300 episodios

Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of the British Isles

Open Country BBC Radio 4

    • Ciencia

Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of the British Isles

    Tales from the Quoile Riverbank

    Tales from the Quoile Riverbank

    Over the centuries the River Quoile has carried Vikings, steam ships and cargoes of coal and timber from as far afield as the Baltic and Canada. Today it's a river for leisure pursuits – popular with canoeists, anglers and wildlife enthusiasts.
    Cadogan Enright is a councillor, environmental campaigner and chairman of the local canoe club. He takes Helen Mark out on the river to sing its praises, but also to point out concerns. He tells her that Downpatrick and the surrounding countryside were prone to tidal flooding in the past, but now the threat comes from the land - with increasing winter storms leaving the land saturated. Helen meets Robert Gardiner, chairman of the railway museum, who shows her how the water flooded their exhibition gallery last year and has threatened the museum's financial future.
    Back on the riverbank, Helen meets Stephen O'Hare, a member of the River Quoile Trust which campaigns for improvements to the river. He shows her the remains of quays along the riverbank, which were once busy dockside areas for cross channel steam ships during the industrial revolution. Trade died out because of the unpredictability of the tides and the difficulties of navigating Strangford Lough out to the Irish sea, and came to a halt in 1957 when a flood barrier was built at the mouth of the river.
    As for the Vikings – they haven't quite disappeared. Viking historian Philip Campbell and a group of enthusiasts have built a re-enactment village and a replica longship which they sail on stretches of the Quoile. He tells Helen that, as its dragon head noses through the waters which wind around the gentle drumlin countryside, he is filled with appreciation for the beauty of the river and its importance through the centuries.
    Produced by Kathleen Carragher

    • 24 min
    Reed cutting at Cley

    Reed cutting at Cley

    Bernard Bishop has lived and worked on the Cley marshes for his whole life. It's the Norfolk Wildlife Trust's oldest reserve and home to a plethora of birdlife, sealife and grazing saltmarsh cattle. Bernard and his family have been cutting reeds to be used for thatching from the marsh for five generations and counting. Bernard talks to Ruth Sanderson as he cuts this year's reed crop with his son and nephew. With birds calling overhead, he reflects on a life spent working in and loving this very special landscape.
    Produced and presented by Ruth Sanderson

    • 24 min
    The changing river with Philippa Forrester

    The changing river with Philippa Forrester

    For over two decades presenter and wildlife expert Philippa Forrester has lived in a house with a river flowing through the garden. It's home to an abundance of species including Kingfisher, Mink and Egrets, and it's been the backdrop to a remarkable period of time when Philippa helped raise two orphaned otter cubs ready to be released back into the wild.
    In this programme Philippa tells some of the stories of this river, and remembers how whole trees and even a car have come floating past after particularly heavy rains. She talks about how the river changes in the seasons, but also how she's seen legions of Signal Crayfish marching down after the sluice gate has been opened. Philippa drops down to Keynsham to speak to Simon Hunter about what can be done to help tackle this invasive species, and Ben Potterton from The Otter Trust pops over to the house to talk about those enigmatic and elusive carnivores.
    Presenter: Philippa Forrester
    Guest: Ben Potterton, The Otter Trust
    Guest: Simon Hunter, Bristol Avon Rivers Trust
    Producer: Toby Field for BBC Audio Bristol

    • 24 min
    Mabel's mountain trip with hares

    Mabel's mountain trip with hares

    "In the winter when the snow is there it's a different world, escaping into the silence. It has a hint of the forbidding too because you feel you're going on true adventures." Andrew Cotter.
    It's almost two years now since Iain Cameron and Andrew Cotter took producer Miles Warde on a lengthy summer mountain hike. They all agreed they'd love to come back in the winter, in the snow, kitted out and accompanied by at least one of Andrew's famous dogs. Olive stayed at home for this one; but buoyed up by endless biscuits and chicken bits, Mabel made it over four Munros in the ice and snow near Glenshee. It was a grand day out.
    Andrew Cotter is a sports broadcaster and author of Olive, Mabel and Me. His friend Iain Cameron is a snow patch researcher and author of The Vanishing Ice.
    The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde.

    • 24 min
    Return of the Derry Girl

    Return of the Derry Girl

    Derry/Londonderry has a conflicted past but is fiercely loved and celebrated by its inhabitants. In the 21st century, it's shaping a new identity and redefining itself. The success of the hit TV sitcom 'Derry Girls' has breathed new life into the civic vision of the city and its surrounding landscape, shining a global spotlight on a place so often defined only by its troubled history. Marie-Louise Muir is native to the city and has resettled there after years of living away. In this programme, she discovers the new atmosphere of pride which is emerging and explores the new narrative of the city and its surroundings.
    Produced by Ruth Sanderson

    • 24 min
    Creative Island with Anneka Rice

    Creative Island with Anneka Rice

    Anneka Rice’s favourite place on earth is the Isle of Wight. As an accomplished and enthusiastic painter, its landscape and atmosphere have inspired her art for as long as she can remember. And she’s not alone. On today’s Open Country, Anneka sets out to discover why the island is one of the most creative places in the UK, famous for attracting poets, painters and photographers to its shores. From legendary names such as Tennyson, Keats and Dickens, to modern-day local artists, Anneka considers whether it’s the sense of remoteness from the mainland, the ever-changing coastal landscape, the sense of community or something less tangible that inspires so much creativity.
    Please scroll down on the Open Country page of the Radio 4 website to find photos from the day and also the 'related links' box for more information about the interviewees.
    Producer: Karen Gregor

    • 24 min

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