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Scotland Outdoors: Daily Summaries Delivered
by BBC Radio Scotland
A topical guide to life in the Scottish outdoors.
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- 2 days ago27 min
Loch Bagging with Claire Young
Mark Stephen learns about the pursuit of Loch Bagging with its inventor, Clare Young
- 6 days ago1h 23m
A Lawn full of Fungi, a Stag called Rufus and Extreme Timbersports
Mark is in Aberdeen where hair from a grey squirrel has been in found in feeder boxes. That might not sound very unusual, but the city was close to eradicating the non-native species which spread disease which kills the native red squirrels. James Kennedy from Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels shows Mark the area the greys are thought to be. Anne McAlpine is in the village of Tomatin in the Highlands to find out about a development which is aiming to tackle issues around rural housing. She hears how local groups have worked together with the Scottish Government to make the project happen. In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast, Mark visits Stobs Military Camp near Hawick to discover its history from a training camp in the early 1900s to a resettlement camp after the second world war. Andrew Jepson of Archaeology Scotland is his guide, and we hear an excerpt of Andrew showing him around. Hopetoun House near South Queensferry is closed to visitors at the moment however, there is one annual event which always goes ahead in autumn, a fungi walk. Mark meets ranger Emma Parker who shows him the rather spectacular array of waxcaps on the lawn and tells him more about what makes Hopetoun such a great place for them to grow.At this time of year boat owners are busying themselves to ready their boats for winter. Making sure everything is ship shape for potential bad weather ahead. Anne McAlpine is at Dunstaffnage marina near Oban and hears about the different jobs that owners and the marina carry out. It’s the season for pumpkin patches and they seem to have grown massively in popularity over the last few years. Laura Guthrie visits Ethiebeaton farm in South Angus where the McDonald family enjoy opening up their field to the public once a year to show them how pumpkins grow.
- 1 weeks ago29 min
Stobs Military Camp, Hawick
Mark Stephen visits Stobs Military Camp near Hawick to discover the importance of this site from a training camp in the early 1900s to a resettlement camp after the second world war. Andrew Jepson of Archaeology Scotland is his guide
- 1 weeks ago1h 24m
The World's Quietest Festival, Ardestie Earth House and Arbroath Signal Tower Museum
The Arbroath Signal Tower Museum is set to benefit from more than £300,000 of funding to develop its outdoor space. Mark went for a visit to hear about their plans to transform the garden into an accessible, multi-functional public space for education, community activities and events.Rachel Bell and her family try their hand at orienteering in Hazlehead Park in Aberdeen. They see if they can follow the map to complete the course and have fun at the same time.Ardestie Earth House is a souterrain, an ancient underground structure, near Monifieth. Mark goes along to explore and try to solve the puzzle of what it might have been used for.When Mark was in Glasgow a few weeks ago, something interesting caught his eye. The Cameron Fountain in Charing Cross is rather unique, as it sits on something of a lean. Glasgow sculpture historian Gary Nisbet tells Mark about this intriguing piece of Glasgow’s past. And they also visit the Doulton Fountain outside the People’s Palace and discover that it hasn’t always been in the same place in the city.Rachel Bell takes some time to slow down and immerse herself in the outdoors at a forest therapy session led by Sarah Stevens. Sarah guides her through the forest at Birsemore near Aboyne and tells her about the different ways we can connect with nature.We hear live from Finland, where Hiljaa Fest, the world's first nature listening festival, is happening right now. Hiljaa Fest, which translates as ‘Quietly Fest’, is happening in Valkmusa National Park and showcases things like black grouse, the wind and the bog moss as performers.In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast, Rachel Stewart meets poet and storyteller Tony Bonning. Tony, known as the Man with the Horse, undertakes treks across the country with his horse Chief to collect folklore and tales along the way. He tells Rachel a bit about his life and a wee tale or two as well.And Rachel Bell meets Shetland fiddler and Fetlar resident Maurice Henderson, who tells her about his love of traditional straw crafting and how it ties into the island’s local folklore.
