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We're walking in a summertime Narnia of dappled pathways, whispering leaves and the tall, smooth-skinned trunks of beech trees. This is the Blackwood Forest in Hampshire and as dusk falls on an evening in early June, a woodland choir marks the passing of the day.

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 Caroline Greene, introduced by Hannah Tribe.

Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com
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Savour the joys of foraging – this time in an urban green haven in the middle of Bristol. Plodcast host Fergus joins foraging expert Andy Hamilton for a journey into unusual flavours – and learns how to use wild plants to enhance everyday meals – and drinks.

Andy's latest book is The First-Time Forager, published by The National Trust.

Later, join the Plodcast team in the studio for a very special celebration!

Listen to Episode 192. A quest for rare wildflowers in the Avon Gorge - with Mike Dilger:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3PhEIpZDJZftG3a0b4B4U0?si=c0920a1075504655
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-plodcast/id886112661?i=1000611378135

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: editor@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.

Produced by Jack Bateman and Lewis Dobbs. Music written and performed by Blair Dunlop.

Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's a hot midsummer day and sunlight sparkles along a stretch of gentle rapids on the River Usk. On the riverbank, floods have carved small cliffs enticing a colony of sand martins to create a stronghold. The birds sally forth to hunt insects – chattering as they go.

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, introduced by Hannah Tribe.

Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Should some animals be killed in order to protect rarer species or precious habitats? Everything from hedgehogs and mink to crows and deers has been targeted in recent years in order to 'save' something else and it's a controversial issue that has troubled conservationists and land managers in the UK for many years.

Naturalist and hedgehog champion Hugh Warwick discusses the rights and wrongs of culling wild animals with Plodcast host Fergus on a late spring walk in a Welsh meadow.

Hugh's book Cull of the Wild: Killing in the Name of Conservation is out now, published by Bloomsbury.

Produced by Jack Bateman and Lewis Dobbs. Music written and performed by Blair Dunlop. Don't forget you can claim a free copy of BBC Countryfile Magazine – simply head to try.countryfile.com/plodcast and sign up for the latest edition.

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: editor@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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dusk is falling after a busy bank holiday and a welcome peace is settling over the neighbourhood. The flowering clematis and roses seem to breathe a sigh of relief, exhaling a calming perfume. As you sit down on a garden bench, a blackbird sings his sultry love song from the gable of next door's house.

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, presented by Hannah Tribe. Image by Getty

Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Portland Bill in Dorset is famous as a first landing site for thousands of migrant birds as they arrive to breed in the UK this spring and summer. Join Kevin Parr as he wanders this peninsular meeting these avian travellers – and he makes some extraordinary finds along the way. How many bird species can you hear in this recording?

Produced by Jack Bateman and Lewis Dobbs. Music written and performed by Blair Dunlop. Don't forget you can claim a free copy of BBC Countryfile Magazine – simply head to try.countryfile.com/plodcast and sign up for the latest edition.

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: editor@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.

Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices