Join folk singer and sound designer Alice Boyd in Epping Forest on the eastern edge of London as she explores the eerie, little-know soundscapes of ponds with creative sound recordist Action Pyramid, AKA Tom Fisher. Prepare for sounds of the countryside you'll have never experienced before. Find out more about Action Pyramid and his quest to explore and restore ponds: www.actionpyramid.com/ Image by Jon Rulton The Plodcast is the Publishers Podcast Awards Special Interest Podcast of the Year 2024 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 music was written and performed by Blair Dunlop. Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're walking along a seawall above a forgotten stretch of the Severn Estuary – a gentle tang of seaweed is a reminder that the open sea is not far – as are the waves that surge against the shingly shore. 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

This week the Plodcast heads into the uplands of the Bannau Brycheinog to explore the summer wildlife that abounds there. Plodcast host Fergus is hoping to find and record the songs of yellowhammers, which dwell on the lower slopes. Or so it's said. These once-common bright yellow birds have suffered a steep decline in recent decades. Do they still live here? Join the quest – and enjoy numerous other encounters along the way. The Plodcast is the Publishers Podcast Awards Special Interest Podcast of the Year 2024 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. Produced by Jack Bateman and Lewis Dobbs. Music written and performed by Blair Dunlop. Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Walk in the company of Jack and Fergus and they tackle Macmillan's Mighty Hike, a half marathon through the Wye Valley. Joining thousands of others, the Plodcast pair explore beautiful scenery, endure ferocious heat and hear the inspiring tales of cancer survivors and affected families along the way. A beautiful, uplifting adventure to end season 16 of the Countryfile Magazine Plodcast For more information on Macmillan Cancer Support Mighty Hikes, visit https://mightyhikes.macmillan.org.uk/ 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.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Magazine Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You’ve wandered into a fairy glen where pure clear water tumbles from pool to pool though mini-gorges of moss covered rocks. As your eyes adjust, you spot small trout swaying in the current, illuminated by soft sunlight that has been sieved by the tree canopy. 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

Talk a wander through a forest in the Ardennes region of north-east France with Plodcast host Fergus – and discover unfamiliar woodland sights and sounds in a land once torn apart by war. 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.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Magazine Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Your path down through the meadow’s edge is transformed in late summer as thistles, comfrey and Himalayan balsam swallow up the human-made track. You push gently through, avoiding thorns and clouds of hoverflies while goldfinch song trickles down from ash trees. 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

It’s as close to a fairy glen you’ll ever experience. Plodcast host Fergus sets off into Tollymore Forest in County Down with local guide Vikki Canavan to find strange tales and curious wildlife along a river brimming with magic. 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.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Magazine Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Magazine Eagle House Bristol 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.com Write 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

The anglers have departed, the dog-walkers have gone home. The lake is still. You are alone by a strip of woodland on the edge of the water, listening to a gentle melodies of song thrush, blackcap and chiffchaff. 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, 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

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.com Write 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.com Write 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 Highlands The 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.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Magazine Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s night in a tent on the coast of Pembrokeshire. At some point during the dark hours, you stir. The rain is still falling, and there are layers to its sound. Great marbles of water fall from the beech tree above the tent; the wind throws buckets; then both become consumed by a deluge like no other, a shower so heavy that you could be in the raincloud itself. You’re grateful for your warm sleeping bag, and before you know it you’ve dropped once more into a deep, dreamless sleep. 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’re heading back to early spring in the Welsh hills. But for the second Plodcast in a row, we’re not on foot. Following last week’s paddleboarding on the river Wye, plodcast host Fergus takes to two wheels to explore the hills of his beloved Bannau Brecheiniog. Borrowing an electric bike, he follows an old railway line into the wild to see how far he can get on a single battery charge – and get home again. This is episode 13 of season 16: Get Active in Nature Thank you to Merida for supplying the Merida eBigNine model for this podcast. 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.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Magazine Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Huddled between the urban brawn of Cardiff, Caerphilly and Newport is small woodland of spruce and birds and dank gullies. There is a stream in this woodland, the kind of you may not even notice, should your mind be elsewhere. Out of view beneath the path, it is the cool air welling up from its jostling waters that first alters you to it. You soon smell it, all earth and minerals, before finally reaching it with sight. 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’re out on the water – a two-day paddleboarding adventure on the Wye the great river that flows through the borders of England and Wales. Maria Hodson is our host, and with an enthusiastic raft of fellow paddlers she meets the river’s wildlife and explores some of the darker issues facing this troubled waterway. This is episode 12 of season 16: Get Active in Nature 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.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s a sunny evening in a wooded glade on quiet stretch of the Isle of Wight's northern shore. Just beyond the trees, the sea bustles. But here, jolly holiday makers, blackbirds, woodpeckers and even bees are celebrating the end of a fine day. 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

