The Plodcast

High above the summertime bustle of Pembrokeshire’s south coast, the lanes are quiet. No people here, just wind and hedge and crops for miles. It’s now noon, and after several hours of walking you look for a place to rest a while. A corn field beside a reef of yellow and white chamomile catches your eye. Here you sit, the corn stems crowding around you, their leaves rustling against themselves. 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 Daniel Graham, presented by Hannah Tribe. Image from Getty. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected] Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com PPA Podcast of the Year 2022 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wilfred Emmanuel Jones shares his gripping story of his life's journey – from arriving from Jamaica and living in inner city Birmingham to owning a farm on the Devon-Cornwall border. His brand – The Black Farmer – has been a huge success and now he wants to encourage other children from ethnic minority or deprived backgrounds into finding careers in the countryside: The New Face of Farming. Listen on for more understanding of town vs country attitudes, race in the countryside and the two things you need to make a success in business. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected] Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com PPA Podcast of the Year! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's a welcome cool, overcast day by the River Usk – there is rain in the air. The water is clear and bubbling through a small set of rapids in a gently calming series of swirls and eddies. A dipper flies upstream low over the water. 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 Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected] Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com PPA Podcast of the Year 2022 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Head to the sleepy hamlet of Shepton Montague in Somerset to meet Oliver Dowding – dairy-farmer-turned-cider-maestro. Discover the magic of apple trees and their different characters and learn the lore of Somerset cider making. Plus, Oliver reveals a novel – and natural – method of rodent control. Annabel Ross is your host. Later the Plodcast team discuss cider vs beer, taste a Dowdings tipple and hear a rare Sound of the Week. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected] Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com PPA Podcast of the Year! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s summer, yet the bruised skies and pulsing winds don’t seem to know it. As if blown over by the squalls; a farm gate clunks. After walking the fields, you drop into a deep sunken lane and a version of quiet hits you, the wind no longer on your skin, in your ears. You sit on the grassy, furrowed lane and take breath. Around you now are tall hedgerows of hawthorn and blackberry. A wren sings from a tree above. 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 Daniel Graham. Image from Getty. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected] Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com PPA Podcast of the Year! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is it possible to farm profitably and have abundant wildlife on your land? George and Elaine Morris take us on a tour of their mixed farm in Buckinghamshire where they raise cattle, Wiltshire horned sheep as well as oats and barley but where over 10 per cent of the land is devoted to wildflowers, insects, birds and other creatures. Due to a deal with Jordans Cereals, the Morris's are, essentially, paid to farm wildlife, too. Does it work? Listen on for a magical insight into how our farmland should look – and sound! The Jordans Farm Partnership (JFP) represents a coming together of specialists to create a holistic model for long term farm sustainability. Within the partnership, the Wildlife Trusts help create bespoke farm wildlife plans & consumer understanding and LEAF bring a whole-farm sustainability approach, supporting the integration of business planning and delivery of environmental benefits with farmers. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected] Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com PPA Podcast of the Year! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Boarding a small passenger ferry at Tenby, you set sail for Caldey Island through a swell that rocks the boat like a toy in the bath. Before long, you reach the holy island. A 1,000-year-old Catholic monastery sits hidden within its wooded heart, but your first instinct is to walk the beach that stretches east from the tiny harbour wall. The sand is soft, warmed by the summer sun, and the breeze gentle. You find a spot to sit, down by the waves. 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 Daniel Graham. Image from Getty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's a glorious summer's day in Dorset and Plodcast regular Kevin Parr heads to the village of Cerne Abbas to visit the local brewery. Meet Vic, Jodie and Matt who run the brewery hear their wonderful tales. Kevin also meets local farmer Will who grows barley for the brewing process and shares his deep love of the wildlife that thrives on his farm. Later, Kevin joins the Plodcast team in the studio to discuss beer, Dorset eagles, Chesney Hawkes and what's the best food to pack for a country walk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're climbing an oak tree and its rough, weathered branches reach down like the arms of an aiding grandfather to pull you up. The coarse, lichen-dusted bark coats your hands, your nostrils fill with the subtle scent of decay and before you know it you’ve emerged through the dark-leaved canopy to a scene of wind and light. Carmarthenshire’s pastoral hills fold out to the west. Cattle on the move. A dog barks. A wren sings. And all the while the wind whips through. 