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 Plodcast254. Discover the magic of weeds with artist Anna Chapman Parker
Join an unusual Plodcast adventure in an urban car park with artist and author Anna Chapman Parker. Anna spent a year watching and drawing the wildflowers in…
The PlodcastSound Escape 176. Enjoy perky parakeets on a walk in Richmond Park
This week we're walking across the open grassland of Richmond Park in south-west London. While jets grumble overhead, rose-ringed parakeets can't resist a bit…
The Plodcast253. Who is the Orchid Outlaw? And what is he up to in the wilds of Britain?
Take an adventure with the Orchid Outlaw – a man braving danger and risking his freedom to rescue Britain's endangered orchids. Plodcast host Fergus meets Ben…
The PlodcastSound Escape 175. Spend dusk among the beechwoods of Hampshire
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…
The Plodcast252. What can you find to eat on an urban foraging adventure in Bristol?
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…
The PlodcastSound Escape 174. Spend midsummer beside a chuckling river teeming with life
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…
The Plodcast251. Should we cull some animals to save others - asks Hugh Warwick?
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…
The PlodcastSound Escape 173. Enjoy the sultry song of a blackbird at dusk
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…
The Plodcast250. Hear migrant birds as they arrive in the UK at Portland Bill in Dorset - with one very special visitor
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…
The PlodcastSound Escape 172. Let the waves of Luskentyre Beach wash all stress away
We're walking on the white sands of Luskentyre on the Isle of Harris. A gentle line of surf teases the beach. Above, a common tern bobs by on its strangely…
The Plodcast249. Welsh language and landscape with Julie Brominicks
Enter Rivendell – or what might as well be – a hidden valley on the edge of Eryri (Snowdonia) in North Wales. Plodcast host Fergus takes a nature ramble with…
The PlodcastSound Escape 171. Relax to the gorgeous melody of a willow warbler
We're on the edge of a settlement on the Isle of Harris - lochs and mountains flow from where the houses end. In the quiet of the morning, a willow warbler…
The Plodcast248. A quest for eagles on the Isle of Harris
Explore a landscape of craggy mountains, turquoise seas and deep blue lochs on the Isle of Harris in search of rare wildlife – and especially golden and…
The PlodcastSound Escape 170. A peaceful morning in the Devon countryside
It's bright early morning in East Devon, the ground is still damp from the rains during the night but the light brings an optimistic view of the day ahead. You…
The Plodcast247. Explore Heal, an ambitious new rewilding project in Somerset
A new rewilding project has been announced in Somerset. Created by the charity Heal, the project aims to transform several hundred acres of farmland into…
The PlodcastSound Escape 169. Relax to a song thrush singing by a beautiful stream
After a healing night in a cabin beside a stream, you awake to a cup of tea and a glorious serenade from a song thrush. Wild garlic sweeps along the banks, the…
The Plodcast246. A quest for greater access to the countryside for people with disabilities
Plodcast host Fergus heads to deepest Herefordshire to meet Alice Sainsbury, who is championing greater access to the countryside for people with visible and…
The PlodcastSound Escape 168. A misty evening in a Lake District forest
Hidden under the canopy of a Cumbrian forest, you sit, listening to the creaking of branches and snapping of twigs. Tiny closed-cup mushrooms are scattered…
The Plodcast245. A quest to find wild boar in the Forest of Dean with author Chantal Lyons
It's dusk in the Forest of Dean and Plodcast host Fergus is on the trail of wild boar with author Chantal Lyons. Chantal has been studying these extraordinary…
The PlodcastSound Escape 167. Relax to the dusk chorus of birdsong deep in the Forest of Dean
You're sitting on a tree stump in a vast clearing, deep in the Forest of Dean. It's dusk and the rapidly failing light takes the last humans with it, leaving…
The Plodcast244. Enter the Golden Triangle in search of magical wild daffodils
Enter the mysterious Golden Triangle on the borders of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to discover one of Britain's glorious spring wildlife spectacle – the…
The PlodcastSound Escape 166. Relax to a reading about nightingales from a new Countryfile book
This week we're relaxing to a delightful piece of writing about nightingales by Dominic Couzens accompanied by the birds themselves – and read by Fergus…
The Plodcast243. Embark on a pilgrimage to the River Thames with wild wanderer Phoebe Smith
Join Plodcast host Fergus and adventurer Phoebe Smith as they take a day-long pilgrimage across the Oxfordshire countryside to explore spring nature - and…
The PlodcastSound Escape 165. A peaceful meditation among the geese at an ancient Welsh lake
You're wandering beside a lake in early spring sunlight. A newly arrived chiffchaff sings from nearby willows while the plaintive calls from a scattered flock…
The Plodcast242. A quest to find spring wildlife on Sugar Loaf mountain
Step out into spring with Plodcast host Fergus for a wander on his local hill to find who's up and about in the wildlife world on this early spring morning…
The PlodcastSound Escape 164. Take a mindful moment beside a rushing stream
You're beside a stream at the bottom of a wooded valley. You're nearing the end of a long walk so you pause to rest. But soon the rushing water whispers spells…
The Plodcast241. Welcome to spring on the Plodcast - and hear our new theme tune created by Blair Dunlop
Welcome to spring on the Plodcast and a new season of nature-themed episodes! But first, we have an exciting development! Musician Blair Dunlop and songwriter…
The PlodcastSound Escape 163. Eerie soundscapes from inside a Roman amphitheatre
You're on the edge of a the ruins of a Roman town lost in the Hampshire countryside. Only the crumbling outer walls remain, enclosing daffodil-fringed meadows…
The Plodcast240. In search of the water wolf - the mighty pike - with TV presenter Will Millard
This week we're spending the day on a waterway in Gloucestershire in search of a creature that has spawned a thousand myths and monster stories – we're hoping…
The PlodcastSound Escape 162. Relax to an amazing chorus of toads recorded underwater
You're beside a small pond where toads are thronging the margins, jostling and tootling as they prepare to spawn. Through the magic of a hydrophone, you can…
The Plodcast239. Exploring Roman Silchester and discovering folk music with broadcasting legend Matthew Bannister
This week we're off to the Roman town of Silchester deep in the Hampshire countryside. Plodcast host Fergus meets legendary broadcaster Matthew Bannister to…
The PlodcastSound Escape 161. The satisfying crunch of footsteps on fresh snow
We're in the Bannau Brycheiniog – and an overnight snowfall has dusted the hilltops. It's melting fast so we've headed to the nearest peak for a satisfying dog…
The Plodcast238. A special night walk in Epping Forest to bring communities together
This week we're off to Epping Forest on the eastern edge of London on a night walk to hear from those who encounter barriers to accessing nature and the…
The PlodcastSound Escape 160. A gentle morning's chorus of birds in a leafy suburb
Saturday in a suburb of gardens full of daffodils and crocuses - and the birds are awake long before the human population. House sparrows chatter in the…
- The Plodcast
237. Join the Plodcast team for a chat about rural issues and the best Plodcast listener recordings from the wild
Join the Plodcast team of Fergus, Maria and Jack in the studio to chat about their latest wild adventures and discuss country matters and rural issues that…
The PlodcastSound Escape 159. Gorgeous woodland birdsong heralds the oncoming spring
We've stopped in a forgotten, overgrown green lane on a hillside. A bright sun sears deep into the woodland. Winter's blanket is being unstitched by the songs…
The Plodcast236. On the trail of a water dragon known as the 'Sussex Knucker'
This week we're off to Sussex in the great company of Plodcast regular Maria Hodson. Maria heads to the town of Lyminster to hunt for a terrifying creature…
The PlodcastSound Escape 158. The haunting cries of seals on a Norfolk beach
This week we’re at Horsey Gap, a long and sandy beach in Norfolk. Over the roar of the North Sea, we can hear the moans and growls of a nearby colony of grey…
The Plodcast235. A riverside walk with Wild Woman Philippa Forrester
Enjoy a walk and talk with documentary maker, writer and TV presenter Philippa Forrester. While exploring a flooded landscape between Bath and Bristol with…
The PlodcastSound Escape 157. The delicious patter of rain as you shelter inside
This week we're stuck in the greenhouse. We came up to check on the winter salad leaves, and the skies darkened. It’ll only be a short shower, the edges of the…
The Plodcast234. Explore a desolate graveyard of ships on the River Severn
Between the villages of Purton and Sharpness on the River Severn, dozens of barges and ships lie on the riverbank, slowly decomposing into the landscape. But…
The PlodcastSound Escape 156. Melodies of a Welsh stream flowing under ice
Deep in the Cambrian Mountains, just outside Wales' remotest chapel, a small stream flows out of the barren hills. Now, in the depths of winter, a skin of ice…
The Plodcast233. Uncovering mysteries in the Buckinghamshire village of Brill
Join Plodcast host Fergus and countryside writer Professor Fiona Stafford in the curious hilltop village of Brill to learn how to find hidden history in the…
The PlodcastSound Escape 155. Enjoy the music of melting icicles in the entrance to a cave
You're walking an old tram road in an abandoned quarry in the Welsh hills. It's been deadly cold for weeks and water that normally cascades off the high ground…
The Plodcast232. Exploring a haunted ruined chapel lost in a Dorset woodland
This week, Plodcast regular Kevin Parr explores a lost church in Dorset. St Luke's Chapel was built to serve the village of Sterte near Abbotsbury, in the…
The PlodcastSound Escape 154. Frosty footsteps on a bright and sunny midwinter morning
It's an icy cold morning and you're walking through a once-waterlogged meadow now made crisp by frost. Low winter sun slants across the surrounding hills…
The Plodcast231. A tale of bloody massacre in the peaceful Monmouthshire countryside
Hidden in a peaceful corner of the Monmouthshire countryside is a site steeped in blood, treachery and revenge. Plodcast host Fergus and his son Owen set out…
The PlodcastSound Escape 153. Bathe in stunning spring skylark song - all the way from New Zealand
You are on high country farm road in the Hakataramea Valley in deepest South Canterbury, New Zealand. Skylark song pours from the heavens, cascading over…
The Plodcast230. Enjoy a day's beachcombing on Orkney and learn local tales of the sea
We're beachcombing on Orkney this week. Plodcast regular Annabel Ross meets Martin Gray who has been finding curiosities on the seashore here for several…
The PlodcastSound Escape 152. Listen to the eerie calls of cranes on the Somerset Levels
You're walking a muddy track beside a farm on the edge of a vast expanse of flooded land, the water perfectly reflecting a rare January blue sky. From the…
The Plodcast229. A gentle day's fishing with Will Millard and Kevin Parr on the Mon-Brec Canal
The Plodcast goes fishing this week with plodcast regular Kevin Parr and author and TV presenter Will Millard. Host Fergus meets them on his local waterway…
The PlodcastSound Escape 151. Walk beside a wild river tumbling from the hills
You're walking beside a stream swollen by rain, which tumbles through a wooded valley, crashing over rocks and weirs. Dippers chatter and dive for food, a…
The Plodcast228: Walk in the footsteps of soldiers in bloody combat on a Civil War battlefield near Bath
Plodcast host Fergus joins historian and battlefield tour guide Julian Humphrys at the site of a Civil War battlefield in the hills just north of Bath. It's a…
The PlodcastSound Escape 150: Be uplifted by a chorus of New Year's robins
After weeks of rain, it's a clear, calm rosy sunrise. A pair of robins in neighbouring gardens welcome the early sun with wistful phrases as if chatting over…
The Plodcast227: Tales of birding in wild places with naturalist and author Stephen Moss
Plodcast host Fergus joins broadcaster, writer and, best of all, brilliant birder Stephen Moss on a wild stretch of the Somerset coast to look for winter birds…
The PlodcastSound Escape 149: Be soothed by the rhythms of the sea rising and falling in a remote Welsh cove
This week we're on the Ceredigion coast - a lonely cove of shingle with the Irish sea rolling with a soothing rhythm. No one else is around, no one that is…
The Plodcast226: Brace yourself for a wild nighttime swim under a full moon in the depths of winter
What is it like to swim outdoors under a full moon in the depths of winter? Maria Hodson braves the inky waters of Clevedon Marine Pool with the Bristol Blue…
The PlodcastSound Escape 148: A morning of gulls and rooks on the Somerset Coast
Where the Somerset Levels meet the sea, broad, marshy pastures and forgotten fields host gulls, rooks, crows and egrets, foraging for food stirred up cattle…
The Plodcast225: It's the Plodcast Christmas special - join the team for the Christmas quiz and other seasonal silliness
Join Plodcast host Fergus and regulars Kevin Parr and Annabel Ross as well as editor Dan Kramer-Arden for a lighthearted look back at a year of recording…
The PlodcastSound Escape 147: Be calmed by the autumn song of a Welsh mountain river
You're in a wintry valley following a boisterous stream high into the Welsh hills. After recent rain, the water boils and churns and the river's song is wild…