Head into the deep dark wood with composer and pianist Alexander Chapman Campbell to hear about his quest to raise awareness of the perils of conifer plantations – and their impact on wildlife, landscape and the human spirit. Plodcast host Fergus Collins meets Alexander in one of Wales' larger conifer plantations, Hafren Forest in Powys, to talk about trees and listen to some of Alexander's music. Where Now A Dark Wood Stands - composed by Alexander (Chapman Campbell), featuring Alexander at the piano and vocals by Julie Fowlis. Lyrics written by Alexander (Chapman Campbell), and translated into Scots Gaelic by Raghnaid Sandilands. Beneath The Northern Stars - composed and performed by Alexander, from the album Journey To Nidaros. The music video for Where Now A Dark Wood Stands can be viewed, and more of Alexander's work discovered, on his website: www.alexanderchapmancampbell.com The Plodcast is the Publishers Podcast Awards Special Interest Podcast of the Year 2024 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. Produced by Jack Bateman and Lewis Dobbs. Music written and performed by Blair Dunlop. Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week Annabel Ross ventures forth to the tangled rainforest of Wistman’s Wood on Dartmoor to meet poet Elizabeth Jane Burnett.But their mission isn’t to celebrate the revered twisted oak trees or the famous song birds – nor even the ferns and flowers. It’s the mysterious, magical and mesmerising… mosses – especially wonderful when heard through the words and verse of Elizabeth-Jane. Her new book, 12 Words for Moss champions these unsung heroes of the plant world. This is episode 11 of season 16: Get Active in Nature 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.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You spot a shelf of rock at the far end of the moon-shaped bay and make for it, the fine sand giving way to warm, angular, salt-rough ground. The scramble comes almost without thought, your bare feet gripping nimbly to the rock. You soon come to rest in a nook facing back to the shore. Kelp rolls in the mineral-blue waters at your toes; beyond that is the moon beach, your footprints already washed clean by the gently shelving waves. 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

Plodcast host Annabel Ross is on a musical mission, discovering how nature and wild sounds can influence a modern composer – in this case, acclaimed musician Erland Cooper. Hailing from the Orkneys, Erland combines field recordings and environmental messages with electronica and classical motifs and we’ll be hearing some of his music later: Solan Goose and then Movement 5 from his new album Folded Landscapes. But first let’s go with Annabel to meet Erland to have a nature ramble at a studio just outside of bath –a studio belonging to that legendary music maker Peter Gabriel. This is episode 10 of season 16: Get Active in Nature 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.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's a still summer's evening on a beach on the Isle of Wight. It’s still very warm and the heat seems to affect the sea itself. Wavelets sweep lazily onto the beach and then flop and sink into the shingle. 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 Fergus Collins. 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

The Plodcast team of Fergus, Hannah and Jack explore the River Frome in search of kingfishers, which some of the team have never seen. Along the way, they discover delightful urban wildlife, glorious wildflowers and a series of curious encounters… but do they find complete their mission? 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.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we're heading deep into the Sussex countryside in the company of writer and angler Chris Yates. In this, the first chapter from his book The Secret Carp, Chris heads out on an eerie late summer's evening to find the perfect pool for fishing. The whole work is now available as an audiobook from merlineunwin.co.uk/products/” 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.Presented by Hannah Tribe.Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.comVisit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we’re going back to early spring and a trip to the north Cotswolds in Warwickshire to meet James Macdonald Lockhart who has written a book inspired purely by birdsong. Rather like our Plodcasts, James has spent several years on quests to listen to some of Britain’s most famous – and curious – avian melodies – and his book Wild Air reveals his adventures and the little known stories behind each species. In this quest, we were after perhaps the most written about – the most composed about – bird of them all: the skylark. 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.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re near Loch Maree in western Scotland. You’re not sure what woke you first, the light or the birds. Either way, you stir peacefully in your bed, the sun casting half-light across the stone walls of the cottage as the lilts of Scotland’s avian world pour in through the open windows. A wood pigeon, a cuckoo, a blackbird. Sparrows in the eaves.   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 Fergus Collins. Image by Getty   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’re meeting naturalist Megan McCubbin who listeners will know from co-hosting TV shows such as Springwatch alongside her step-father Chris Packham. Plodcast host Fergus met up with Megan at the Hawk Conservancy Trust centre in Hampshire to talk about her new book – An Atlas of Endangered Species – and to find out more about her message of hope and action for a better future for our wild world. This is episode 7 of season 16: Get Active in Nature. 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.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're in Wester Ross in the Highlands. The drive to road’s end is long and leisurely, the statuesque mountains and island-scattered lochs of Wester Ross giving way to the persuasions of the sea. Tiny ocean inlets, sail boats, seaweed shores. By the time you reach Red Point, you hear the waves calling, and within moments you’re sat on the sand, the breaking water pulling all your senses towards 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 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

It's evening, just after midsummer's day, and a walk has taken you down a winding lane to a tiny medieval church. In the churchyard, lichen-crusted gravestones emerge from what has been left to become a flower-filled meadow. Only a few goldfinches break the mellow stillness. 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, 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

Plodcast host Fergus meets Isabella Tree, who with her husband Charlie Burrell, transformed a loss-making dairy farm at Knepp in Sussex into one of the most remarkable havens for nature recovery in Europe. Hear the incredible story – and the ongoing projects to further enrich the estate and the wider countryside with nature. Look out for Isabella's new guide to bringing nature back to the land: The Book of Wilding, published by Bloomsbury. Photograph by Anthony Cullen This is episode 6 of season 16: Get Active in Nature. 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.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re tucked deep in the folds of the north Dorset countryside. As the light fades the dusk chorus rises. In a dense thicket of thorn, a single nightingale starts to sing - drowning out the tractor mowing the year’s first silage. Its performance attracts the attention of another male, who moves in closer and soon a competitive duet fills the night. 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 Robert Ashington, presented by Hannah Tribe. Image by Getty. Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plodcast host Fergus camps overnight at the most famous rewilding estate in Britain in the hope of finally hearing nightingales on the Plodcast. But as the birds remain elusive, he joins nightingale surveyors Ivan and Alice at the crack of dawn to explore the extraordinary landscapes of Knepp, learn about the astonishing wildlife revival happening here and maybe, just maybe, catching the most magical birdsong to be heard in Britain. This is episode 5 of season 16: Get Active in Nature. With thanks to Ivan, Alice and all the team at Knepp. In next week's episode, we talk with Isabella Tree who, with her partner Charlie Burrell owns Knepp and has pioneered the rewilding project. Look out for her guide to bringing nature back to the land: The Book of Wilding, published by Bloomsbury. 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.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's late morning in a springtime Dorset garden. The morning was cool and rainy, but as the wind blows in the trees and mist clears; you look out over the hills as the bird song comes to life. Wood pigeons coo from trees now bright with fresh spring leaves. Blue tits and starlings land on the gently swaying bird feeders to eat their fill. A proud robin bounces across the stone steps into the garden, inviting you to explore. 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 Kramer-Arden, presented by Hannah Tribe. Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Head with us to deepest Powys in mid Wales to The Dreaming. This wonderful house and surrounding landscape has been opened up as a place of retreat by sing-songwriter Charlotte Church. Our own Margaret Bartlett went to meet Charlotte and learn how she uses the natural landscape and its wild sounds to help heal visitors – and herself. It's a wonderfully uplifting conversation. This is episode 4 of season 16: Get Active in Nature 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.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's early and you're sitting outside a small tent deep the Knepp Wildlands of Sussex. A pre-dawn glow smudges the eastern sky. Elsewhere it is resolutely dark – but not quiet. Like a spring storm torrent, the blended voices of robins, blackbirds, blackcaps and thrushes wash away the woodsmoke tang of last night's campfires. It is urgent, passionate and fleeting. 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. Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re in Armagh in Northern Ireland, following in the footsteps of St Patrick. The patron saint of Ireland lived in the 5th century and his incredible story has helped shape Ireland since then. But why was he drawn to Armagh? Fergus Collins set out on a new pilgrimage route called St Patrick’s Way to find out more, beginning at the mysterious ancient site of Ewain Macha – known today as Navan Fort – that was a powerful spiritual centre in preChristian Ireland and a key site in the tale of St Patrick. This is episode 3 of season 16: Get Active in Nature 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.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ebbw Vale in South Wales holds many secrets, not least within the water-rucked hillsides that feed the valley. On one such slope there is an ancient woodland. At its base a river sparkles beneath a canopy of fresh beech leaves. You cross it and climb steeply, first through trees then heath and grassland. Bluebells bob in the May breeze; a lizard rustles in the warm bracken; streams gurgle in the sun. 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 Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In episode 2 of season 16, we’re talking about walking, but in the context of a curious new film: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry starring Penelope Wilton and Jim Broadbent – about a man in his 60s who embarks on an unlikely 450 mile pilgrimage across Britain to see a dying friend.Plodcast regular Maria Hodson went to see the film – and meet Penelope and Jim, as well as the original book’s author (and writer of the screen play) Rachel Joyce to talk about the project – and their own connections to countryside. Later, Maria and Plodcast host Fergus test the power walking with a trip to the Mendip Hills near Bristol… This is episode 2 of season 16: Get Active in Nature 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.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're in Velvet Bottom nature reserve in the Mendips where woodlands and wildflowers have overun the old lead mines. It's still early spring and mistle thrushes, willow warblers, goldfinches are establishing territories in the most enchanting fashion. 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. Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Plodcast heads to the dreamy surrounds of Richmond Park in south-west London to discuss the wonders of flights with author and conductor Lev Parikian. Along the way, Lev and Plodcast host Fergus Collins encounter a host of examples of strange and exotic winged creatures. Lev's book Taking Flight: How Animals Learned to Fly and Transformed Life on Earth is published by Elliott and Thompson The music Lev mentioned in the Plodcast was: Olivier Messiaen – Catalogue d'oiseaux Einojuhani Rautavaara - Cantus Arcticus  Igor Stravinsky - Right of Spring The Plodcast is the Publishers Podcast Awards Special Interest Podcast of the Year 2024 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. Produced by Jack Bateman and Lewis Dobbs. Music written and performed by Blair Dunlop. Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the first episode of a new season, the Plodcast team of Fergus, Hannah and Jack meet up with naturalist and One Show regular Mike Dilger to search for some of Britain’s rarest plants in the magnificent Avon Gorge on the edge of Bristol.Along the way Mike shares some astonishing stories from his quest to find 1000 plant species in the UK in the course of a single year. His book about this adventure is called 1000 Shades of Green and is published by Bloomsbury. This is episode 1 of season 16: Get Active in Nature 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.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're on the northern edge of the Cotswolds in South Warwickshire – a vast open field of young barley stretches to the horizon. Quietly at first, then all of a rush, a hidden chorus of skylarks rises from the vegetation, singing exultantly, ever higher until they become specks in the cloudy heavens. 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 Maria Hodson. Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We wandering in deeply rural County Armagh. It's early spring and the rooks rule the woodlands. Nesting close together in the canopies of a dozen roadside trees, the birds create a bustling city of more than 300 birds. Pairs greet each other and squabble with neighbours – and all the while the excitement rises as the first chicks begin to hatch. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewherebeautiful, 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 Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices