Chris Skinner's Countryside Podcasts

Send us a textJoin Chris Skinner at High Ash Farm for a vibrant spring morning filled with the tireless energy of returning swallows and the delicate beauty of the countryside. In this episode, Chris captures the dawn chorus as over 20 swallows busily build nests with mud and straw in the farm’s stables, marking the true arrival of summer. Venturing further, we explore the farm’s woodlands, where drought has left its mark on the bluebells, stunting their iconic display, though their resilience shines through. Amidst the blooms of blackthorn, wild cherry, and bird cherry at Notre Dame Wood, Chris reflects on the living heritage of the landscape, from ancient bluebell displays to Romano-Celtic temples. We also celebrate an extraordinary human journey as Stuart Fraser continues his 24,000-mile walk around the world—without leaving the farm. Tune in for birdsong, blossoms, and the timeless rhythms of nature at its finest.https://www.buzzsprout.com/2432378/episodes/17036800-episode-2-17-bluebells-in-peril-swallows-in-flight.mp3?download=trueSupport the showPlease email any questions for Chris to answer on the podcast toChris@highashfarm.comThis podcast is brought to you by High Ash Farm. To support our efforts in creating this content, please consider making a small monthly or one-off donation. Your contributions help us with production costs, and after expenses, every penny goes towards conservation and maintaining free public access at High Ash Farm. Support us here:https://donorbox.org/podcast-12or from the Podcast page here:Podcast | High Ash Farm

Send us a textJoin Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a rain-soaked adventure at High Ash Farm, where the long-awaited spring showers bring life to the Norfolk countryside. Under dripping umbrellas, they explore the sticky secrets of mistletoe, a semi-parasitic plant thriving on ancient trees, and marvel at the delicate pink-tipped blossoms of the native crab apple, a spiny ancestor of modern orchards. At the lake’s edge, witness the magical hatching of thousands of tadpoles, forming living clouds in the shallows—a fleeting spectacle of nature’s renewal. From emails about house martins to the promise of wildflower fields, this episode celebrates the resilience and quiet wonders of the season, all serenaded by the patter of rain. Don’t miss this immersive journey into spring’s vibrant pulse!https://www.buzzsprout.com/2432378/episodes/16989586-episode-2-16-kisses-of-mistletoe-blossoms-of-crab-apple.mp3?download=trueSupport the showPlease email any questions for Chris to answer on the podcast toChris@highashfarm.comThis podcast is brought to you by High Ash Farm. To support our efforts in creating this content, please consider making a small monthly or one-off donation. Your contributions help us with production costs, and after expenses, every penny goes towards conservation and maintaining free public access at High Ash Farm. Support us here:https://donorbox.org/podcast-12or from the Podcast page here:Podcast | High Ash Farm

Send us a textIn Episode 2.15 of The Countryside Podcast with Chris Skinner, we’re back at High Ash Farm, where the first swallows of the season have arrived, heralding the promise of summer with their daring aerial acrobatics. Chris’s infectious enthusiasm shines as he shares the miraculous 5,000-mile migration of these tiny birds, weighing less than a sugar cube, and their pinpoint return to the farm’s stables. We also discover the delicate beauty of the common storks bill, a wildflower thriving in Norfolk’s drought-stricken sandy soils, with a surprising seed-dispersing trick that screws itself into the ground. From the hovering prowess of kestrels to the frenzied boxing matches of hares, this episode is bursting with springtime wonders. Joined by Matthew, Chris answers listener questions, marvels at buzzards’ million-receptor eyesight, and reflects on the farm as a haven for wildlife. Tune in for a joyful celebration of nature’s resilience and surprises, recorded under Norfolk’s bright blue skies. https://www.buzzsprout.com/2432378/episodes/16962008-episode-2-15-wings-of-summer-the-swallow-s-return.mp3?download=trueSupport the showPlease email any questions for Chris to answer on the podcast toChris@highashfarm.comThis podcast is brought to you by High Ash Farm. To support our efforts in creating this content, please consider making a small monthly or one-off donation. Your contributions help us with production costs, and after expenses, every penny goes towards conservation and maintaining free public access at High Ash Farm. Support us here:https://donorbox.org/podcast-12or from the Podcast page here:Podcast | High Ash Farm

Send us a textApril unfurls its wonders at High Ash Farm as Chris Skinner guides us through a sun-dappled tapestry of nature’s finest. From the slither of a grass snake basking in the warmth to the ancient whisper of windflowers carpeting the woodland floor, this episode is a celebration of spring’s slow and swift marvels. We chase the delicate dance of brimstone butterflies, marvel at the sex-shifting ash trees in coral bloom, and uncover the secrets of dandelions and violets—all while Rat the dog keeps us on our toes. Join us for a ramble where history, wildlife, and a touch of Norfolk charm collide under blue skies.https://www.buzzsprout.com/2432378/episodes/16916576-episode-2-14-windflowers-wings-and-wily-ash.mp3?download=trueSupport the showPlease email any questions for Chris to answer on the podcast toChris@highashfarm.comThis podcast is brought to you by High Ash Farm. To support our efforts in creating this content, please consider making a small monthly or one-off donation. Your contributions help us with production costs, and after expenses, every penny goes towards conservation and maintaining free public access at High Ash Farm. Support us here:https://donorbox.org/podcast-12or from the Podcast page here:Podcast | High Ash Farm

Send us a textIn "Episode 2.13 - Stoats, Sloes, Snipe and Spawn," Chris Skinner ushers us into a misty late March morning at High Ash Farm near Norwich. A trail cam unveils the stealthy common snipe, its long beak probing the lake’s edge, while frog and toad spawn teems in the shallows—high ash caviar aplenty. Blackthorn hedges burst with blooms, promising sloe gin delights, and a bold stoat patrols the pasture with flair. A grumpy little owl and elusive green woodpeckers add to the mix, as Chris fields listener questions on hedgerows and wildlife, sharing his love for Norfolk’s vibrant spring awakening.https://www.buzzsprout.com/2432378/episodes/16876654-episode-2-13-stoats-sloes-snipe-and-spawn.mp3?download=trueSupport the showPlease email any questions for Chris to answer on the podcast toChris@highashfarm.comThis podcast is brought to you by High Ash Farm. To support our efforts in creating this content, please consider making a small monthly or one-off donation. Your contributions help us with production costs, and after expenses, every penny goes towards conservation and maintaining free public access at High Ash Farm. Support us here:https://donorbox.org/podcast-12or from the Podcast page here:Podcast | High Ash Farm

Send us a textJoin farmer Chris Skinner for another enchanting journey through the wilds of High Ash Farm in this week’s Countryside Podcast. As spring unfolds, Chris shares a magical early morning encounter with Roe deer—fairies of the wood—dancing through the undergrowth, their velvet antlers catching the first light. Back at the farm, the porch comes alive with tiny black garden ants, emerging from hibernation to feast on honey and prepare for their annual marriage flight, a spectacle that links them to the farm’s green woodpeckers, or yaffles, whose haunting calls echo through Fox’s Grove. Chris explores the delicate balance of woodland life, from the predation challenges facing the lesser spotted woodpecker to the potential for Beaver rewilding in the farm’s water meadows. The episode concludes with a soggy but rewarding visit to Burnt House Meadow, where primroses paint the banks in lemon yellow, heralding the first roses of spring. Along the way, listeners from Norfolk to California share their wildlife sightings, from fieldfares to white-tailed eagles, reminding us of nature’s global symphony. Tune in for a celebration of the small and the mighty, all thriving in the Norfolk countryside.https://www.buzzsprout.com/2432378/episodes/16828016-episode-2-12-deer-dances-and-ant-armies.mp3?download=trueSupport the showPlease email any questions for Chris to answer on the podcast toChris@highashfarm.comThis podcast is brought to you by High Ash Farm. To support our efforts in creating this content, please consider making a small monthly or one-off donation. Your contributions help us with production costs, and after expenses, every penny goes towards conservation and maintaining free public access at High Ash Farm. Support us here:https://donorbox.org/podcast-12or from the Podcast page here:Podcast | High Ash Farm

Send us a textIn this exhilarating episode of the Countryside Podcasts, Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin venture across High Ash Farm on a crisp mid-March morning, where spring begins to unfurl its wonders. From a windswept hill, they marvel at the elusive mad March hares—tawny-gold giants lounging on their seats, mere yards away—joined by Chinese water deer in a fleeting chase across the fields. The journey shifts to a secretive woodland hide, where nuthatches, blue tits, and jays flaunt their breeding plumage, feasting on feeders amidst the rustle of sycamores and sweet chestnuts. As the sun breaks through, the farm’s flora takes centre stage: delicate lent lilies nod on steep slopes, bluebell shoots promise future carpets, and lesser celandines gleam like tiny suns along a babbling stream. Packed with tales of split-lip calls, historical hares on Iceni coins, and the relentless pace of nature’s renewal, this episode is a jubilant celebration of March’s wild heartbeat.https://www.buzzsprout.com/2432378/episodes/16791145-episode-2-11-leverets-and-lent-lilies-a-march-awakening.mp3?download=trueSupport the showPlease email any questions for Chris to answer on the podcast toChris@highashfarm.comThis podcast is brought to you by High Ash Farm. To support our efforts in creating this content, please consider making a small monthly or one-off donation. Your contributions help us with production costs, and after expenses, every penny goes towards conservation and maintaining free public access at High Ash Farm. Support us here:https://donorbox.org/podcast-12or from the Podcast page here:Podcast | High Ash Farm

Send us a textIn this vibrant episode of the Countryside Podcasts, recorded on a glorious spring morning in early March at High Ash Farm, Chris Skinner and his co-host immerse listeners in the thriving world of nature. From the mobile bird hide (Chris’s farm truck), they observe the bustling High Ash Rookery, where rooks are busy rebuilding nests and laying eggs in ash and oak trees, adapting to the loss of their beloved elms due to Dutch Elm disease. The episode captures the rooks’ fascinating social dynamics, including their pecking order and playful thievery, set against a backdrop of Norfolk’s picturesque countryside. The journey continues to a luxurious bird hide, where an array of buntings—corn, reed, and the dazzling yellow hammer—feast on a bountiful spread, offering close-up views of these colourful species. Finally, by Chris Skinners Lake, signs of otters spark excitement, with plans to capture footage of these elusive visitors. Packed with vivid descriptions, ecological insights, and a celebration of biodiversity, this episode is a joyful ode to spring’s awakening.https://www.buzzsprout.com/2432378/episodes/16752270-episode-2-10-nest-builders-and-seed-seekers.mp3?download=trueSupport the showPlease email any questions for Chris to answer on the podcast toChris@highashfarm.comThis podcast is brought to you by High Ash Farm. To support our efforts in creating this content, please consider making a small monthly or one-off donation. Your contributions help us with production costs, and after expenses, every penny goes towards conservation and maintaining free public access at High Ash Farm. Support us here:https://donorbox.org/podcast-12or from the Podcast page here:Podcast | High Ash Farm

Send us a textEpisode 2.9 - Gravestones and Orchids: Echoes of EarthStep into the shadow of Caistor St. Edmund’s ancient churchyard with Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin, where weathered gravestones murmur tales of High Ash Farm’s toilers—men like “Happy” Holden and a boy who ploughed with horses before sailing to New Zealand. History fades into nature’s embrace as the duo tread a pollen field ablaze with bee orchids, their sudden bloom a riddle from centuries past, whispered through soil and fungal threads. Redwings flicker like embers across the hillside, woodpeckers drum spring’s arrival, and listeners’ queries unveil moths, robins, and deer in motion. From ancestral echoes to the wild’s quiet miracles, this episode stitches time and tide into Norfolk’s living tapestry.https://www.buzzsprout.com/2432378/episodes/16709701-episode-2-9-gravestones-and-orchids-echoes-of-earth.mp3?download=trueSupport the showPlease email any questions for Chris to answer on the podcast toChris@highashfarm.comThis podcast is brought to you by High Ash Farm. To support our efforts in creating this content, please consider making a small monthly or one-off donation. Your contributions help us with production costs, and after expenses, every penny goes towards conservation and maintaining free public access at High Ash Farm. Support us here:https://donorbox.org/podcast-12or from the Podcast page here:Podcast | High Ash Farm

Send us a text"Travelers Above, Toilers Below" bids adieu to winter’s visitors and unearths the quiet laborers of the countryside. Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin at High Ash Farm under February’s low sun as they watch fieldfares and redwings fuel up for their North Sea journey, their cinnamon-speckled breasts aglow. Beneath the pastures, moles toil in darkness, shaping the soil with their velvet-clad strength and leaving mole hills as evidence of their unseen empire. From the warmth of apricity to tales of a mole felling a king, this episode weaves natural history with wonder. A teaser of harvest mice nesting in shredded grass hints at spring’s approach, while Rat the terrier adds his playful chaos. Celebrate the fleeting beauty of migration and the steadfast work below in this heartfelt farewell to February.https://www.buzzsprout.com/2432378/episodes/16663195-episode-2-8-travelers-above-toilers-below.mp3?download=trueSupport the showPlease email any questions for Chris to answer on the podcast toChris@highashfarm.comThis podcast is brought to you by High Ash Farm. To support our efforts in creating this content, please consider making a small monthly or one-off donation. Your contributions help us with production costs, and after expenses, every penny goes towards conservation and maintaining free public access at High Ash Farm. Support us here:https://donorbox.org/podcast-12or from the Podcast page here:Podcast | High Ash Farm