Explore every episode of the podcast The Plodcast

Enjoy a mellow, beautiful ramble with herbalist and healer Brigit Anna MacNeill and find gentle joy in the wild plants we find in our gardens, parks and hedgerows. Brigit offers Plodcast host Fergus Collins deep insight into the medicinal uses of common wayside wildflowers and why we should change our approach to the idea of 'weeds'.Beautiful, meditative and healing. Read Brigit's wonderful book The Wild Within, published by September booksGet in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

After the rains, a mountain stream giggles once again. You pause beside it, marvelling that so tiny a flow should, over the years, have carved a deep cleft in the hillside that is home to gorse, rowans and stunted oaks. A raven circles overhead, its croak almost as old as the hills.BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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

Head out on an incredibly mindful, soothing – and rather wet – adventure at Budleigh Salterton estuary in Devon with celebrated ethno-botanical researcher Robin Harford. Robin has an astonishing knowledge of plants and reveals, through a technique he calls Domi, how we can all get closer to understanding the wild plants around us. Robin is talking with Annabel Ross, who is your host this week. Find out more about Robin and his many publications at his website: https://www.eatweeds.co.ukGet in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

You follow a path through woods, high above a stream. There is wind high in the trees but you can hear falling water. Suddenly the path opens into a wide glade and find yourself beside high waterfalls tumbling into the Pwll y Wrach: the Witches' Pool.BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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

The Plodcast celebrates the start of autumn with a visit to deepest Herefordshire to go foraging with expert Liz Knight. Liz extols the power of plants we tend to despise: docks, nettles and thistles and shares some wonderful wisdom about the importance of making connections with people and nature. It's a joyous expedition interrupted by one of the great Plodcast wildlife visitations of the year!Liz's latest book is A Forager's Guide to Wild Drinks: Ferments, infusions and thirst-quenchers for every season, published by SkittledogLiz's website is: https://www.foragefinefoods.com/Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

Recent rain has revived the woodland and you are compelled to take an evening walk in search of fungi along a stream and through the crunchy leaf litter. The strong, earthy scent of mushrooms fills the gloaming beneath beech trees, while grey wagtails skitter along the water.BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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

Sometimes it's vital to take some time out and reconnect with nature and the present moment. The Sharpham Trust on the River Dart in Devon offers nature-based, mindful retreats at its beautiful 500-acre estate. As well as helping visitors find a more meaningful life, the Trust practices regenerative farming and is rewilding much its land.Plodcast host Fergus Collins meets with Director of the Trust Julian Carnell to explore the power of nature and reconnection, wander in nature and discover the importance of giving ourselves permission to take time out to heal.Julian's book is Becoming the Ocean: A River Dart Journey Through the Wild, the Ancient and the SacredFor more on the Sharpham Trust, visit www.sharphamtrust.orgPhoto: Brigit Anna MacNeill Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

After months of heatwaves and drought, it's blissful to wander through a wooden valley listening to rain falling on leaves. And as if summoned by the falling water, a rare marsh tit makes its sneezing call.BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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

The Plodcast heads to the Cotswolds this week in search of King Arthur. Historian and artist Amy Jeffs has written a new study exploring the earliest origins of the legendary king. Why was he so important to medieval people and what relevance does he have today? Plodcast host Fergus Collins meets Amy in her Cotswold homeland to walk and talk all things Arthur, while searching for a Roman villa that may hold important clues to the story. Plus, if we're very lucky, Amy might sing live on the Plodcast... Amy's book: Arthur: A New Life is published by Riverrun and out September 2026.Photo: Rachael HumphriesGet in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

It's the morning after a storm on the island of Sark and you've followed a narrow track along a wooded valley that opens into a tiny cove. Taking shelter in a sea cave, you watch the animated waves roll onto the shingle.BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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

This week, the Plodcast heads to Sharpham Park Farm in the Somerset Levels to join the 'Pickle Me Walnuts' day of harvesting and preparing young walnuts to make an ancient delicacy. Roger Saul is the owner of Sharpham Park and the inspiration behind the walnut grove and he talks to Plodcast host Fergus Collins about the importance of walnuts in our diet and culture. While the walnut harvest is blessed by Bishop Michael, bishop of Bath and Wells, Fergus hears about the incredible nutritional powers of walnuts from author Lucy Williamson, learns about how you can make dyes from leaves and nuts with Emma D'Arcy, and even tries writing with walnut ink made by artist Cat Lewis. Photo by Aaron John Parker This Plodcast may contains traces of walnuts... Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=share 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

On the crunchy parched grass of the Clifton Downs, you join the crowds gathering to witness the 2026 solar eclipse. As the atmosphere builds, people deploy eclipse glasses, colanders and home-made cardboard contraptions to view the astonishing event – culminating in a rousing round of applause.BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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 Annabel Ross 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

“A fulmar once vomited in my eye!” Writer and naturalist Stephen Rutt recalls his adventures following s raindrop from source to sea for his new book The Waterlands. This week's Plodcast host is Annabel Ross, who joins Stephen on the River Thames to hear his extraordinary tales – and some wonderful birdsong among a plethora of inspiring watery wildlife encounters. Stephen's book, The Waterlands: Follow a Raindrop from Source to Sea is published by Elliott and Thompson and is out now. Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=share 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

There's nothing better on a hot afternoon than sitting in the cool of the reedbeds beside a lake. As you relax, wildlife emerges – waterbirds gossiping, bees and dragonflies buzzing and flitting, and curious plops and rustles from creatures that you can't see. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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

This week we welcome award-winning novelist and nature diarist Melissa Harrison to the Plodcast for the first time. Melissa's new novel, The Given World, is a dark and beautiful insight into the complexities of rural life in a rapidly changing world. Plodcast host Fergus Collins meets Melissa in deepest Suffolk to walk and talk about her love of the natural world and provide a glimpse into how she goes about creating her stories.The Given World by Melissa Harrison is published by Cornerstone. Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

Despite the endless drought, the river still runs. Reduced yes, but still a generous artery of life in a parched countryside. You sit beside it, cooled and reassured as numerous small birds: long-tailed tits, wrens and wagtails find similar sanctuary near the water. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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

Since they escaped into the wild in the mid 20th century, American mink have wreaked havoc on our waterways, virtually wiping out water voles and other aquatic wildlife. But a new and highly effective plan is in place to clear these small, deadly predators from the countryside. Plodcast host Fergus Collins visits the High Weald in Sussex to meet Jason Lavender who is leading the operation in the area – and learns how this decades old problem is finally being solved. Jason also has hopeful insights into how we can manage our farmed landscapes to cope with climate change and reverse the declines of our wildlife. Listen on for a dose of welcome optimism!Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

It's too hot for gardening so you retire to a wildflower meadow where a cooling breeze and gentle conversations of sparrows and jackdaws soothe your soul.BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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 Natasha Goodfellow 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

We head to Dorset this month to spend a day fishing at a lazy summer lake in the company of Plodcast regular Kevin Parr. But in a perfect Plodcast twist, Kev first has something amazing to reveal to Plodcast host Fergus – a remarkably rare bird in woods not far from his home. Listen on for adventures with long-eared owls and to hear about Kev's new writing adventures. Image by GettyKevin's book, Woodlore: Discover the Seasons and Stories of the Forest is published by Magic Cat Publishing. The new issue of Rivers Run: An Angler's Journey From Source to Sea is out now. Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

Walking high in the parched hills you suddenly hear the welcome music of running water. After a brief search, you find a small cave mouth where a spring gushes continuously. The cool water is clear and clean. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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

When we go on holiday to the coast, we tend to overlook the stories of the people who live and work there. Natasha Carthew grew up in a working class community in Cornwall and has travelled around the UK's coast to discover the hidden world of the modern seaside. Plodcast host Fergus Collins meets Natasha for a wander around Bristol Harbour to hear some of these sad, beautiful and sometimes tragic stories.Natasha's book, Rough Edges: Where Land Meets Water, the Untold Stories of Coastline Communities, is published by SceptreGet in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

It’s a sunny morning on the seashore and the tide is going out. It’s Leaving behind shallow rockpools, perfect mirrors of the crisp, blue sky. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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

Back in 1926, the first Winnie the Pooh book was published – and became one of the most loved children's stories of all time. One hundred years later, Plodcast host Fergus Collins joins Jane Riordan in the land of Pooh – Ashdown Forest in Sussex – to celebrate the work of AA Milne and EH Shepherd and hear about Jane's wonderful new sequels to the original stories.Included in this Plodcast: whitethroats, skylarks and an intense game of Poohsticks!Jane Riordan's Winnie the Pooh sequel is A Little Boy and His Bear published by Farshore.Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

As you crest a little riverside cliff, the air is filled with clicks, trills and buzzes. Squadrons of sand martins career wildly around you from their colony – a series of burrows dug into the sandy cliff face. The air is alive with aerobatic birds, including the first broods of this year's youngsters who are revelling in flight for the first time. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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. Image from GettyEmail 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

