Scotland Outdoors

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...

Rachel is in East Lothian where local residents are campaigning for better access across the busy A1 road. For a considerable stretch there’s no official pedestrian crossing linking the villages close to Dunbar with the coast. And as Rachel sees, it’s a very busy road to try and cross as a cyclist or pedestrian.

Mark visits Dean Castle in Kilmarnock and finds out about its fascinating history including being completely destroyed by ...

In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast, Mark visits what is believed to be the UK’s largest urban farm. Lauriston Agroecology farm is on a hundred-acre site near Edinburgh Airport and is a hive of activity. Mark hears how the site has been developed so far.

The Highland Wildlife Park near Kingussie is well known for its polar bears, wildcats and over recent weeks, its monkeys. But as Rachel found out, it’s also home to an importan...

Rachel heads to Fort Augustus for a chat with Cieran Watson from Forestry Land Scotland and Morag Milne from NatureScot about how they can manage the growing number of feral pigs living wild in the Scottish countryside.

Mark meets Niall MacLeod who is part of the Loch Awe National Park committee to chat about their bid for Loch Awe to be a contender for Scotland’s next National Park.

Over the winter, the Cairngorm Reindeers have been...

Mark heads to Turriff to attend the 2024 opening of the River Deveron. He hears from Richie Miller of the Deveron District Salmon Fishery Board as well as John Beattie, who officially opens the salmon season.

Rachel visits warden Jim Hughes who is celebrating 25 years in post at the Balgavies Loch nature reserve in Angus, to chat about the most memorable moment of his career.

It has been 6 years since the community buy-out of the Isl...