Scotland Outdoors

BBC Radio Scotland

4.8 (41)
SCIENCE
UPDATED WEEKLY

A topical guide to life in the Scottish outdoors.

5 HRS AGO

A Winter Solstice Special

Mark and Rachel are joined by the Astronomer Royal for Scotland, Professor Catherine Heymans who can tell us what’s actually happening to earth to make the days so short. Mark finds out whether our garden birds are impacted by the short days, and he also visits the Nature Scot Forvie National Nature Reserve where despite the dark and cold, new life is arriving as seal pups are being born. While we’re experiencing our shortest day, Antarctica will be marking their Summer Solstice. Rachel chats to Maggie Coll, a wildlife monitor with the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust who manage Port Lockroy. She tells us what conditions are like there and tips to cope with 24-hour daylight. Joining us in the car park is Professor of Human Geography at University of Edinburgh, Hayden Lorimer. We chat to Hayden about the different ways people have marked the winter solstice throughout time. And we also discuss the best ways to cope with the short days and lack of light. Our Scotland Outdoors podcast this week features the last instalment of our Kidnapped series. We hear an excerpt as Mark nears the end of his journey along the Stevenson Way. And Rachel meets storyteller Jackie Ross at the East Aquhorthies Stone Circle near Inverurie to hear some tales of the winter solstice and some superstitions linked to this time of year.

1h 27m
3 DAYS AGO

Kidnapped and the Stevenson Way - Part 4

Mark Stephen follows the route from Balquhidder to Corstorphine in Edinburgh

29 min
DEC 14

Firth of Forth Oysters, Soil Cubes and Dolphin Communication

Mark meets builder and artist Becky Little whose work is being displayed as part of an exhibition called A Fragile Correspondence at the V&A in Dundee. Her work involves using soil from different areas in Orkney made into cubes. A WWF Scotland scheme which is aiming to create seagrass meadows and restore oysters to the Forth has reached a major milestone. Rachel visits the Restoration Forth project to hear about what they’ve achieved so far and what their plans are for the future. Mark is in The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum where there’s currently an exhibition all about the Dundee Naturalists’ Society which is marking its 150th anniversary this year. Mark met up with some of the members to hear about the group’s history and what they get up to now. Listeners have been getting in touch with Out of Doors to tell us they aren’t seeing the usual numbers of garden birds at their bird feeders and tables. Mark met up with Ian Broadbent, North-East Scotland recorder for the Scottish Ornithologists' Club, to chat about whether numbers of garden visitors are down, and what might be the cause. They also speak about what we can do to help encourage birds and get them through the winter. We’re joined live by Dr Julie Oswald from the University of St Andrews who has developed a groundbreaking tool that uses machine learning to identify dolphin species based on their calls. We hear some examples of what dolphins sound like and find out why identifying them is important. It’s the time of year to coorie down and listen to some folktales and we have just the thing with two tales from our recent trip to Islay, an island full of myths and legends. There’s a new eye-catching steel sculpture in Callendar Park in Falkirk. It’s been created by artist Caspar J Wilson and is a memorial to those who experienced loss in the Covid pandemic. Rachel met Caspar and heard how he spoke to hundreds of people in the local community before creating the sculpture. And our Scotland Outdoors podcast this week features Helen Needham looking through some audio gems from BBC Scotland's archive including an Orkney Hurricane, Sightings of the Loch Ness Monster in the 1930's and Terrifying Sounds from the Hamilton Mausoleum which is what we hear an excerpt of.

1h 21m
DEC 11

An Orkney Hurricane, Sightings of the Loch Ness Monster in the 1930's and Terrifying Sounds from the Hamilton Mausoleum

Helen Needham presents some audio gems from BBC Scotland's archive

22 min
DEC 7

Queen Victoria's Picnic Cottage, Thick Trunk Tuesday and Swimming in the Clyde

Last week Rachel was in Aberfoyle where the Scottish Countryside Rangers Association was celebrating their 50th anniversary. The organisation brings rangers together to share ideas and highlight potential challenges facing the sector. She chatted to some of those who’ve recently retired, and those who are still working, about the history of the association and the importance of rangers across the country. Mark catches up with photographer Frank McElhinney whose work forms part of an exhibition called A Fragile Correspondence. It’s currently on show at the V&A in Dundee after travelling to the Venice Architecture Biennale. He tells Mark what it was like taking a little bit of Ravenscraig to Venice. A cottage where Queen Victoria enjoyed picnics will open to the public next year after being restored by the National Trust for Scotland. The cottage on Mar Lodge Estate had been in a state of disrepair for some years and Mark went along to see its transformation. Over the last few weeks, we’ve been chatting to the three finalists of BBC Scotland’s category at the BBC Food and Farming Awards, the Local Food Hero award. Earlier this week the winners were announced at a ceremony in Glasgow where Rachel and Landward’s Dougie Vipond presented the winners with a rather nice chopping board! We hear more from the event including from Rachel’s fellow judges Sheila Dillon and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and from the winners of the Local Food Hero award. Have you come across #thicktrunktuesday on social media? The hashtag has been around for a couple of years highlighting the joy of trees. We chat live to artist Tansy Lee Moir who has travelled to visit different trees and met lots of different people all through using the hashtag. She tells us what it is about trees that inspires her and why winter is the best time to appreciate them. Our Scotland Outdoors podcast this week contains the latest instalment of our series following the story of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novel, Kidnapped. We re-join the story after the Appin Murder of 1752 with Davey and Alan on the run and in need of help. Paul English explores a new 5K walking route near the Falkirk Wheel from a barge. He takes to the Jaggy Thistle to admire the route's colourful benches which are decorated with locally significant mosaic designs. Cold water swimming might seem like a modern pastime, but PhD student Lucy Janes has been researching urban swimming and found that it was actually pretty popular in Victorian Glasgow. She met Mark on the banks of the Clyde to tell him about who was going for a swim in the 1800s and what hazards they might have faced.

1h 23m
DEC 4

Kidnapped and the Stevenson Way - Part 3

Mark follows the route through Glencoe, Kinlochleven and Rannoch Moor.

25 min
NOV 30

St Andrew's Day, Central Belt Badgers and Temperature Blankets

Rachel is in Fife to meet a woman who is leading the charge on making the outdoors accessible to all. Jan Kerr set up a rambling group for those who rely on wheels, particularly mobility scooters. She tells Rachel how it came about. Over the past few years, a group of badger enthusiasts has been surveying the Central Belt to track the number of setts they can find. Having completed the length of the River Clyde, the group are now surveying between Glasgow Green and Arthur’s Seat. Mark went along to meet them as they checked a site near the M8 motorway. In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast Helen meets up with professional woodworker Callum Robinson. We hear an excerpt where he explains where his passion for wood came from. Next week the winners of the BBC’s Food and Farming Awards will be unveiled at a ceremony in Glasgow. Out of Doors and Landward have our own category – the BBC Scotland Food Hero award. Over the past few weeks, Rachel has been visiting the three finalists, and this week we hear from Lisa Houston from the Lauriston Agroecology Farm near Edinburgh which concentrates on food growing, biodiversity and community. Christmas is fast approaching and many people already have their decorations up, including their tree! But have you ever considered renting a living Christmas Tree? Laura visits a farm in Aberdeenshire where you can do just that. November 30th is of course St Andrew’s Day. And while he is the patron saint of Scotland, his day is also celebrated in many countries around the world including Poland. We’re joined live by Grażyna Zuziak to tell us about the Polish traditions of St Andrew’s Day including future telling. Helen visits Sue Laidlow who has been knitting a blanket, or rather blankets, throughout 2024 which track the changing temperatures. As temperatures change, so does the colour of the wool used which results in a rather impressive record charting a whole year of highs and lows in our temperatures. Brothers Mike and Andy Truscott are artists who under the name Kinbrae, create soundscapes usually inspired by the landscapes and nature they love most. They’ve just released some new material and took Rachel to a park where they recorded some of the sounds.

1h 24m
NOV 27

The Hidden Histories of Scottish Wood with Woodworker Callum Robinson

Helen Needham meets woodworker and author Callum Robinson

25 min

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4.8

out of 5

41 Ratings

Thank you

2021-02-13

fermquine

I lived and worked in Aberdeenshire until moving to Canada in 2003. The stories, the language and the fun on your show take me back and make me laugh.
Fantastic

2020-07-26

Claire Frances McCann

I absolutely love this podcast. I moved to Ontario 15 years ago and miss Scotland constantly. I usually go home every year but COVID put a stop to that this year. This podcast is helping ease the homesickness. Thanks guys.
Refreshing ASMR for Indoor Nature Lover

2020-02-27

batscanfly

This show is so soothing to listen to. I love Scotland Outdoors. I deeply enjoy going out in nature and this show provides me with that fix when I can't get outside.
A weekly armchair visit to Scotland

2019-04-10

bedtimepodcasts

I love this podcast - Mark and Euan have great voices to listen to. I feel I have been to Scotland, so descriptive are their accounts of the mighty Firth, Aberdeen, Galloway. Lots of nature and human stories delivered with gentle, original humour. I savour the time I spend listening to SO. Thx