Shows / The Plodcast
The Plodcast
BBC Countryfile Magazine brings you The Plodcast - a weekly escape to the British countryside with fascinating guests and the wonders of the great outdoors. Enjoy a new escape into the countryside every Tuesday and wind down with our Sound Escapes on a Friday. Find out more about us at www.countryfile.com/podcast Subscribe to the print version of BBC Countryfile Magazine at https://www.ourmediashop.com/bbc-countryfile-magazine-wmonx25
Episodes
The Plodcast314. Meet the people behind the Merlin app that helps you ID birdsong
This week we're at the Global Bird Fair, held every summer on the edge of Rutland Water in the tiny county of Rutland. Plodcast host Fergus met two of the…
The PlodcastSound Escape 236. Perch by a still Somerset lake
Soothed by the gentle lapping of water, you pause by a quiet lake. It's a hot day, but you find refuge sheltered under the rustling willow trees. Moorhen…
The Plodcast313. A quest to find storks and turtle doves at Knepp Wildlands - with Isabella Tree
An extremely special edition of the Plodcast this week as we head to Knepp Wildlands in Sussex to look for storks and listen for turtle doves in the company of…
The PlodcastSound Escape 235. Listen to the distinct chorus of London's parakeets
We're on hampsted heath. A light shower has covered the trees in raindrops, and parakeets. As they gossip to pass the time before they're free to fly once…
The Plodcast312. Join the Plodcast team for a Mighty Hike around the Gower Peninsula
The Plodcast team of Fergus, Hannah, Jack and Lewis embark on a 15-mile hike around the Gower Peninsular in South Wales as part of a Mighty Hike organised by…
The PlodcastSound Escape 234. Relax to the joyful gossip of ducks and hens
Take time out to sit by a chicken pen and listen to the gentle gossip of the hens – plus a pair of ducks - as they go about their daily business. Meanwhile…
The Plodcast311. Explore the mysteries of the peat bog with Alys Fowler
This week we're heading out into the boglands of North Wales with writer and gardener Alys Fowler. Alys has a passion for these wild wetlands so host Fergus…
The PlodcastSound Escape 233. Embrace the surging sea on the North Cornwall coast
Following the South West Coast Path through North Cornwall, you chance upon the ruins of Wheal Coates tin mine at the cliff's edge. Below, the sea seethes and…
The Plodcast310. Meet the monsters lurking in the corners of our landscape and imagination - with Nicholas Jubber
Monsters haunt the myths and legends of almost every culture in the world. Take a walk along the Dorset coast with Nicholas Jubber looking for the footprints…
The PlodcastSound Escape 232. Be lulled to sleep by the buzz of grasshoppers in a summer meadow
It is late morning, the sun is high and the heat brings out butterflies, bees and, as your ear becomes attuned, grasshoppers fizzing and buzzing in the…
The Plodcast309. Connection to nature helps can help us tackle life's challenges says author Nic Wilson
Discover how nature helped author Nic Wilson navigate chronic illness and childhood trauma as well as enabling her to develop a crucial sense of belonging…
The PlodcastSound Escape 231. Rest by a cooling river on a hot midsummer day
It's one of the hottest days of the year and you are glad to find respite in a woodland beside a fast flowing river. You rest on the shady bank, watching trout…
The Plodcast308. Embark on a Big Butterfly Count on the Dorset coast with Butterfly Conservation
Be inspired to join the Big Butterfly Count with a walk on the Dorset coast with Richard Fox, Head of Science at the charity Butterfly Conservation. Britain's…
The PlodcastSound Escape 230. The soothing gentle patter of rain in a Welsh oakwood
After many dry weeks, heavy rain falls and the oak woodland thirstily drink in the live-giving water. You pause at the base of a particularly magnificent tree…
The Plodcast307. Take a wander along Britain's most famous waterway: The River Test in Hampshire
Take a springtime wander along the River Test, near the pretty Hampshire town of Stockbridge. Plodcast host Fergus Collins joins regular Plodcast listener and…
The PlodcastSound Escape 229. Revel in the pure music of curlews at sunset
The sun is sinking low in the sky, its golden light glowing through the meadow grasses. As young swallows twitter in their maiden flights and a blackbird sings…
The Plodcast306. Walk a Viking battlefield and discover a forgotten turning point in English history - with Rupert Gavin
About 1150 years ago, on a ridge on the edge of Salisbury Plain, the Saxons defeated the Vikings in a battle that had a profound impact on the history of the…
The PlodcastSound Escape 228. The sheer delight of a nightingale singing at dawn
This week's Sound Escape was recorded in Kent by Plodcast listener Jeanette Sharples. Jeanette was up early, walking along the edge of a field when she heard…
The Plodcast305. Discover the strangest relationships in the animal world - with Sophie Pavelle
Enjoy a walk in Devon with Sophie Pavelle and discover the most unexpected relationships in the animal kingdom. In her new book, To Have or to Hold, Sophie…
The PlodcastSound Escape 227. Enjoy the conversations from a colony of sparrows
As you wander through an old farmyard, the incessant happy chatter of sparrows greets you. Nesting in the crumbling eaves, the colony has had a good year and…
The Plodcast304. Meet some of the UK's most elusive animals - at the British Wildlife Centre
Britain's wildlife is often extremely elusive and many species are rarely seen. Unless, of course, you head to the British Wildlife Centre in Surrey. Here…
The PlodcastSound Escape 226. Be seduced by the song of the blackbird
A male blackbird sings so seductively, you have to stop to listen. Perched deep in an elder tree, and with his mate snug on a second brood of eggs this year…
The Plodcast303. Learn how to photograph gardens with award-winning photographer Jason Ingram
Jason Ingram has photographed some of the world's finest gardens and is regarded as one of the very best in the business. His images of famous gardens, from…
The PlodcastSound Escape 225. Skylarks and corn buntings on a Wiltshire downland
You're walking in the ancient kingdom of Wessex, across a stretch of wild downland that might have looked no different when Saxon warbands passed through 1200…
The Plodcast302. Roaming a magnificent unspoilt downland - and recording a very surprising bird
Come with us to explore the magic of Martin Down, a glorious stretch of largely unspoilt chalk downland on the borders of Hampshire, Wiltshire and Dorset. It's…
The PlodcastSound Escape 224. Take a moment in the serene woodland of the Hampshire Downs
Overlooking the vast escarpment of Watership Down, you pause for thought. The sound of gently swaying beech trees is welcome relief from the hustle-and-bustle…
The Plodcast301. Explore the D-Day launch point at Lepe in Hampshire with Julian Humphrys
To commemorate D-Day and the 80th anniversary of VE Day, we met with historian Julian Humphrys at Lepe Beach in Hampshire. Lepe was one of the launchpads of…
The PlodcastSound Escape 223. Be charmed by the many voices of a moorland stream
Climbing a Peak District moor, you fall into step with a small stream tumbling down the hillside. As you walk, the song of the stream changes – from roaring…
The Plodcast300. The team return to Watership Down - the setting for episode 1!
It's episode 300 of the Plodcast! To mark this momentous occasion, Plodcast regulars Hannah, Jack and Lewis join host Fergus for a return to the scene of…
The PlodcastSound Escape 222. Hear swallows chatter as they swoop over the farmyard
A morning's walk leads you to a ramshackle farm where a bench has been left out for walkers. As you take advantage of this kindness and drink tea from a flask…
The Plodcast299. Explore The Newt, a nature-friendly country house estate in Somerset
Plodcast host Fergus Collins returns to his Somerset roots this episode to explore a country house that he used to explore as a child. Now it has been…
The PlodcastSound Escape 221. Be charmed by chiffchaffs and blackcaps beside a woodland pool
A wander through a scrubby wooded cwm brings you out into a glade with a view towards the Preseli Hills of Pembrokeshire. But at your feet is a calm pool…
The Plodcast298. A walk with Robert Macfarlane along a Cambridge chalk stream to its magical spring
A special extended edition of the Plodcast this week as we embark on an adventure with celebrated writer Robert Macfarlane to walk the length of a chalk stream…
The PlodcastSound Escape 220. Sit back and enjoy a ride in a canalboat
Is there a more peaceful way to travel than by canal boat? You sit back and relax as you potter slowly along the Monmouth-Brecon canal. But what's this? It's…
The Plodcast297. A quest to find a solution to the climate crisis - with Tony Juniper
Come to the centre of Cambridge to walk along the River Cam with Tony Juniper. Conservationist and chair of Natural England, Tony is one of the world's most…
The PlodcastSound Escape 219. A sandpiper serenade on the River Usk
You pause beside the river, watching sunlight play on the rapids. Above the rush of the water, you hear the excitable snickering of common sandpipers – a pair…
The Plodcast296. Discover a wilder way to garden - and to live - with Poppy Okotcha
Poppy Okotcha explains how to garden for contentment, health and deeper connection with nature and community. Plodcast host Fergus Collins met the fashion…
The PlodcastSound Escape 218. Dusk settles on a peaceful farmyard
It's early evening on a remote sheep farm in Warwickshire. The orange sunset slants through the trees and the lambs are softly bleating. BBC Countryfile…
The Plodcast295. Explore a Warwickshire farm at lambing time with Bizza Walters
This week we're heading to a sheep farm in Warwickshire just south of Birmingham. It's lambing time and young farmer Bizza Walters and her family reveal the…
The PlodcastSound Escape 217. Enjoy the zipping song of a yellowhammer at the bottom of the garden
In a peaceful Dorset valley, a garden looks onto wide farmland. As a blackbird sings seductively from the hedgerow, a yellowhammer tests out his rising song of…
The Plodcast294. Take a walk on the Pennine Way with folk singer Johnny Campbell
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the opening of Britain's most famous long-distance footpath, Plodcast host Fergus met folk singer Johnny Campbell to walk…
The PlodcastSound Escape 216. Winter fieldfares mix with spring skylarks and starling as winter yields to spring
We're on the cusp of spring but winter clings on in rasping voices of ravens. As you walk in the cold sunlight of early March across a field to a stand of…
The Plodcast293. A quest for spring birdsong in a Welsh woodland - plus a reading by author Kerri Andrews
This week, join Plodcast host Fergus Collins as he explores a local woodland for the first time in search of a legendary woodpecker – with gorgeous birdsong…
The PlodcastSound Escape 215. Listen to spring birdsong along a country lane
A muddy farm track separates willow woodland from a wide expanse of marshland. You pause to listen to linnets commuting from wood to water meadow while a…
The Plodcast292. Talking big farming issues in a walk through a forgotten landscape in Leicestershire
This week we're in Leicestershire exploring the beautiful Welland Valley with countryside writer and farming expert Tim Relf. Plodcast host Fergus walks…
The PlodcastSound Escape 214. Stand on an ancient bridge and listen to a clear stream flowing beneath
You've discovered a forgotten valley in the Blackdown Hills. After descending an ancient holloway, you arrive at a bridge over a chuckling stream. Wild…
The Plodcast291. Explore a rewilding project in Lincolnshire with artist Hannah Dale
Head to Lincolnshire in the east of England to explore an exciting new rewilding project. Hannah Dale is an artist and farmer who struggled to make a living…
The PlodcastSound Escape 213. The atmosphere of the Giant's Grave, an ancient burial mound in Wiltshire
On a long, lonely walk across the windswept open lands of the Marlborough Downs, you come across a large, oval barrow partially hidden in a stand of trees. It…
The Plodcast290. How being in the moment in nature can bring lasting happiness
Do we spend too much time thinking and not enough time simply being? Life coach Dr Giles Croft reveals how being out in nature and learning to not take our…
The PlodcastSound Escape 212. A burst of early spring birdsong on a rare sunny day
After many days of wet, grey gloom, a hopeful sunny day hints at spring – and draws out the birds in a public garden deep in the Welsh borders. Great tits…
The Plodcast289. Discover the extraordinary magnetism of the Welsh Marches, with writer Mike Parker
Walk Hergest Ridge in Herefordshire on the Welsh border in the company of walker and writer Mike Parker who has spent years exploring the unique people…
The PlodcastSound Escape 211. Enjoy tawny owls calling in a woodland - recorded by author Polly Atkin
The winter calls of tawny owls pierce the night in a Cumbrian woodland. The wind roars through the trees like a stormy sea. This is a special recording made by…
The Plodcast288. A quest to explore the ancient burial mounds of the Marlborough Downs
It's a bright, beautiful morning so join Plodcast host Fergus for a wander into the soft chalk hills known as the Marlborough Downs of Wiltshire to hunt for…
The PlodcastSound Escape 210. The refreshing sound of rushing Dartmoor stream
Swollen by winter rains, a tiny stream, known as a rill, swarms almost vertically down a cleft in the hillside. As you listen from a bridge above, the stream…
The Plodcast287. A wander on the Cornish coast with wildlife presenter and podcaster Gillian Burke
Enjoy a wander and deep dive into some of the big issues facing our wild world with zoologist and BBC tv presenter Gillian Burke during a beautiful walk along…
The PlodcastSound Escape 209. Be beguiled by a song thrush singing at dawn
Early morning on the farm and a song thrush's strident spring call rises above the chatter of starlings and jackdaws. Beautiful and haunting in the cool…
The Plodcast286. Music and magic on the Dorset coast with folk musicians Ninebarrow
Join intrepid folk duo Ninebarrow (Jon Whitley and Jay Labouchardiere) for a Plodcast wander over Ballard Down to Old Harry Rocks on the coast of Dorset. Along…
The PlodcastSound Escape 208. Enjoy the restful pulse of waves crashing on a Cornish beach
It's a bright morning on the Falmouth seafront after a week of rain and wind. The air is still, the sunshine warm, yet the sea is still full of storm energy…
The Plodcast285. A quest to find a mysterious ruined tower on a forgotten hill in the Bannau
We climb a little-known hill in the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) called Allt yr Esgair to search for a mysterious tower lost in the woods. Who built it…
The PlodcastSound Escape 207. Be mesmerised the sound of thawing snow
After three days of snow and deep cold, a westerly weather front has swept in – a warm breath to thaw the frozen landscape. You stop outdoors among chirruping…