Episodios

  • 321. Secrets of the darkness on a night walk with Andy Flack

    321. Secrets of the darkness on a night walk with Andy Flack
    Oct 21 2025
    As the evenings draw in, we're heading out with environmental historian Dr Andrew Flack to experience how the night change our sensory perception of the world. He has written a new book called Dark Natures: Finding Life in the Shadows, which is out soon. Annabel Ross is your host this week, looking at how humans and animals adapt to the dark – and how it can stoke fears and understanding of the natural world. Andrew is Associate Professor in Environmental and Sensory History at Bristol University. Also, the Plodcast is very proud to announce that it is media partner for the Speakies – the British Audio Awards from The Bookseller Magazine. These new awards celebrate the very best in audiobooks. The Plodcast is partnering in the non-fiction category. Find the shortlists here: www.thebookseller.com/the-british-audio-awards And now you can get in touch with the Plodcast team via: The BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast group on Facebook & BBC Countryfile Magazine's Instagram page. The BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast is the Publishers Podcast Awards Special Interest Podcast of the Year 2024 & 2025 and the PPA Podcast of the Year 2022. If you've enjoyed the plodcast, don't forget to leave likes and positive reviews. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: theplodcast@countryfile.com. If your letter, email or message is read out on the show, you could WIN a Plodcast Postbag prize of a wildlife- or countryside-themed book chosen by the team. The Plodcast is produced by Jack Bateman and Lewis Dobbs. The theme tune was written and performed by Blair Dunlop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    57 m
  • Sound Escape 248. Soft sounds of autumn on the edge of the saltmarsh

    Sound Escape 248. Soft sounds of autumn on the edge of the saltmarsh
    Nov 21 2025
    It's a still autumn morning and you've headed to the sea wall along the edge of the saltmarsh. A gentle rain falls as robins sing in the scrub on the landward side of the wall while occasional redshanks peep and lament from the marsh. 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 and introduced by Hannah Tribe. Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: theplodcast@countryfile.com And just a reminder, the BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast is a media partner for the Speakies! The British Audio Awards from The Bookseller Magazine. The awards celebrate the best in audio books and the Plodcast is the partner for the non-fiction category. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    18 m
  • 325. Roam a Hampshire woodland in search of rare hazel dormice

    325. Roam a Hampshire woodland in search of rare hazel dormice
    Nov 18 2025
    This week we're in Hampshire, looking for dormice. These tiny, charming little mammals are hard to find at the best of times but numbers have been declining for decades mainly due to changes to how we manage our woodlands. Plodcast host Fergus joins Ian White from the People's Trust for Endangered Species, Charlotte Rimmer who is Senior Countryside Officer for Test Vally Borough Council and Richard Genn who owns the woodland to find out more about the plight of Britain's dormice – and hopefully meet one of these 'fairy' creatures. Image from Getty Also, the Plodcast is very proud to announce that it is media partner for the Speakies – the British Audio Awards from The Bookseller Magazine. These new awards celebrate the very best in audiobooks. The Plodcast is partnering in the non-fiction category. Find the shortlists here: www.thebookseller.com/the-british-audio-awards And now you can get in touch with the Plodcast team via: The BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast group on Facebook & BBC Countryfile Magazine's Instagram page. The BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast is the Publishers Podcast Awards Special Interest Podcast of the Year 2024 & 2025 and the PPA Podcast of the Year 2022. If you've enjoyed the plodcast, don't forget to leave likes and positive reviews. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: theplodcast@countryfile.com. If your letter, email or message is read out on the show, you could WIN a Plodcast Postbag prize of a wildlife- or countryside-themed book chosen by the team. The Plodcast is produced by Jack Bateman and Lewis Dobbs. The theme tune was written and performed by Blair Dunlop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    58 m
  • Sound Escape 247. A walk through autumn leaves on an ancient earthwork

    Sound Escape 247. A walk through autumn leaves on an ancient earthwork
    Nov 14 2025
    A path winds on before you, running along the top of an ancient earthwork constructed over a 1000 years ago. To the west, the land falls away into a deep river valley, to the east, fertile farmland that this fortification once protected. Your feet crunch on this year's freshly fallen beech and hazel leaves while a wind blows up for the west, breaking over the dyke as an echo of an invading army. 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 and introduced by Hannah Tribe. Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: theplodcast@countryfile.com And just a reminder, the BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast is a media partner for the Speakies! The British Audio Awards from The Bookseller Magazine. The awards celebrate the best in audio books and the Plodcast is the partner for the non-fiction category. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    20 m
  • 324. Enjoy a mindful walk along the mighty earthwork running through the Welsh Borders known as Offa's Dyke