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 Daniel Graham, presented by Hannah Tribe. Image from Getty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Could hydroponics be the future of farming? Ex-chef Antonio Paladino welcomes Annabel Ross onto Bioaqua Farm, his smallholding in the Somerset Levels, where he farms trout and vegetables within a mutually supportive system that has very few costs, produces no pollution and creates delicious nutritious food. Is this a blueprint for more sustainable farming or an unattainable dream? Listen on for a fascinating adventure into food. Plus, the Annabel joins the Plodcast team to reveals some secrets from the day at Bioaqua Farm and the team discuss the big issue of: what's the best food to pack for a country walk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You hear the waves on Eigg’s rocky shores, a distant breeze, perhaps. But lazing silently on one of the tiny island’s floating in the tiny harbour there a seals; two eiders rise and fall on the turquoise swell, so loyal to one another it’s as if they’re tethered by an invisible thread. A cloud drifts by; a fishing boat nods. All is silent, save the lapping waves that meet the rocks. 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 Daniel Graham. Presented by Hannah Tribe. Produced by Jack Bateman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Explore a magical wildlife haven tucked in a fold on the edge of Dartmoor. Meet Tony Bayliss of the Langaford Farm Charitable Trust who manages the site; soil scientist Tim Harrod (pictured) and Hannah Bowley of the British Society of Soils Science – and hear how the more we understand about soil, the better we can plan farming to be both profitable and sensitive to wildlife. Plus we hunt for the magical marsh fritillary butterfly and wander through meadows of stunning orchids. Back in the studio, the team celebrate their recent PPA Podcast of the Year award by testing English sparkling wine and French champagne. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're in a canoe, paddling slowly upstream against a gentle current. The sounds of the oars dipping and sweeping is mesmeric – while birds sing from the tangles of scrub, willow and reeds that flank the waterway. Recorded by Annabel Ross, presented by Hannah Tribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Every year, the British Pie Awards judges meet for one day in Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire to taste hundreds of pies in order to crown a supreme pie champion. The Plodcast's Maria Hodson was invited to be a judge in 2022 and in this episode she meets the judges, tastes the pies and discovers the long and rather marvellous history of what has now become a staple of British cuisine. The Plodcast is the PPA Podcast of the Year. As ever, you can contact the Plodcast team at [email protected] with your thoughts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Enjoy an audio escape into the British countryside, wherever you are. It's a summer evening in a Dorset coomb near the coast. The shadows are long but the dusky sun will be short-lived as clouds threaten. For several days the earth has baked and leaves have sagged. But behind the plume of heat is a wall of electricity – a mighty storm. Building over the English Channel to the south, a distant rumble and faint patter builds into tempest. Recorded by Kevin Parr. Image from Getty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Smell the hay, meets the cows and hear the skylarks on Quicke's farm in Devon where they produce award-winning cheddar cheese using traditional methods. Tanya Jackson meets farmer and cheesemaker Mary Quicke and discovers that some of the secrets to producing great-tasting cheese lie in the way Mary works with nature and her landscape. Image from Getty. Later in the Plodcast, the team test whether Devon's method of eating scones (cream first then jam) is superior to that of Cornwall (where the jam goes on first). And we hear from folk singer Original Spruce who has written a song celebrating the wild wonders of Martin Down and we include some of this sweet song in the Plodcast. To listen to the whole song and see the video of Martin Down, visit You Tube. As ever, you can contact the Plodcast team on [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wandering deep into the oak wood, you find yourself serenaded by a magical trinity of birds. First a wood warbler, then a redstart and finally a pied flycatcher. All three have migrated here from Africa for a brief season of courtship and nesting among the ancient trees. Recorded by Fergus Collins, presented by Hannah Tribe. Image from Getty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Plodcast team head to Assynt in Sutherland in the far north of Scotland to fish for brown trout on remote lochs and forage for edible treats on wild beaches. To a backdrop of cuckoos and black-throated divers, Plodcast host Fergus Collins tries his hand at flyfishing and, with friends, enjoys a feast of wild trout before a few less palatable food samples from the nearby coast. Back in the studio, the Plodcast team sample a Scottish legendary food – and we hear a wonderful Sound of the Week. Image from Gavin Meredith Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Be transported to the wild cliffs of Handa, off the coast of Sutherland, and the swirling whirling city of seabirds. It's the beginning of the breeding season and guillemots, razorbills and fulmars jostle for the best spots to nest while puffins makes themselves at home in borrows at the top of the sea stacks. The noise is constant as birds constantly commute between cliffs and the wider ocean to feed. Recorded by Fergus Collins, introduced by Hannah Tribe. Image from Getty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Introducing a new season of plodcasts exploring food and farming across the countryside. We'll be foraging in northern Scotland, meeting farmers who work alongside nature to produce fabulous cheese, honey, wine and wheat. We'll be learning about the importance of soil, learning how gin is made and even discovering the winner of the Great British Pie awards. The team will also be sharing their own grow-your-own experiences throughout the season… The Plodcast is hosted by Countryfile Magazine editor Fergus Collins Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mid May in Wales largest ancient woodland – Wentwood in Gwent – and the birds are singing in the morning sunshine. Enjoy the excitable song flight of the male tree pipit as he flies from his perch at the top of a tree high into the air before circling down like a paper aeroplane, singing all the while. Recorded by Fergus Collins, presented by Hannah Tribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beavers are being spotted more frequently in the wild in Britain. In this adventure, Annabel Ross joins beaver expert Bevis Watts at dawn on the River Avon near Bath in north-east Somerset to paddle a canoe in search of a small population of beavers that have mysteriously appeared on the river. Enjoy fabulous birdsong and curious encounters. Bevis is also CEO of Triodos Bank UK and has written a book River Journey about his adventures with beavers on the river. Image from Getty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Be charmed and relaxed by a few minutes on a blissful shore in Arisaig, Scotland. The road to the Isles squeezes between Lochaber’s high mountains like a burn in spate, bending this way and that past stone byres and pine woods and tortuous lochs. It’s not long before the road delivers its promise. Islands. Eigg and Rum, and the hazy, elevated profile of Skye. Yet despite the drama of the horizon, it’s the peace and humility of the foreshore that tempts the senses. The lapping waves, the piping oystercatchers, and the scent of crushed bladderwrack and seashells, and driftwood drying in the sun. Recorded by Daniel Graham and presented by Hannah Tribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Once upon a time, millions of fish would migrate up the River Severn to spawning grounds – including the beautiful twaite shad or mayfish. But weirs built for navigation meant that fish routes were blocked and fish numbers have declined drastically. Now the Unlocking the Severn project has built fish passes around the biggest obstacles. Jenny Hermolle and her team reveal how things are already improving for the river and its fish – plus, we get to explore the astonishing window into the fishes' world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the scrubby hillside hawthorns burst into burst into bloom, the musky vanilla perfume of the white mayflowers encourages a male garden warbler into his fluted song. This little-known migrant's song is often overlooked (or overlistened) so take this chance to get to know a charming, if rather frenetic, spring song. Recorded by Fergus Collins, presented by Hannah Tribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Enjoy a delightful wander around one of the naturally richest corners of the New Forest in early spring with naturalist and writer Dominic Couzens. Discover how to identify common birdsongs with Dominic's clever and very simple guides – and enjoy a couple of encounters with birds of prey that surprise Dominic himself. Dominic also talks about his latest book with Gail Ashton: Identification Guide to Garden Insects of Britain and North-West Europe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A still morning on the hill, the strange aniseed scent of cow parsley rises as the lane to the woods is warmed by the sun. Among the ancient, twisted oaks, the wood warblers have arrived, the male's song dripping from the canopy like molten silver and offering competition to a resident song thrush. A redstart chortles in the background. Recorded by Fergus Collins, presented by Hannah Tribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wrap up warm, wear your softest clothes and step out into the night with folk singer Sam Lee and violinist Anna Phoebe to listen to nightingales singing in a Sussex woodland. Sam and Anna Phoebe sing and play while the birds respond with bursts of incredible natural music. A spellbinding experience. Presented by Tanya Jackson with Maria Hodson. Photo by Maria Hodson Find out more with Sam's superb book on Nightingales Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A damp and dank May morning. Mild and mizzled. A robin feeds its young while the song of blackbird, song thrush and chiffchaff fills the air. There is a gentle buzz of insects, the chatter of house sparrows and goldfinches. While from the faint mist of the valley comes the unmistakable call of a cuckoo. Recorded by Kevin Parr and presented by Hannah Tribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the cusp between winter and spring, Plodcast regular Kevin Parr meets his friend and legendary angler-naturalist Chris Yates to explore a little visited but wild corner of the Wiltshire and Dorset downs. Here, at Chris's favourite spot, they attempt to find one of Britain's most beautiful and controversial birds of prey: the hen harrier. Plus unmissable discussions about tea, harrier poetry, adders and warbler song. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s an hour after dawn when the sun finally rises above the head of the valley. There’s an eagerness to the light, keen to get going after its slow start, and within moments the entire valley – the trees, the river and the banks of snow-white blackthorn – is a cauldron of light and life. Birdsong bubbles from the woods, the conversation of herons and their newly hatched young staccato from the melodious tones of wrens, great tits, and blackbirds. Recorded by Daniel Graham and presented by Hannah Tribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the first of a new season of Plodcasts celebrating audibly beautiful landscapes – the songs of Wild Britain, Plodcast host Fergus takes us into a little visited valley near his home in the Brecon Beacons to explore oak woods and meadows off the beaten track – and meet spring birds in full voice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An inviting path winds through an oak woodland high on the slopes of a hill in the Brecon Beacons. As morning sun slants into the valley below, a host of birds sing lustily and seem to stir the ancient trees into life. Chiffchaffs, great tits, coal tits, goldcrests, song thrushes, blackcaps, robins, chaffinches, redstarts and even a green woodpecker provide the chorus. At the bottom of a valley, a stream sings its soft backing vocals. Recorded by Fergus Collins, presented by Hannah Tribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Plodcast team introduce Season 12 of the Plodcast: The Wild Sounds of Britain. This is an opportunity to capture audibly beautiful landscapes, gorgeous birdsong and the wise words of nature lovers as explore glorious countryside in spring and summer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deep in a Wiltshire vale, the comforting tang of woodsmoke hangs over a slumbering village. It's 5am and still dark but a magical chorus of blackbirds, robins, dunnocks and great tits greets the coming dawn. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a gentle postcard from the British countryside each week that allows you a soothing few minutes escape into the wild, wherever you are. Recorded by Tanya Jackson, presented by Hannah Tribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How natural flood defences can prevent flooding and increase biodiversity. Annabel Ross takes a walk with the Chair of the Environment Agency Emma Howard Boyd and Tom Dauben who is the Environment Agency’s lead for the natural flood management scheme. The Dartmoor Headwaters Natural Flood Management project aims to reduce flood risk to communities on and around Dartmoor using natural solutions. It is a partnership between the Environment Agency and Dartmoor National Park Authority, working in collaboration with many community, landowner groups and other partners. Annabel also explores the subject of river pollution in England and the Environment Agencies role in tackling it. Please do send comments and questions to [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's a sunny Sunday afternoon on the allotment with a cool, gentle breeze. You can hear the murmur of allotmenteers at work with a backdrop of birdsong and the occasional barking dog. As the smell of cut grass raises the spirits, you can hear that the new season has given everyone a spring in their steps. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a gentle postcard from the British countryside each week that allows you a soothing few minutes escape into the wild, wherever you are. Recorded by Jack Bateman, presented by Hannah Tribe. Image from Getty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In part two of our special angling adventure on the Rivers Isle and Parrett in Somerset, Kevin Parr and plodcast host Fergus continue their gentle meander along the water chatting about wildlife and occasionally catching a fish. Later, Kevin joins the plodcast team in the studio to talk pike, adders, otters and other wildlife joys of spring. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It hadn’t rained for a week, but just as the garden was beginning to show its thirst, a single drop falls. Then two more. The sky releases a long, slow rumble then spills open like a long-held breath finally being freed. The sound of the rain is most satisfying down by the pond, somewhere to sit a while and enjoy the gentle patter of the year’s first spring shower. Recorded by Daniel Graham, presented by Hannah Tribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Angler and writer Kevin Parr leads a gentle day's angling on the River Isle. Plodcast host Fergus joins Kev to learn the art of coarse fishing in the peaceful surrounding of the Somerset Levels. Listen on for a marvellous day in very early spring with birdsong, fish and the voice of the river. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Where the heath meets the woods by a pool, deep in the New Forest, the warm spring sun stirs many birds into song. A marsh tit sings and then a stock dove repeats its prudish crooning to a backdrop of blue tits and robins. A Forest pony comes closer to investigate. Recorded by Fergus Collins and presented by Hannah Tribe BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a gentle postcard from the British countryside each week that allows you a soothing few minutes escape into the wild, wherever you are. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Head for a wander around RSPB Otmoor in Oxfordshire in late winter with Rebecca Wrigley from Rewilding Britain argues the case for huge change across the countryside to provide space for nature and opportunities for local people. Annabel Ross is your host. Later the Plodcast team discuss how to rewild a city plus the power of the urban peregrine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's high tide on the northern coast of mainland Shetland – a bitterly icy day but the sun is out, puffins are on the water offshore and fulmars are scouting breeding sites on the nearby cliffs. In a small, seldom visited cove, the waves surge up and down the shore. Recorded by Megan Shersby and introduced by Hannah Tribe. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a gentle postcard from the British countryside each week that allows you a soothing few minutes escape into the wild, wherever you are. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alix Chiddley-Uttely helps run her family's 100-acre farm in the stunning Shropshire Hills. In this episode, she invites Plodcast host Fergus to meet her ewes and newborn lambs as well as a host of other colourful animal characters during the morning rounds of feeding and checking. She reveals how it's still possible to make a good living from a small family-run farming business and tells some wonderful stories about local legends. Plus, everything you need to know about sheep. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A day of rain has left the river running high and fast. The path on the bank is muddy. The air dank and cold. It could be deepest winter, if not for the riot of dusk birdsong spilling down from the trees beside the track. Gulls, blackbirds, wrens, great tits, and at one point a buzzard. There’s something about chatter of a heron – perched on his huge nest in the trees – that brings the greatest joy. Recorded by Daniel Graham and presented by Hannah Tribe. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a gentle postcard from the British countryside each week that allows you a soothing few minutes escape into the wild, wherever you are. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why eBikes can make a huge difference to how you explore the countryside. Plodcast host Fergus enjoys a day's cycling in the Forest of Dean in the depths of winter with Tom Marvin from BikeRadar to talk about the joys of mountain biking and the magic of riding the woodland paths on an electric bicycle. Plus, later, the Plodcast team meet to discuss the day out, enjoy listeners' emails and the Sound of the Week. Image from Getty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The happy, mesmerising chirping of a colony of house sparrows. As crocuses bloom in a small front garden, a dozen sparrows bubble with an incessant chatter full of infectious excitement – a sure sign that this little colony is turning its thoughts to the breeding season. Recorded by Fergus Collins. Introduced by Hannah Tribe. Image from Getty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet Angela Williams and Jenny Barlow who are helping the people of Langholm in south west Scotland make the most of their purchase of 5,200 acres from the Duke of Buccleugh. Rob Yorke walked some of the moors and woodlands to talk about what plans the community has to provide renewable energy, local jobs, wildlife habitat and an attractive destination for tourists. Recorded in autumn 2021. Image by Rob Yorke. More on the Lanholm Initiative and the creation of the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Relax to the gentle trilling of a party of greenfinches. Walking an old footpath on the edge of a town, you stumble across a ruined farmhouse. Trees and scrub have invaded the farmyard creating a haven for birds including a group of 10 greenfinches. As the first warmth of spring stirs the air, the males chatter and wheeze their songs, while the females forage. These birds have undergone a decline in the UK in recent years so their once-familiar songs are harder to find on a country walk. Image from Getty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Enjoy a wild winter's walk around the town of Mossley in Greater Manchester where the surrounding moors, woods and crumbling industrial heritage inspire two local artists. Meet Liz Ackerley and her partner Hugh Winterbottom to hear how the ever-changing seasons and atmospheres influence their very different styles of work. You can see their work in an exhibition called: Landscape Inside Out, Gallery Oldham, Oldham, Greater Manchester from 5 March to 4 June. For more information, see their You Tube videos: Later, the Plodcast team talk about artistic inspiration, video games based on the British countryside and listen to a chilling Sound of the Week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices