Episodios

  • 332. Blow off the cobwebs with a hike into the hills to find the legendary Chartists' Cave

    332. Blow off the cobwebs with a hike into the hills to find the legendary Chartists' Cave
    Jan 6 2026
    Happy New Year and welcome to the first Plodcast of 2026. The Plodcast is a weekly adventure in the British countryside brought to you by BBC Countryfile Magazine. In this episode, Plodcast host Fergus Collins sets out on a bright morning into a little known upland landscape in the Bannau Brycheiniog to search for the legendary Chartists' Cave. He is joined by friend and regular walking leader for the Crickhowell Walking Festival Andy Knifton. Listen on for an eerie walk into an atmospheric realm.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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    54 m
  • Sound Escape 254. Wake up to gentle birdsong in a sleepy village

    Sound Escape 254. Wake up to gentle birdsong in a sleepy village
    Jan 2 2026
    It's early morning and the winter's frost is receding as you step out into the brisk air. The low coos of wood pigeons greet you as you gaze at the mellow pink sky. The sounds of people to-ing and fro-ing tell you it's time to put the kettle on.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 Jack Bateman and introduced by Hannah Tribe. Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: theplodcast@countryfile.comAnd 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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    14 m
  • 331. Enjoy an epic starling murmuration on the Somerset Levels with the Plodcast team

    331. Enjoy an epic starling murmuration on the Somerset Levels with the Plodcast team
    Dec 30 2025
    A very special Plodcast to end 2025. The Plodcast team of Fergus, Hannah, Kev, Jack and Lewis head to the Somerset Levels in the hope of witnesses and recording one of Europe's most extraordinary wildlife spectacles: the great starling roost over the reedbeds of this wild and wonderful part of the West Country. It did not disappoint. Have a listen! Thank you so much for listening and contributing to the Plodcast in 2025. Have a very Happy New Year and don't forget to get in touch with your own stories and recordings of the countryside. 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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    49 m
  • Sound Escape 253. Hear the voices of a million starlings going to roost

    Sound Escape 253. Hear the voices of a million starlings going to roost
    Dec 26 2025
    Dusk is imminent and you're standing on a raised path, an old abandoned railway line through the marshes. For the past 30 minutes vast uncountable flocks of starlings have poured overhead and settled in the reedbeds. Now, millions of chattering voices sound like breakers on a distant shore while other wetland birds chur and chunter unseen.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.comAnd 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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    15 m
  • 330. It's the Plodcast Christmas Special and team quiz 2025!

    330. It's the Plodcast Christmas Special and team quiz 2025!
    Dec 23 2025
    Join the Plodcast team of Fergus, Hannah, Jack and Lewis – with special guest and quiz master Kevin Parr. As well as tackling Kev's now legendary Plodcast quiz, the team gather by the fire to reminisce about the past year's adventures in nature and the countryside. Plus, Jack has some jokes... Thank you so much for listening and contributing to the Plodcast in 2025. Have a very Happy Christmas and don't forget to tune in on 30 December for perhaps our most magical team adventure in nature so far! 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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    59 m
  • Sound Escape 252. Enjoy sunshine and peace along the seawall of the Bristol Channel

    Sound Escape 252. Enjoy sunshine and peace along the seawall of the Bristol Channel
    Dec 19 2025
    After climbing a few steps you're atop the sea wall and the vast skies and broad seascape of the Bristol Channel open before you. You're looking south from Wales across the water to Somerset and North Devon. It's eerily quiet with just a distant roar of water, a passing plane and the calls of occasional passing gulls, curlews and goldfinches. 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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    16 m
  • 329. Making a spun-iron frying pan at a family-run foundry in Shropshire

    329. Making a spun-iron frying pan at a family-run foundry in Shropshire
    Dec 16 2025
    Plodcast host Fergus heads to Cleobury Mortimer in deeply rural Shropshire to visit the Netherton Foundry. Here, Neil and Sue Currie and their team make beautiful spun-iron cookware using traditional skills and tools. And Fergus gets the chance to fashion frying pans from scratch – a magical insight into a thriving, family-run rural business. A huge thanks to Neil and Sue, as well as Ryan, Toby, Colin and Maddie for their time – and patience!Find out more about Netherton Foundry https://www.netherton-foundry.co.uk/. 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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    50 m
  • Sound Escape 251. Hear the song of the wind on the first icy morning of winter

    Sound Escape 251. Hear the song of the wind on the first icy morning of winter
    Dec 12 2025
    A cold front has swept down from the north overnight but it's a bright morning over the frosty marshes. A breeze pushes ripples across a lagoon of deepest blue and then gently jostles the dead rushes and reeds. Nothing else stirs. 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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    13 m
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