    324. Enjoy a mindful walk along the mighty earthwork running through the Welsh Borders known as Offa's Dyke
    Nov 11 2025
    From the end of Saxon England last week, we head to the height of Saxon power in Mercia and the reign of King Offa (757-796). Plodcast host Fergus takes a walk along Offa's great work – a massive defensive earthwork that ran along much of the Welsh Borders and can still be encountered today. What is Offa's Dyke and why and how did Offa build it? Listen on to find out more. Also, the Plodcast is very proud to announce that it is media partner for the Speakies – the British Audio Awards from The Bookseller Magazine. These new awards celebrate the very best in audiobooks. The Plodcast is partnering in the non-fiction category. Find the shortlists here: www.thebookseller.com/the-british-audio-awards And now you can get in touch with the Plodcast team via: The BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast group on Facebook & BBC Countryfile Magazine's Instagram page. The BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast is the Publishers Podcast Awards Special Interest Podcast of the Year 2024 & 2025 and the PPA Podcast of the Year 2022. If you've enjoyed the plodcast, don't forget to leave likes and positive reviews. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: theplodcast@countryfile.com. If your letter, email or message is read out on the show, you could WIN a Plodcast Postbag prize of a wildlife- or countryside-themed book chosen by the team. The Plodcast is produced by Jack Bateman and Lewis Dobbs. The theme tune was written and performed by Blair Dunlop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    51 m
  • Sound Escape 246. Kingfisher calls and dipper song on the rushing river

    Sound Escape 246. Kingfisher calls and dipper song on the rushing river
    Nov 7 2025
    You've wandered down to the river to listen to its gentle song – but what's that strange birdsong? A metallic chirruping from the far bank... it's a dipper, it's while bib bobbing at the water's edge. And now a kingfisher zips past with a hoarse, high-pitched whistle. Moments of magic on an overcast autumn day. 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 and introduced by Hannah Tribe. Image from Getty. Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: theplodcast@countryfile.com And just a reminder, the BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast is a media partner for the Speakies! The British Audio Awards from The Bookseller Magazine. The awards celebrate the best in audio books and the Plodcast is the partner for the non-fiction category. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    10 m
  • 323. The Plodcast meets Norman and Saxon warriors at the Battle of Hastings

    323. The Plodcast meets Norman and Saxon warriors at the Battle of Hastings
    Nov 4 2025
    Witness the reenactment of the Battle of Hastings – on the very site in Sussex where the future of England was changed forever in 1066. English Heritage invited the Plodcast to meet the people re-enacting Norman and Saxon life and then watch the battle unfold. So tune in with Plodcast host Fergus for an unforgettable day out in the countryside. Find out more about English Heritage's work preserving and celebrating the nation's history at https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/ Also, the Plodcast is very proud to announce that it is media partner for the Speakies – the British Audio Awards from The Bookseller Magazine. These new awards celebrate the very best in audiobooks. The Plodcast is partnering in the non-fiction category. Find the shortlists here: www.thebookseller.com/the-british-audio-awards And now you can get in touch with the Plodcast team via: The BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast group on Facebook & BBC Countryfile Magazine's Instagram page. The BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast is the Publishers Podcast Awards Special Interest Podcast of the Year 2024 & 2025 and the PPA Podcast of the Year 2022. If you've enjoyed the plodcast, don't forget to leave likes and positive reviews. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: theplodcast@countryfile.com. If your letter, email or message is read out on the show, you could WIN a Plodcast Postbag prize of a wildlife- or countryside-themed book chosen by the team. The Plodcast is produced by Jack Bateman and Lewis Dobbs. The theme tune was written and performed by Blair Dunlop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 h y 9 m
  • Sound Escape 245. Listen to the whispering reedbed as the sun sets over the wetland

    Sound Escape 245. Listen to the whispering reedbed as the sun sets over the wetland
    Oct 31 2025
    A golden autumn sun is dropping behind the hills. A soft wind rides down from the uplands, over the lake and stirs the reedbed. Among the whispers carried on the breeze, you hear croaks, calls and gurgles of waterbirds and even frogs perhaps. 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 and introduced by Hannah Tribe. Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: theplodcast@countryfile.com And just a reminder, the BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast is a media partner for the Speakies! The British Audio Awards from The Bookseller Magazine. The awards celebrate the best in audio books and the Plodcast is the partner for the non-fiction category. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    17 m