- 2 weeks ago34 min
The Man with the Horse, Poet and Storyteller, Tony Bonning
Rachel Stewart meets poet and story teller, Tony Bonning. Tony, known as the Man with the Horse, undertakes treks across the country with his horse Chief to collect folklore and tales along the way
- 2 weeks ago1h 23m
Pears, Corncrakes and Cow Calling
It’s the time of year when we celebrate leaves as Autumn unfolds. Mark meets up with leaf expert Professor Jonathan Silverman who’s written a book about them called Nature’s Magicians. Did you know that way back when there were no leaves on trees at all? Rachel’s been to the Carse of Gowrie to find out about the ancient pear orchards of the area, and the attempt to bring back Scottish pear varieties that have largely been forgotten. Neil Clapperton of Buglife is her guideMark meets some of those taking part in a recent international translocation conference on a field day in the Cairngorms. He hears from delegates from Australia, Kenya and UK about translocating everything from mosses to rhinosMark visits the St Cyrus National Nature Reserve near Montrose where he finds out about their brand new bird hide.Corncrakes were once common in Western Europe. Now their populations are mostly confined to the Western Isles and Skye. Shelagh Parlane of the RSPB describes how they've been advising crofters on how to adapt their land management techniques to encourage these rare birds to nest.Phil Sime and Morven Livingstone visit a youth club with a difference. In Alness, the club sits in the middle of two acre field. Jannette Douglas is the club coordinatorAnd most people who have livestock will have their own unique way of calling them in. In Finland it is an art known as kuhning. Rachel finds out more from Finnish storyteller and Highland cow breeder Riika Palonen ahead of the Scottish Storytelling Festival.
- 3 weeks ago29 min
The Hidden Powers of Leaves
Mark Stephen meets Professor Jonathan Silvertown whose book Nature Magicians is all about leaves and why they matter
- 3 weeks ago1h 22m
Edinburgh's Surf Resort, Wallace, Glasgow's Fire Dog and the Wild Plants of Deeside
Funding is being made available to improve core paths in Aberdeen over the next few years and Rachel joined Chris York from environmental consultancy Walking the Talk to find out what a core path actually isMark visits a surf resort and he’s not had to go that far! He’s at Lost Shore in Newbridge just outside Edinburgh to find out what’s available at the inland resort which boast Europe’s largest wavepoolThis week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast excerpt features Gabriella Bennett, author of How to Build a City. Helen Needham met up with Gabriella in Glenrothes where she spent part of her childhood to look at some of the New Town’s public artPink footed geese have returned to our shores and the Scottish Wildlife Trust are hosting Goosefest to highlight the influx of geese to Montrose Basin. Visitor centre manager Joanna Peaker gives Mark the rundown on the staggering number of geese descending on the BasinSecuring a job as a ranger is a tough task with each post attracting huge numbers of applicants. Rachel talks to apprentice ranger Jenna Ross to find out how she managed to land her dream role working on the diverse habitats surrounding a windfarm in MorayRefugia – A Celtic Rainforest is the name of new film exploring the temperate rainforests of South West Scotland. Colin Tennant is one of the film makers who spent a year filming the flora and fauna of the areaIn the late 1800s, Wallace, a collie-setter became well known as a fire dog who was adopted by Glasgow’s fire service. 104 years after his death, a statue of Wallace has recently been unveiled at Central Station. Mark hears the story of Wallace and some of his heroicsHow well do you know your wild plants? Rachel has been testing the knowledge of Amelie Mackrory-Bowden, a seasonal ranger with Cairngorms National park who has been researching this vast topic, uncovering some really interesting stories and factsIn memory of Scottish crime writer Peter May who passed away earlier this week, we go back to 2013 when Mark met Peter at Port of Ness close to the Butt of Lewis, the very place he took direct inspiration for the first of the trilogy, The Blackhouse
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