The Plodcast

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BBC Countryfile Magazine brings you The Plodcast - a weekly escape to the British countryside with fascinating guests and the wonders of the great outdoors. Enjoy a new escape into the countryside every Tuesday and wind down with our Sound Escapes on a Friday. Find out more about us at www.countryfile.com/podcast Subscribe to the print version of BBC Countryfile Magazine at https://www.ourmediashop.com/bbc-countryfile-magazine-wmonx25

11 HR AGO

338. Discover the bizarre tale of the last battle fought on English soil - with writer Ian Breckon

Did you know that the last battle fought on English soil occurred in the early years of Queen Victoria – out in the Kent countryside? Historical novelist Ian Breckon has unearthed the extraordinary tale of Mad Tom and his 'rising' in the late 1830s and what it tells us about rural life at the time. Ian spoke with Plodcast host Fergus Collins on a walk in London's Highgate Woods.Ian's book Mad Tom's Rising: The Revolutionary Mystic Sir William Courtenay and the Last Battle Fought on English Soil is published by Icon Books.Our Facebook page is back! Search "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

57 min
4 DAYS AGO

Sound Escape 260. Hear a lost sound of the countryside: the clattering mill

This week we're featuring a lost sound of the countryside – the curious melodies of clattering mills. These were wind-powered devices on tall poles that made a racket to scare birds from the crops – especially starlings plundering cherry crops. Thanks to Sonke Prigge for collecting these incredible sounds, which will be included in the British Library’s Very Rare and Lost Sounds collection. This is special strand within the Library's national sound archive dedicated to preserving audio that’s at risk of disappearing or already forgotten.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 Sonke Prigge 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

8 min
10 FEB

337. Head into the green lanes of Devon to discuss honesty boxes and mental health with writer Lucy Brazier

What is an honesty box? And how did it help writer Lucy Brazier understand her husband's serious mental health issues and save her marriage? And all this against a backdrop of a quirky and often challenging rural existence in deepest Devon. Plodcast host accepted Lucy's invitation for a walk and deep and meaningful talk on one of those rare, crisp winter days. Lucy's book The Honesty Box: the diary of a broken marriage, a mental health crisis and a large marrow is published by Bloomsbury.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

54 min
6 FEB

Sound Escape 259. Enjoy the early morning crunch of footsteps in fresh snow

You awake to a strange silence, a deep calm. As you draw back the curtain, you are surprised to see a soft blanket of snow across the garden and beyond. This wasn't forecasted. But, like the boy in the Snowman, you quickly pull on warm clothes and dash out to explore – to be the first to lay down a trail of footsteps in the fresh snow. Sparrows, a gorgeous song thrush and distant barking hounds provide the commentary.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. 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

12 min
3 FEB

336. Come for a wander in a winter woodland - and then enjoy the Big Garden Birdwatch

This week, Plodcast host Fergus sets out to find signs of spring in seldom-visited woodland in south Monmouthshire. Listen on for a mindful Plodcast full of eerie midwinter atmosphere. Later, Fergus returns to his garden to record a Big Garden Birdwatch for the RSPB. 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

41 min
30 JAN

Sound Escape 258. Wild encounters and roaring waves on the Sussex coast

The pipes and flutes of curlews, oystercatchers and redshanks rise occasionally above the rush and roar of breakers on this little visited haven along the Sussex coast. You walk along the high tide line, splashing through pools of cockle and limpet shells. 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

13 min
27 JAN

335. Meet the rebel wilding lord trying to build the WildKingdom

Hugh Crossley aka Lord Somerleyton has rewilded large parts of his estate on the Norfolk-Suffolk border. After initial success spreading his message across East Anglia – in what he and his rewilding partners called WildEast – Hugh is aiming to spread his 'Map of Dreams' across the whole of the UK.Plodcast host Fergus Collins went for a wander with Hugh around his estate for an entertaining talk about his WildKingdom plans – and how he has needed to break convention and challenge tradition to make his voice heard.For more about WildKingdom and the Map of Dreams, head to wildeast.co.ukThe 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

1h 3m
23 JAN

Sound Escape 257. Hear a garden come alive with birdsong as it is warmed by the winter sun

After several days of intense cold deep in the Sussex countryside, a bright, warmer morning encourages a procession of birds to move through the garden in search of food – from rooks and jackdaws to dunnocks, robins and long-tailed tits. The resident sparrows seem to cheerfully welcome these visitors. 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

17 min

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Fergus Collins

Host

BBC Countryfile Magazine brings you The Plodcast - a weekly escape to the British countryside with fascinating guests and the wonders of the great outdoors. Enjoy a new escape into the countryside every Tuesday and wind down with our Sound Escapes on a Friday. Find out more about us at www.countryfile.com/podcast Subscribe to the print version of BBC Countryfile Magazine at https://www.ourmediashop.com/bbc-countryfile-magazine-wmonx25