One of the biggest issues facing our wildlife and wild places is our own disconnection from the natural world. You've got to love it to save it, says this week's guest Alastair Humphreys. Plodcast host Fergus Collins meets Alastair on the River Medway in Kent to hear how we have become 'Unwilded' and what we can do to bring nature into every day of our lives – and make positive changes to the world around. Plus, Alastair takes the plunge into the river for a magnificent finale.This Plodcast also contains whitethroats, yellowhammers, kestrels and many other wild species.Alastair's book, Unwilded: Finding Our Way Back to Nature is published by Eye Books.Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

Walking beside the deep green River Medway in Kent, your path takes in a broad meander that curls around a wildflower-rich meadow. Blackcaps and whitethroats sing from hedges, young kestrels call for food and a song thrush vies with a skylark for performance of the day. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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

Is the chalk stream the purest and most delightful natural habitat in England? Plodcast host Fergus Collins heads to the Hampshire-Wiltshire border to meet author and fly fisher Simon Cooper – who lives on a mill above one of these beautiful and rare waterways. It's the perfect chance to learn why these rivers are so magical – and hear Simon's own remarkable Tales from the Mill, the title of his latest book, published by 10 Degrees Publishing.Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

You’ve taken a break on the cliff path. A young family of ravens tilt and whirl beneath you. They seem so small against the outstretched sea. Near the shore its glittering surface is spotted with a colourful group of paddleboarders.BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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

Cool off with a Plodcast adventure to Portland Bill, the southernmost tip of Dorset, to spend a day fishing with expert Callum Harris. The quest is to catch a ballan wrasse, a stunningly patterned fish that inhabits the rocky coves and gullies. Plodcast host Fergus Collins joins Callum in the hope of seeing some wildlife and learning about the joys of seafishing.Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

It's an early summer morning. The sun is already shining through the woodland. Its gleaming rays dapple the well worn path. A gleeful chorus of birdsong welcomes the coming day.BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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

This week, the Plodcast visits Penstone Learning Centre – a farm on the edge of the town of Cheddar in Somerset where students who struggle in mainstream education – often with very challenging behaviour – are taught outdoors among the animals. The results are remarkable. Plodcast host Fergus is shown around by Centre Manager Abbie Ridler and her colleague Tilly Bean – and meets some of the young people whose lives are being turned around. Listen on for a moving, funny and beautifully hopeful Plodcast episode. The star animals are the rescue hens, courtesy of the British Hen Welfare Trust. Find out more at www.bhwt.org.uk/Photo by Dave CauderyGet in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

It’s evening on the clifftop. You’re sitting on short grass. It’s still holding the heat of the day, and it’s as soft and warm as a blanket. For the nearby lambs, it’s time for bed.BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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

This week, the Plodcast heads to the island of Bute off Scotland's west coast to meet author and naturalist Lucy Lapwing to talk about her new book Love is a Toad – discussing relationships with nature with naturalist friends. Annabel Ross wanders Bute's shores with Lucy. Lucy's book is published by Bonnier Books.Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

High in the hills you enter a deep valley, green with the exuberant growth of early summer. As you wander into the woods listening to birdsong, the oak, beech and hazel gently shelter you from the soft rain.BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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

After exploring the wild inspiration for the Woodland Trust's Forgotten Forests garden at the Chelsea Flower show in last week's episode, Plodcast host Fergus Collins heads to Chelsea on Press Day to see the finished garden. He meets up again with garden designer Ashleigh Aylett and Nick Philips from the Woodland Trust to explore the magical garden and learn some of the secrets of the world's greatest gardening show.For more on the Woodland Trust's Forgotten Forests campaign: www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/protecting-trees-and-woods/campaign-with-us/forgotten-forests/For more on award-winning garden designer Ashleigh Aylett: https://aylettstudio.co.uk/Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

You deserve a break. Basking in the sun’s amber rays, on an island just off the coast of Africa, you take in the effervescent birdsong and lush vegetation. You’ve never seen so many shades of green. The glistening palm leaves sway, and lull you into a deep sense of calm.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 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

Britain's ancient woodlands are under threat and the Woodland Trust is fighting to save them with its Forgotten Forests campaign. In line with this, the Trust has asked award-winning garden designer Ashleigh Aylett to create an ancient woodland garden for the Chelsea Flower Show, the world's most famous gardening festival.In this, the first of two Chelsea Flower Show specials, Plodcast host Fergus meets Ashleigh and Nick Philips from the Woodland Trust at Penn Wood in the Chiltern Hills, an ancient woodland that helped inspire Ashleigh's design. And next week, we head to Chelsea to see the garden in situ at the show!For more on the Woodland Trust's Forgotten Forests campaign: www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/protecting-trees-and-woods/campaign-with-us/forgotten-forests/For more on award-winning garden designer Ashleigh Aylett: https://aylettstudio.co.uk/Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

Sitting beside a honeysuckle plant blooming in the late spring garden, you are lulled by the hum of many bees, while swallows twitter overhead – and a song thrush elbows his way into the conversation with a delightful rendition of all his Maytime hits.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 and introduced by Hannah Tribe. Image by GettyEmail 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 Collins ventures into the stunning mountainous region of Torridon on the west coast of Scotland to explore the lochs, woods and peaks for the first time. With two friends, he embarks on a wild fishing expedition and meets some of the extraordinary local wildlife.Plus, this episode, join the Plodcast team for a Plodchat where we share stories of nature and read out brilliant messages from listeners from our Facebook and email postbag. Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

As the dawn sun blazes over the wide Loch Torridon below, birds stir in the sheltered, verdant glen that runs down to the shore. A strident song thrush, a soft cuckoo – and not a sound of human activity.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

Professor Dave Goulson is one of Britain's foremost experts on bee ecology and conservation. And his Sussex garden is a magnificent example of how to create the perfect haven for our most precious pollinators.Plodcast host Fergus Collins enjoys a tour of this mini nature reserve and meets some of our charismatic spring bee species – while Dave tells fascinating tales of the hidden world of these astonishing insects.Dave Goulson's latest book A Bee Spotters Guide is published by The National Trust.Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

A mid-spring morning on the heath. Showers scud through on a brisk breeze, chased by the sun and a steady trickle of southerly arrivals. Among the grey peel of silver birch, a willow warbler and a chaffinch sing their steady descent. A wistful melancholy as the gorse begins to glow.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 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

We head into the city this week with urban naturalist Amanda Tuke. Amanda is a champion of the nature on your doorstep so Plodcast host Fergus Collins met her outside Cardiff Central station to begin a quest to find wildlife on a ramble through the busy city. Listen on for a Plodcast full of surprises.Amanda's book Wild Pavements: Exploring Britain's Cities with an Urban Naturalist is published by FLINT.Photo by Lily WattsGet in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

Late afternoon meets the first tendrils of dusk and the oakwoods are empty of people. Instead, birdsong fills the half-light beneath the trees: song thrush, great tit, chiffchaff and blackbird weave their spring melodies into an enchantment. 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

Head into a quiet, magical corner of Herefordshire to meet artists Jackie Morris and Tamsin Abbott who have collaborated to create Wild Folk: Tales From the Stones – stories of folklore, of nature, of landscape, love and sorrow. Plodcast host Fergus Collins was lucky enough to meet the pair and hear their own wild tales – plus some enchanting readings from the book.Wild Folk: Tales from the Stones is published by Chelsea Green and is out now.For more on Jackie Morris' work visit: www.jackiemorris.co.ukFor more on Tamsin Abbott's work: www.tamsinabbott.co.ukOur Facebook page is back! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

It's a hazy morning on the South-West coast. The sun's rays disperse across the silent waves, glittering over passing boats. A choir of birds greet you, as you sit and watch the world awaken.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. Photo by Lewis Dobbs.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

Painter John Constable (1776-1837) is today one of the most celebrated painters of the English countryside. But in his lifetime his efforts to capture the true essence of nature and rural life were often rejected by his peers. What made him so special and why is he so revered now?Now, on the 250th anniversary of Constable's birth, Plodcast host Fergus Collins meets art historian Susan Owen in 'Constable Country' on the Suffolk-Essex border to explore the great artists' world.Susan Owens' brilliant new book Constable's Year: An Artist in Changing Seasons is published by Thames and Hudson. Our Facebook page is back! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

A cool dawn, dew-dampened and soft air. In these folds of West Dorset, it will be another hour before the sun reaches above the sharp-edged ridge in the south east, but below, where the blackthorn blossom is almost spent, the birds are in full voice.The familiar voices, blackbird, song thrush and robin, now joined now by visitors from further south, the blackcap, chiffchaff and garden warbler, all singing for space as beneath a spring sends a stream away upon its first trickle. 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 and introduced by Hannah Tribe. Image from GettyEmail 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

Come metal-detecting in the Essex countryside with Ellie Bruce and Lucy Gray – who call themselves Roman Found. After taking up detecting during the first Covid lockdown, Lucy and Ellie have been sharing their exciting discoveries on social media and built up a huge following. Now they have written their first book: Thing We Found in the Ground (Harper North)Plodcast host Fergus joined Ellie and Lucy for a morning's detecting – and to learn more about the world of detectorists. They even found something...Our Facebook page is back! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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

A track winds up onto a bleak hill top – or it looks from afar. As you get closer, you realise the land is rich in bilberries, heather and small, stunted hawthorns. Soon you are in the skylark zone – with meadow pipits singing their hearts out alongside their more famous avian cousins. 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