SideCountry Podcast

SideCountry Network
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  • Wilderness

A podcast about the people, places and ideas shaping the British countryside. Featuring voices from across the SideCountry network, each episode brings informed conversation, candid opinion and occasional disagreement to rural life in all its forms. Expect interviews and round-table discussions spanning conservation, farming, forestry, food, field sports, outdoor life, land management, culture and countryside policy.Serious when it needs to be, irreverent when it doesn’t, SideCountry looks beyond the familiar divides to explore how the countryside works, who it belongs to and what its future might hold. SideCountry: https://sidecountry.co.uk/shows/sidecountry/ ABOUT THE SIDECOUNTRY NETWORK SideCountry is an independent multimedia network for everyone who works in, on, lives in or simply loves the British countryside.Through podcasts, films, writing and more, it brings together people, stories, practical knowledge and informed opinion from across rural and outdoor life. SideCountry covers everything from land management, conservation and countryside policy to food, farming, forestry, field sports, outdoor pursuits and rural culture. Discover SideCountry: https://sidecountry.co.uk/ Explore all shows: https://sidecountry.co.uk/shows/ Support SideCountry: https://www.patreon.com/SideCountryNetwork

Episodes

  1. 3d ago

    What The Hell is SideCountry?

    What connects baking sourdough, climbing mountains, keeping chickens, deer stalking, forestry, fishing, farming and knowing how to sharpen a chainsaw? In this episode - broqadcast across every show on the SideCountry Network - Richard Prideaux and George Browne attempt to explain what SideCountry actually is, why it was built, and where the network is heading. They start with George’s idea of the “sourdough pipeline”: the idea that apparently unrelated countryside interests are often connected by the same desire to learn, make, understand and do things for yourself. From there, they look at how SideCountry brings those worlds together - not as one enormous general-interest podcast, but as a network of shows, articles, films and resources covering different parts of life in the British countryside. They also explain why SideCountry aims to occupy some of the ground between the usual rural tribes and echo chambers; bringing farmers, foresters, anglers, shooters, walkers, conservationists, climbers and others into the same wider conversation without insisting that every subject needs a simple good-versus-bad answer. Richard and George discuss plans to establish SideCountry as a Community Interest Company, how the project will be funded, why commercial income will be reinvested into the network, and the importance of maintaining editorial independence. There is also a look at what’s already here - SideCountry, Countryslide and Fish and Game - and some of what is coming next, including Wild Food People, a forestry show, How the Countryside Works and Land Girls, alongside articles, gear guides, practical resources and films. Plus drive-by agronomy, aggressive protein acquisition, Kevlar kilts, Heath Robinson smokers, professional explaining and the continuing possibility of a company yacht. This episode is being published across the SideCountry podcast feeds as an introduction to the wider network.Find out more, sign up for the newsletter or get involved at sidecountry.co.uk. CreditsPresented by George Browne and Richard Prideaux Produced and edited for SideCountry by Amy Green. DISCLAIMER Views are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.

  2. Aug 20

    What Happens When Wheat Stops Paying?

    Britain's 2026 harvest has been brutally early, dry and disappointing. With cereal yields down across much of the country, the obvious story is drought. But the economics underneath it may be more important. Herefordshire farmer Martin Williams joins Richard Prideaux and Richard Negus to explain why he decided last year not to grow cereals at all. What follows is a wider conversation about the business of British farming: shrinking margins, fertiliser and fuel costs, SFI, global grain markets, dairy, land prices, mixed farming, anaerobic digestion and solar. They also look at the uncomfortable question of what farmers should actually do when producing food no longer offers the best return from their land. Martin argues that British agriculture is already consolidating, that policy has helped shape some decidedly odd business decisions, and that adapting to a changing climate will require more than simply hoping next year's weather is kinder. The conversation finishes with water: storing more of it, keeping more of it in soils, sharing it better, and using it to build farming businesses capable of coping with hotter summers and wetter winters. Plus: Poldark, recreational tillage and the important distinction between a Merlo and a bottle of Merlot. In this episodeWhy Martin Williams decided not to grow cereals this yearWhat the 2026 harvest looks like across England and ScotlandWhy wheat margins have become increasingly difficult for some farmersThe impact of fertiliser, diesel and other input costsHow SFI and agricultural policy are influencing cropping decisionsWhy a poor UK harvest does not necessarily mean higher food pricesGlobal grain markets, Russia and the importance of logisticsLand values, agricultural borrowing and the strange economics of farmlandWhy dairy farmers can be buying and selling cows at the same timeWhether British farming could ever return to more mixed farming systemsThe long-term decline in the number of farms and the consolidation of agricultureEnergy crops, anaerobic digestion and the debate around food versus fuelSolar farms, land use and what happens to agricultural land over the long termHow climate change and increasingly erratic weather affect farm resilienceWhy Martin thinks water storage and water management should be a priority for British farmingThe role of collaboration, farm reservoirs and soil organic matter in adapting to drier summersLinksSustainable Farming Incentive 2026 — Defra guidanceAgricultural Industries Confederation (AIC)AIC policy team — including Ed BarkerLloyds Bank agriculture — with Ben MakowieckiFuture Biogas — anaerobic digestion and energy cropsTurriff ShowNational Farmers’ UnionDefra drought support — including funding for on-farm reservoirsDefra guidance on farming during prolonged dry weather and droughtCreditsPresented by Richard Negus and Richard Prideaux Produced for SideCountry by George Browne and edited by Amy Green.  DISCLAIMER Views are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.

  3. Aug 11

    Do Britain's Uplands Need Managing?

    Do Britain’s uplands need more management, less management, or simply a different kind? Recorded at The Game Fair 2026, Richard Negus and George Browne are joined by Dr Nick Hesford and Dr Felix Meister of the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust to examine the red grouse and the much larger argument surrounding its habitat. The conversation ranges across heather moorland, muirburn, wildfire, legal predator control, grouse disease and GWCT’s long-running research into falling breeding productivity. Nick and Felix set out the Trust’s interpretation of the evidence and explain why they see red grouse management as a driver of benefits for curlew, lapwing, golden plover, black grouse and rural communities. They also confront the politics around grouse shooting, the idea that management is inherently bad, and the difficulty of getting competing camps to look at the same landscape together. Rewilding, ecosystem services and changing Scottish policy all enter the discussion, along with the deceptively simple question beneath it: if nobody manages the moor, what happens next? In this episode Why heather moorland is rare, valuable and politically contestedWhat GWCT’s long-term red grouse monitoring is beginning to revealMuirburn, peat, carbon and the distinction between prescribed fire and wildfirePredator control, the Otterburn experiment and ground-nesting birdsLouping ill, strongyle worms, ticks and grouse breeding productivityThe class politics surrounding grouse shooting and conservationRewilding, ecosystem services and the reality that every land use creates winners and losersHow joint monitoring can bring gamekeepers and raptor workers onto common groundLinks GWCT guide to conservation and grouse moorsThe Moorland Balance — GWCT’s detailed guide to grouse and moorland managementGWCT’s 2026 red grouse research updatePredator control and moorland birds — the Otterburn experimentGWCT Scotland team — Nick Hesford and Felix MeisterGWCT Scotland Moor Walks 2026Future Moors and changing upland policyNatureScot guidance on muirburn licensingScottish Government independent review of grouse moor management — the Werritty ReportPresented by Richard Negus and George Browne Edited and Produced for SideCountry by Amy Green. DISCLAIMER Views are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.

  4. Aug 11

    What Makes a Wildfire Wild?

    What makes a wildfire wild? In the first SideCountry episode, Richard Prideaux, George Browne and Amy Green follow that deceptively simple question into the increasingly urgent problem of fire in the British countryside. The conversation begins with a peregrine hitting George’s window and Australia’s alleged fire-spreading raptors, before turning to the fires that have affected moorland, woodland, farmland and communities across Britain. They discuss human ignition, disposable barbecues and campfires; the appeal of ‘voluntary outlawdom’ outdoors; and the difficult balance between greater access, personal freedom and responsibility. There are no neat answers. Rewetting, prescribed burning, cutting, grazing and changes in land management all enter the argument, along with climate change, fuel load, deep-burning peat and the tribal politics surrounding rewilding and grouse-moor management. The result is a wide-ranging discussion about risk, blame and what a more fire-resilient countryside might actually require — with a flaming buzzard, cultural burning and the Theft Act taking the occasional supporting role. In this episode Firehawks, peregrines and opportunistic wildlifeWhat British agencies and the public mean by ‘wildfire’Human ignition, disposable barbecues, lanterns and campfiresClimate change, dry weather and increasingly unpredictable conditionsRewetting, prescribed burning, cutting, grazing and fuel managementCool burns, deep peat fires and ecological damageAccess, freedom, responsibility and enforcementWhy the wildfire debate so quickly becomes ecopoliticalLinks Presented by Richard Prideaux, George Browne and Amy Green Edited and Produced for SideCountry by Amy Green. DISCLAIMER Views are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.

  • 4 Episodes

About

A podcast about the people, places and ideas shaping the British countryside. Featuring voices from across the SideCountry network, each episode brings informed conversation, candid opinion and occasional disagreement to rural life in all its forms. Expect interviews and round-table discussions spanning conservation, farming, forestry, food, field sports, outdoor life, land management, culture and countryside policy.Serious when it needs to be, irreverent when it doesn’t, SideCountry looks beyond the familiar divides to explore how the countryside works, who it belongs to and what its future might hold. SideCountry: https://sidecountry.co.uk/shows/sidecountry/ ABOUT THE SIDECOUNTRY NETWORK SideCountry is an independent multimedia network for everyone who works in, on, lives in or simply loves the British countryside.Through podcasts, films, writing and more, it brings together people, stories, practical knowledge and informed opinion from across rural and outdoor life. SideCountry covers everything from land management, conservation and countryside policy to food, farming, forestry, field sports, outdoor pursuits and rural culture. Discover SideCountry: https://sidecountry.co.uk/ Explore all shows: https://sidecountry.co.uk/shows/ Support SideCountry: https://www.patreon.com/SideCountryNetwork

Information

  • Creator
    SideCountry Network
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © SideCountry Network
  • Show Website
    SideCountry Podcast