hear Tom’s fascinating insights into why "booze made humanity" and explore the history and lore around gin.Later we meet Rachel Sutherland, who has the enviable job of tasting the gins for quality – and for devising new flavours.Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@countryfile.comVisit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.comPPA Podcast of the Year!Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're in Dorset and it's dusk beside a lily-strewn tench pool. The light fades, moths begin to flutter and the martins and swallows cede the sky to the dance of pipistrelle baits. These are the curious calls of these nocturnal flyers as picked up on angler Kevin Parr's bat detector. 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 Kevin Parr, presented by Hannah Tribe. Image from Getty.Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@countryfile.comVisit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.comPPA Podcast of the Year 2022 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices