Scotland Outdoors

Rachel visits the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Montrose Basin reserve in Angus where a group of nursery children were out exploring the mudflats to see what beasties they could find. She speaks to nursery and reserve staff about the importance of getting young kids involved in nature.

Isle Martin is a small island just three miles off the coast of Ullapool. It’s had many uses over the years including a herring station, a flour mill and...

Rachel visits Fairhill Rise, an education centre in East Lothian which is part of the Ruskin Mill Trust. The centre provides outdoor learning and activities for those with autism and additional needs. Rachel meets the manager and hears about their work.

Ahead of World Otter Day this coming Wednesday, Mark visits International Otter Survival Fund in Broadford on Skye to hear about the work they carry out across the world and meet som...

In our latest Scotland Outdoors podcast Helen Needham meets regenerative farmer Nikki Yoxall in the hills of Aberdeenshire. Nikki’s cattle are outside all year round, moving from field to field as part of a system called mob grazing. She tells Helen about the benefits it has for the cattle and the land.

In the last few years, there’s been an explosion in the number of community run gardens across the country. These bring huge positi...

Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart follow the river Tweed from Kelso to Berwick Upon Tweed.

In Kelso, they visit Floor Castle and Gardens in the company of Matt Thomson and Simon McManus. Jonathan Garrett shows Mark round the town's racecourse

In Coldstream, John Elliot of the local historical society tells the story of one of the earliest bridges built across the Tweed into England, Mark delves into the history of the Coldstream Guards...

On Thursday this week campaigners gathered outside the Scottish Parliament to protest the proposed plans for a new powerline between Kintore and Tealing. SSEN Transmission says the upgrade is needed to meet net zero targets, while protestors say they haven’t been properly consulted and the scheme will blight the countryside. Mark went along to speak to Thomas Nicoll from SSEN Transmission and some of the protestors from Angus Actio...

Producer Alastair Fothergill has spent decades making nature documentaries around the world, often working closely with Sir David Attenborough. His work includes Blue Planet and Planet Earth. In this podcast, Alastair discusses why he felt the time was right to make a series concentrating on the nature and wildlife that can be found in the British Isles. He talks about the challenges of securing the footage in some remote location...

Back in 2020, some of farmer Steve Barron’s cattle fell ill and died. Initially he had no idea what had caused their sudden deaths until lead poisoning was found to be the reason. He tells Mark about what happened and the impact it had on him.

Steve’s cattle died so had no chance of entering the food chain, but Food Standards Scotland take incidents of livestock poisoning very seriously. They are raising awareness of the risks that ...

American Mink are an invasive non-native species which have become widespread in parts of Scotland after their release from fur farms. Rachel meets Karen Muller from the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative on the River Spey to hear why it’s important to catch the mink. They also scope out a potential site to set a mink trap.

In his day job, George Sherriffs is an acquisitions librarian with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. But i...

Stanley Robertson was from the Travelling People and in the 1980's he published a book called 'Exodus to Alford' featuring stories associated with a particular road his people used to take each Summer when he was a boy. Former BBC Producer Doreen Wood went there with Stanley in 1988 and recorded an interview with him describing his memories of this special place. In this podcast, Mark Stephen and Helen Needham go in search of the...

Linda is in Pitlochry where a group of volunteers meet once a fortnight to help maintain the area’s much loved and well used path network. She hears why the group were founded and about the different kinds of work they carry out.

Mark is in Dunbar Harbour, marvelling at the kittiwakes and exploring a site that was once home to a fish hatchery.

And not far along the coast in North Berwick, Rachel meets artist and campaigner Julie Barn...

In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast, Mark chats with Landward’s Cammy Wilson about his sheep-farming career. We hear an excerpt where Cammy is telling Mark the story of Fiona, the 'world’s loneliest sheep'.

Killiechassie Burial Ground near Aberfeldy holds just six graves, five of which are covered over with recumbent flat slabs. For years, it was allowed to become neglected but in the 1990s, the Breadalbane Heritage Society sta...