Scotland Outdoors

BBC Radio Scotland

4.7 (219)
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A topical guide to life in the Scottish outdoors.

HACE 1 DÍA

Kidnapped and the Stevenson Way - Part 2

In this section, Mark leaves Mull and crosses over to Morven before heading to the site of the famous Appin Murder and the monument to mark this bloody event near Ballachulish Bridge.

23 min
HACE 5 DÍAS

Stranraer Oysters, Moray Firth Seagrass and a Moonlit Dip

Moray Ocean Community is a group of citizen scientists aiming to raise awareness of the importance of marine habitats and species. A couple of weeks ago, Mark joined members as they conducted seagrass surveys in Findhorn Bay and learned all about the range of work they carry out. Rachel is in Leven in Fife where a multi-million pound project is underway to refurbish a former flax mill. She hears about the plans including a visitor centre, a community hub and an area to show off the mill’s history. Scotland's first Alpine Coaster has opened at the Midlothian Snowsports Centre at Hillend near Edinburgh. We sent our rollercoaster expert Paul English along to experience the new way to enjoy the rolling Midlothian hills. Next month 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 her trip to the Stranraer Oyster Festival. She headed out on a boat on Loch Ryan harvesting oysters ahead of the 2024 festival kicking off. We chat live to the Glasgow Poet Laureate, Jim Carruth. Much of Jim’s writing is inspired by the rural landscape and those who live and work in it and next week he’s organised an event to raise money for the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution or the RSABI. We chat to Jim about where the idea for the event came from and why he finds raising money for the RSABI so important. Portmoak Moss is one of the few remaining raised bogs in central Scotland. The Woodland Trust site near Glenrothes holds a special place in the heart of the community as St Andrews University student Natasha Currie discovered when she set out to make a soundscape about it. She met up with Mark to tell him what’s so special about Portmoak and we hear excerpts of her recordings. Matt Sowerby is a climate activist, writer and performer who was visiting Aberdeen recently. For this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast, Helen Needham met up with him on Aberdeen Beach where he explained what climate anxiety means for him and how he finds a sense of hope in what appears to be a crisis. And Rachel heads along to a moonlit dip at Monikie Country Park in Angus. The ‘Dook n Chat’ under a (nearly) full moon was part of the Angus Outdoor Adventure Winter Festival which comes to a close this weekend.

1 h y 20 min
13 NOV

Finding Hope in a Crisis with Climate Activist Matt Sowerby

Helen Needham speaks with climate activist and writer Matt Sowerby

22 min
9 NOV

The Skipinnish Oak, Laggan Wolftrax and Fair Isle

Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart with stories from the great outdoors

1 h y 23 min
6 NOV

Kidnapped and the Stevenson Way - Part 1

We've dug into our archive to bring you a programme originally broadcast in 2012 when Mark Stephen followed the route taken by protagonist David Balfour in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel, 'Kidnapped'. In this first section, it's a brief visit to the Hawes Inn in South Queensferry before taking a boat to the Island of Erraid - which sits off Mull - and the magnificent beach where Davey found himself shipwrecked. Mark is following the Stevenson Way.

33 min
2 NOV

Caledonian Pines, Cider and the North Coast 500

A recent report showed that almost a quarter of all ancient pinewoods are at risk of disappearing altogether. Earlier this week, Mark attended Scotland’s Pinewood Conference in Fort William to find out what’s being done to preserve these woodlands It’s prime cider making time. Rachel visits Digby Lamotte at his cider making business in Perth to follow the process of producing this increasingly popular drink In the late 1700s, Dr James Mounsey, a physician, is said to have smuggled out several pounds of rhubarb seeds - worth more than gold - out of Russia to his home of Edinburgh, where he was soon honoured with the Freedom of the City. Author Barclay Price has written about James Mounsey and others in his new book Honoured by Edinburgh The North Coast 500,a hugely popular tourist route in the North of Scotland, attracts thousands of visitors each year. David Richardson of the NC 500 joins the programme to talk about the new NC500 pledge - an initiative created to encourage visitors to experience the route responsibly and respectfully Kiri Stone is the person behind woodswoman workshops in Fife. Rachel went along to one of the outdoors workshops Tracey Howe has just embarked on 5000 mile walk round the UK coastline. Following the death of her wife of nearly 40 years, Tracey found herself depressed and unable to leave the house but owning a dog forced her to get outside. Linda Sinclair met Tracey on one her final training walks

1 h y 23 min
26 OCT

Montrose Mosquitoes, the Grey Lady of Glamis Castle and Life as a Lighthouse Keeper

Mark is back at the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Montrose Basin site, but this time it isn’t geese he’s looking for, it’s mosquitos. Mark hears about the monitoring programme that the Basin is part of and why it’s important to track mosquitos for human health and also bird health. Back in 2021 Storm Arwen wreaked havoc on the North East causing lots of damage including to some of the buildings at the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses in Fraserburgh. Recently Rachel went for a visit to see how the repair work was progressing. The archipelago of St Kilda, the most westerly islands of the UK, is a wild place with a fascinating history. It was inhabited until 1930 by very hardy folks, many of whom were adept at climbing the cliffs and sea stacks to hunt for birds and their eggs. St Kilda’s climbing history is now being explored in a new film by professional climber and filmmaker Robbie Phillips. Helen Needham met up with Robbie to hear about how the film came about. Earlier in the week, it was announced that Jim McColl had died at the age of 89. Jim was one of the presenters of BBC Scotland’s Beechgrove Garden from its outset until his retirement from the programme in 2019. We hear an archive clip of Mark chatting to Jim about how he got involved in the first place. Back to the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses in Fraserburgh where Rachel hears about a project to restore one of the old lighthouse keepers’ cottages to how it might have looked in 1963. And we chat live to Mike Bullock, chief executive of the Northern Lighthouse Board, about the role of modern day lighthouse keepers. From now until Halloween, Glamis Castle near Forfar will be running what they are calling Ghosts of Glamis tours. Mark recently went along to hear some of the ghostly tales and see if he could spot any spooky goings on… In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast Mark chats to Dr Roisin Campbell-Palmer, Head of Restoration at the Beaver Trust. We hear an excerpt where Roisin tells Mark about her early involved in the re-introduction of beavers to Scotland. If you read the Guardian newspaper, you may be familiar with the Country Diary. It’s a daily natural history column which offers the reader seasonal observations and snapshots of the British Countryside. Recently Rachel met one of the regular contributors, Merryn Glover, at Loch Inch in the Highlands and asked her to reflect on what autumn means to her.

1 h y 24 min
23 OCT

Dr Roisin Campbell-Palmer, Head of Restoration at the Beaver Trust

Mark Stephen meets Dr Roisin Campbell-Palmer, Head of Restoration at the Beaver Trust. They meet at the Argaty Beaver Project near Doune in Perthshire to discuss her love of the mammal and how the reintroduction of the species is progressing

31 min

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4.7

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219 calificaciones

The best place - specific podcast

1 jul

archeoleg

It’s hard to explain the magic involved in the podcast…dense, rich, and often hilarious. If either of the two words in the title hold any appeal for you, just listen.
Love the content!

29/10/2023

ocean-calif-life-swiss-2023

Scotland Outdoors is literally my favourite podcast due to the content and thoughtfulness of the hosts. I love traveling through Scotland with your stories! Thank you!
The Joy of Scottish Folks …

10 mar

kevinatlast

My mom ‘ s great — greats , Alexander and Christiania were native to 19th Century Aberdeenshire . Mark and Helen , your interviews and location based stories give me feeling of somehow knowing them through the fire of my imagination . thx , kev
Informative & interesting

05/09/2023

Buster&BB

No matter the subject, Mark and Rachel make the subject captivating. I live their take on everything from bird calls to the weather, from Shetland to rail trips. Love every minute and always look forward to the next episode.