Scotland Outdoors

Some people have found themselves unable to get out and about due to heavy snowfall this week. Rachel meets Cameron Black based in Inverurie in Aberdeenshire who has been voluntarily clearing streets with his own plough.

Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance has unveiled the most advanced helicopter air ambulance of its type in the UK, which operates from a base in Aberdeen. The new helicopter offers greater range and night vision technology. Mark heads to Dyce to chat to the crew.

Community Off-Road Transport Action Group is a group of volunteers in 4x4s who ha...

Mark Stephen goes out sketching old trees at Haddo with artist Tansy Lee Moir

he Quadrantid meteor shower will be peaking in the UK around 3rd and 4th January. Elizabeth Tindall shares her experience of observing fireball meteors which are associated with this type of shower.

Rachel catches up with Milli Abram as she undertakes a solo rowing adventure across the Atlantic Ocean.

The Atlantic Salmon is now classified as an endangered species in the UK. Mark hears about the Save the Spring project being undertaken by the Dee District Salmon Fisheries Board to translocate fish and help improve breeding success.

Writer Neil Ansell discusses his hearing...

Phil Sime and Morven Livingstone go wild foraging in the Highlands with outdoor survival instructor Zeki Basan. Along the way, Zeki introduces them to essential bushcraft skills, from food preservation and shelter building to the ancient art of fire-lighting using stone.

Mark and Rachel celebrate 60 Years of the Mountain Bothy Association with a trip to Ryvoan Bothy to get a sense of the very lively bothy culture in Scotland.

Helen Needham discusses hearing loss and his search for bird song with writer Neil Ansell

Farmer Simon Johnson offers tours and experiences with alpacas. Rachel heads to Bowbridge Alpacas in Fife and begins by taking a look at some alpaca babies sheltering from the cold.

It’s National Robin Day on the 21st of December. Mark meets Ian Broadbent in Aberdeenshire to chat about the songbird and its small but mighty reputation.

Rachel joins Dr Andrew Hoolachan in Glasgow, the wettest city in the UK. Andrew explains why it’s important to consider how we live with the rain and shares findings from his report: ‘Living with rain – planning for everyday...

Mark Stephen goes out in search of snow with Mark Diggins of SAIS

The Scottish Wildlife Trust has just acquired a piece of land which will double the size of one of its wildlife reserves. Rachel joins Reserves Manager Rab Potter at Gight Wood near Methlick to discover why the site is so significant.

A new survey has revealed that the number of peregrine pairs in the breeding season within Cairngorms National Park has declined by 56% since 2002. Mark meets Chief Executive Grant Moir near Grantown to discuss the pattern.

Cattle droving was once commonplace in Scotland, moving animals on foot to market and to higher fields for grazing...

Phil Sime and Morven Livingstone meet up with Jonathan Caddy at the Findhorn Foundation.

In the summer, Mark met Euan Tomes, Assistant Woodlands Manager at Moray Estates, in the aftermath of a wildfire that spread through Dava Moor. Mark catches up with Euan to find out how the land has been recovering and what happened to the osprey chicks Euan helped to save.

In the heart of Sanquhar in Dumfries and Galloway is an organisation called A’ the Airts. Rachel meets Aileen Sim and Kate Sloan to find out how it's working to protect the craft of knitting.

Mills Observatory in Dundee has reopened for this year’s season and...

Mark and Rachel speak to delegates at the Scottish Outdoor Access Network conference.

The Spirit of Adventure Festival is hosted this weekend by Paralympic champion Karen Darke and features Claire Alldritt, who embarked on a 1000 mile trek with her horses in 2022. Rachel joins them to chat next adventures.

In this week’s podcast excerpt, Mark meets climber Guy Robertson whose latest book, The Great Mixed Climbs of Scotland, co-produced with photographer Hamish Frost, highlights winter climbs in the country.

In a few days, Milli Abrams of Tribe Yarns in East Neuk, will start a 3000 mile solo row across the Atlantic. Milli joins Mark and Rachel before the adventure be...

Mark Stephen meets Scottish based winter climber Guy Robertson. Guy's latest book, The Great Mixed Climbs of Scotland, co-produced with photographer Hamish Frost highlights the best winter climbs in the country. Mark also finds out what it takes to be a winter climber

Forvie Nature Reserve is known for its seal population. Ythan Seal Watch are a volunteer group who promote responsible viewing of seals, Mark met up with them to find out more.

Rachel heads to the beach at Broughty Ferry to chat with Isla Fowler and Jessica Giannotti about SeaDyes, a young company working with the James Hutton Institute to create natural dyes from seaweed.”

Listener and professional dog walker, Liz Merchant challenged Mark to join her and two of her dogs for a walk in a very wet Edinburgh.

Just outside Glasgow, the Sa...

Mark Stephen goes out on the hill at Finzean in Aberdeenshire with stalker Hedge Shand and Chef Sanjay Bhattacharya to discuss deer management and venison.

Photographer, filmmaker and researcher Jill de Fresnes has encapsulated the experiences of twelve Scottish women who worked as herring gutters from the 1920s to the 1960s in a new exhibition at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh. Mark meets Jill there to chat about Silver, Salt and Stories – Images and Memories of the Scots Herring Women.

Two friends in Fife set up the Wild Scottish Sauna during lockdown after seeing the popularity of wild swimming. In this week’s podcast excerpt, Rachel visits one of their sites at Kingsbarns beach near St Andrews to speak to some of t...

Two working mothers in Fife set up Wild Scottish Sauna during lockdown after seeing the popularity of wild swimming.

Cairngorms Pride is a new nature-led organisation set up in Cairngorms National Park with the motto: “here for the planet, queer for the planet”. Rachel chats to Dan Cottam and Kath Pierce about the social enterprise.

Coinneach Rankin and Hamish Macleod are climbers and filmmakers who make the series Dàna on BBC Alba in which they capture their adventures in the outdoors. Helen Needham joins them in Lochaber to discuss their approach to adventuring, filmmaking and the Gaelic language.

The first grey seal pups of the season are at Forvie National Nature Reserve in Aberd...

Coinneach Rankin and Hamish Macleod are both climbers and filmmakers who make the series Dàna on BBC Alba in which they capture their adventures in the outdoors. They discuss their approach to adventuring, filmmaking and the Gaelic language and landscape.

Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart with stories from the great outdoors.

Mark Stephen visits Culloden Battlefield to meet archaeologists involved in a recent dig there to find out what they have uncovered

The Mither Tap forms part of the range of hills collectively known as Bennachie in Aberdeenshire. Mark takes a stroll with Peter Stock and Alan Henderson of Bailies of Bennachie to discover plans to restore the path to the Mither Tap.

Jenny Graham joins the Strong Mum Club baby hike near Inverness to find out how mums in the group are benefitting from getting outdoors and socialising together.

In this week’s podcast excerpt, Rachel meets Tom Bowser, author of Waters of Life, Fighting for Scotland’s Beavers at his farm in Perthshire where in Nove...

Rachel Stewart meets Tom Bowser, author of Waters of Life, Fighting for Scotland's Beavers at his farm in Perthshire where in November 2021 a family of beavers were relocated

Mark Stephen and Jenny Graham with stories from the great outdoors.

A conversation between geographer and writer Hayden Lorimer and Alec Finlay, in which Alec describes his creative practice around limit and how he came to appreciating and celebrating the View.

A multimedia installation which explores the role of beavers on an estate in Perthshire is part of this year’s soundfestival in the north east. Rachel joins composer and musician Dave Maric to learn more about Silent Architects.

Mark takes a stroll in Falkirk with writer Rebecca Smith to appreciate the beauty of larch trees and new techniques to protect them.

One of Shetland's small outer Isles recently saw the first working tractor in over thirty years tend to the land. Eva Runciman meets Ethan Arthur, who grew up in Skerries, to find out how an...

Mark Stephen meets conservationist Roy Dennis to explore an innovative project in Moray, where the introduction of Highland cows to a wooded landscape is helping to restore Scotland's capercaillie population.

Since 2021, Argyll Hope Spot’s Snorkelling Artists Residency has been offering artists the opportunity to explore the marine habitats of Argyll and create artwork inspired by what they find beneath the waves. Mark dons his wetsuit to join printmaker Louise Scammell and artist and writer Jane Smith who are helping to run the residency.

Last week, Scottish Ministers approved a new seasonal byelaw to ban campfires and barbecues in the Cairngorms National Park at the most high risk times of the year. Rachel meets the Park’s Grant Moir to chat about how the byelaw will work.

The Bessie Ellen is a unique sailing ship which has been lovingly restored by Nikki Alford. Originally from the South West of England, she spends most of her time sailing in Scottish waters. Writer Linda Cracknell has a personal association with the ship after she started looking into her family history and discovered that she comes from a long line of sea farers. Helen Needham gets a tour of this beautiful ship whilst she was moored up in Inverness and hears about Linda's book 'Sea Marked'.

Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart with stories from the great outdoors.

'Upsetting content warning' - Juliet talks very openly about her terminal illness which some people may find upsetting.

Leslie Heritage Group in Fife came up with an ambitious project designed to unearth more information about the ancient village’s history and raised money for an archaeological dig. Rachel went along to day one of the excavation to learn more from Group members Bill Carr and Bill Fiet and archaeologist Philip Karsgaard.

Woodland Trust Scotland has developed a database which maps social depravation against canopy cover and gives each neighbourhood a ‘tree equity score.’ Kevin Keane meets the Trust’s Anna Perks to talk about the scores and how many trees need to be planted to create u...

Mark Stephen visits Dundee to hear how a consignment of teak which was salvaged from a sunken steamer ship in the Irish Sea is now being used as part of the RRS Discovery restoration project

The North East Open Studios allows people to meet artists and makers, often in their own workspaces. Rachel is welcomed by Marguerite Fleming from Westfield Croft in Aberdeenshire who has a rare breed fibre flock which she uses to create hand woven rugs and yarns.

Around this time last year, Mark visited Scott Campbell on his farm at Kinellar in Aberdeenshire when the rain that had played havoc with his crops. Mark catches up with Scott to find out how the barley has fared this year.

The results of this year’s Big Butterfly Count ar...

Mark Stephen visits Insh Marshes near Aviemore in the early hours to meet a couple of moth enthusiasts and discover the contents of the moth trap they had set the night before

The University of St Andrews is using ancient rocks from Torridon to test instruments that will be used on the Mars Rover to look for evidence of life. Mark meets Dr Claire Cousins in the lab.

Rod and Niccy Angus opened the Scottish Owl Centre in West Lothian in 2012 and are now looking for new people to take over the attraction. It’s the largest collection of owls in the world and Rachel hears how the origins of the venture can be traced back to one species.

Phil Sime takes a trip to Inverness Botanic Ga...

Rachel Stewart meets the owners of the Scottish Owl Centre as they prepare for retirement

The Bikery in Huntly, Aberdeenshire aims to repair and resell old bikes to stop them ending up in landfill. Rachel chats to team members Stuart Pow and Laura McNeil about the Bikery’s mission, before heading to the workshop to learn how the project teaches mechanical skills.

Josh Donaldson from Arbroath became an internet sensation after posting videos clearing up litter from his local forests, beaches and streets. In an excerpt from our midweek podcast, Mark joins Josh to find out how he is motivating others to do the same.

‘Beneath the Waves’ is a curren...

Mark Stephen speaks to Josh Donaldson from Arbroath who became a Tick Tock sensation after posting videos of him clearing up litter from his local forests, beaches and streets. As well as coming across the usual litter such as plastic bottles, cans and crisp packets, he’s even found a grenade. Now with a following of 1.5 million fans as far as the USA and Vietnam, Josh is motivating thousands to do the same.

Mark is back with Heritage Engagement Manager Ingrid Shearer on the banks of the River Clyde to discuss one of Scotland’s first access rights success stories, the case of Harvie’s Dyke.

Also on the Clyde, Helen Needham takes a wander with author Louise Welsh and architect Jude Barber, who are asking for recognition of the legal personhood status of the river.

Helen and Mark are joined by Chris Romer-Lee who co-founded Swimmable Cities to discuss how we can swim in our urban waterways once more and the benefits of cleaning up our rivers for...

Helen Needham discusses the 'aliveness' of rivers with writer Robert Macfarlane

Mark is in Aberdeenshire with RSPB’s Hywel Maggs to try to catch a glimpse of the Common crane and to find out why numbers of the birds are increasing in North East Scotland.

Naturalist and Educator Dan Puplett reads the Scottish landscape to track wildlife. Jenny Graham meets him Rafford, near Forres to search for evidence of local species.

‘Clouds’, a new book by Dr Edward Graham explores cloud formations, the science behind them and even the famous artists who have painted them. Mark meets author Eddy to take a look at the formations floati...

Mark Stephen meets Eddy Graham, a lecturer/researcher in atmospheric science.

Comedian Dion Owen is at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to combine his two passions, cycling and stand-up. Mark meets Dion before his show to find out more about his free bike programme for Fringe artists.

Gardening expert Julie-Ann Henderson is trying to encourage more young people to consider horticulture as a career. She established the first North of Scotland garden show this year and Rachel catches up with her at her home near Keith.

Ingrid Shearer is co-author of the A-Z of Rowing on the Clyde, an ebook that tells a myriad of stories about...

The Whithorn Way follows an ancient pilgrim route from Glasgow to Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. In this final episode, Mark and Rachel walk some of the Ayrshire Coastal Path south of Girvan. Then Mark takes to his bike for the final section to Whithorn. They reach Whithorn Priory where the relics of St Ninian were kept, and the place where pilgrims would seek atonement. Their final destination is the beach next to St Ninian's cave where he is said to have spent a considerable amount of time in the darkness praying.

Since 1978 the Travelling Gallery has been bringing exhibitions to communities throughout Scotland by putting art inside a bus. Mark steps on board with curator Louise Briggs in Callendar Park, Falkirk, to explore the latest exhibition, Seedlings: Diasporic Imaginaries.

Phil Sime speaks to blind farmer Mike Duxbury about Scotland’s first inclusive farm, a place where people with disabilities can gain the confidence, skills, and opportunities to pursue a career in agriculture.

BBC’s Farmwatch is back to celebrate farming communities across the UK, with 24 hours of continuous broadcasting on BBC local stations on Thursday the 7th o...

Phil Sime visits a farm near Aboyne, Aberdeenshire to speak to blind farmer Mike Duxbury and his partner Ness Shillitto about creating Scotland’s first inclusive farm. This is a place where people with disabilities will gain the confidence, skills and opportunity to pursue a career in agriculture.

The rare Dark Bordered Beauty moth is found in only two sites in Scotland and one in England. Mark joins Dark Bordered Beauty Moth Champion Pete Moore at RSPB Insh Marshes nature reserve to find out more about attempts to reintroduce the moth to other areas in Scotland.

Dark Bordered Beauty moths in Scotland are reliant on aspen suckers - shoots that sprout from the roots of an aspen tree, acting as a form of vegetative reproduction. Mark catches up with Conservation Manager Shaila Rao at Mar Lodge Estate in the Cairngorms to discover how the team...

The Whithorn Way follows an ancient pilgrim route from Glasgow to Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. In this episode, Mark and Rachel begin at Crossraguel Abbey at Maybole, once a significant stopping off point for pilgrims. Then it's off to the once very popular holiday destination of Girvan to learn about a new community led tourism initiative. And they are given the grand tour of the town ending at the jail.

It’s anchors aweigh for Out of Doors as we are live from the Tall Ships Races in Aberdeen.

Mark Stephen meets Harold Murray, veteran cattle breeder and author from North East Scotland. Now in his nineties, Harold has spent his life working with cattle and more recently has turned his hand to writing and poetry

In a couple of weeks, swifts will leave our skies and depart for their wintering grounds in Africa. Author and naturalist Mark Cocker has spent a lifetime observing them and Rachel meets him in Crail to chat about the migrating birds and his new book One Midsummer’s Day - Swifts and the Story of Life on Earth. Never a stranger to getting his hands dirty, Mark grabs a trowel and joins community volunteers on an archaeological dig on East Lomond Hill in Fife. Chairman of the Falkland Stewardship Trust Joe Fitzpatrick unearths the history behind some significant Pictish fi...

The Whithorn Way follows an ancient pilgrim route from Glasgow to Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. In this episode, we begin on the waterfront at Irvine looking at the unique remains of an automatic tide signalling apparatus - we learn more about it at the Scottish Maritime Museum. This is followed by a walk along Irvine beach which can only be described as 'hoaching'. As they wander along the beach to Troon, Mark and Rachel contemplate the appeal of modern day pilgrimage. We also hear some reading recommendations from Christina Riley of the Nature Library. Then it's off to...

Mark visits a Moray estate to hear about the incredible rescue of 3 osprey chicks after wildfires raged through vast areas of the Highlands and neighbouring Moray

Campaigner David Brown specialises in removing fishing debris from our beaches, Rachel pops along to Cairnbulg Harbour by Fraserburgh to find out about his ghost net campaign

Mark visits the National Museum of Flight in East Lothian as they celebrate their 50th anniversary. He speaks to curator Ian Brown about the Avro Vulcan bomber and gets himself a 1st class seat onboard Concorde.

In Dundee, a new...

Josie Vallely - also known as Quinie - is a multi disciplinary artist based in Glasgow. She also loves horses and spends her free time exploring the Scottish countryside - mostly on foot - with her horse Maisie. Helen goes out for a walk with Josie and Maisie near Dumbarton and tunes into their slow approach to moving through the world.

We have another excerpt from the teams Whithorn Way pilgrimage, this time Rachel meets Stuart Wilson and Brian Boyd from the Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers and hears all about a very surprising annual event!

Mark has a trip on a Loch Ness with Frida Newton as they celebrate Jacobite Cruisers 50th anniversary

Rachel visits the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther where they have the only Zulu fishing boat in the UK. Curator Julia Branch and musician Esther Swift - who has composed a piece of music inspired by the vessels, are there to meet...

The Whithorn Way follows an ancient pilgrim route from Glasgow to Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. In this episode, Mark and Rachel visit the Lochwinnoch Community Larder where food waste from supermarkets is re-distributed to the community. This is followed by a refreshing visit to the Lynn Sprout waterfall. Then it's off to Kilwinning to meet the Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers. Mark and Helen then take the Garnock Valley Cycle Way to Irvine, whilst Rachel stops off at the Garnock Floods Wildlife Reserve. We end on the waterfront in Irvine with ice cream and sunshine.

Mark and Helen visit Ingliston for this year’s Royal Highland Show. They meet a nurse with her prize winning Highland cow and They also explore the history of the Highland pony, and its enduring connection to Scotland’s rural heritage.

A festival devoted entirely to composting is taking place in Fife. Rachel visits Cambo Gardens to discover what it's all about, with head gardener Callum Halstead as her guide.

Mark and Rachel will be speaking to author Keli Tomlin about the significance of the summer solstice which marks the longest day and shortest night of t...

The Perthshire scientist hopes the wheel will encourage people to rediscover some of the lost tastes and uses of our wild plants.

Rachel catches up with Nick Ray who previously kayaked around the coast of Scotland, sharing his journey and mental health challenges on social media throughout that year. He’s just completed another journey but walking this time, from far north to south via east and west. Rachel finds out why he decided to hang up his kayak for this challenge.

Mark’s in Aberdeenshire and hears from Jim Wilson from Soil Essentials .who tells him how a spot sprayer is going to change the world!

Bobby Motherwell, the poet in residence at RSPB Lochwinnoch has been...

The Whithorn Way follows an ancient pilgrim route from Glasgow to Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. In this episode, Mark and Rachel start with a quick stop off at Renfrew to contemplate the motivation for pilgrimage in medieval times. Then they head to Paisley Cathedral to learn about the unearthing of a drain which revealed a slate containing musical notation from the 1400's. And they end up at the RSPB's Lochwinnoch Nature Reserve for a bit of wildlife watching and poetry.

A new initiative in Buchan called Sma Wids to encourage farmers and landowners to plant trees, the largest surviving ice house in the UK at Spey Bay, lapwing chick ringing in Upper Deeside, the rare dandelions of Shetland, the seabird village of Fowlsheugh near Stonehaven and the latest news from the osprey nest at Loch Garten plus the tale of a medieval drain at Paisley Abbey along with the dramatic demise of an orca whale at Spey Bay on the Moray Firth in the 1960s

Mark Stephen visits Auchnerran, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust farm on Deeside to watch some lapwing chicks being ringed by research assistant Max Wright and data collector Honor Jones

Dendrochronology is a niche field of study, used to work out the age of trees, forests and wooden objects. However, it is not only useful for looking at the past, but also for considering how to manage wooded areas in the future. Mark met with expert dendrochronologist Dr Coralie Mills, and Borders Forest Trust Project Officer, Catriona Patience, to find out more about more about these scientific methods, and how they have informed forest management.

Drones can have a lot of potential for wildlife researchers, and one person who has found them incredibly useful is Claire Stainfield...

The Whithorn Way follows an ancient pilgrim route from Glasgow to Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. In this episode, Mark and Rachel focus on the start of the journey at Glasgow Cathedral. Mark and Helen cycle down to Glasgow Green and imagine how pilgrims would have crossed the River Clyde. They then follow the River westwards to the new Govan- Partick pedestrian bridge. In Govan, they meet up with Rachel and go to the Govan Old Kirk where there are some unique Viking graves.

Nature-based solutions are a key tool in solving environmental problems such as flooding. Rachel met with Dr Rebecca Wade from Abertay University, who is a big advocate for these solutions, to find out more about how they are actually implemented, and why they are so important.

The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s demonstration farm in Auchnerran near Logie Coldstone, is home to numerous species of wading birds, but has had significant issues in the past with nest predation from badgers and other animals. They are trialling an innovative new solution - specially designed cages to protect th...

Rachel Stewart meets environmental scientist Dr Rebecca Wade from Abertay University.

This week, we are coming to you from the village of Whithorn, in Galloway, broadcasting from the replica Iron Age Roundhouse in the village.

Julia Muir Watt from the Whithorn Trust, and Shaun Thomson from Building Futures Galloway feature as live guests, to share the history of the area, and the importance of promoting heritage crafts and building techniques within the local area.

Whithorn has a thriving community enterprise in the form of the organisation All Roads Lead to Whithorn. They have established a New Town Hall, complete with study facilities, bunkhouse, and boxing ring...

Mo Wilde is a forager, herbalist and author who is also founder of the Wild Biome Project. In this podcast, Helen Needham meets her at Cambo Estate in Fife where they go foraging and discuss the benefits of a wild food diet.

Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart with stories from the great outdoors

Mark Stephen meets head of soil forensics at the James Hutton Institute, Professor Lorna Dawson. Mark meets Lorna at the Institute's research farm, Glensaugh in Aberdeenshire to find out what exactly her job entails

Peregrine falcons have been in residence at the University of Glasgow’s Gilbert Scott Tower for a number of years now, with a new clutch of chicks being born again this year. Rachel met with Clarke Elsby from the university and John Simpson, from the Scottish Ornithologists Club, to get a glimpse of these magnificent birds of prey.

Solsgirth Home Farm near Dollar is home to a large variety of animals, from sheep, to pigs, to emu. Owned and run by veterinarian Jan Dixon, the farm is passionate about reconnecting people to the realities of farm life. Ma...

Rachel Stewart speaks to Dr Kenny Taylor at the Montrose Basin about 60 years of the SWT

Tennants of Elgin is a family quarrying business that has been operating out of the North East of Scotland for fifty years. They have had numerous impressive contracts across Europe, but have recently begun some work that’s a little closer to home – providing the granite for Aberdeen’s Union Street works. Mark went along to meet with Director Gavin Tennant, and find out more about the quarrying process.

Muirburn is a polarising issue at the moment in Scotland, particularly in light of recent wildfires across the country. Helen Needham met with Stuart Smith from the James Hutton...

Mark Stephen visits the poetry path at Corbenic with its founder Jon Plunkett

The Elsick Mounth is an ancient trackway, linking the River Dee to the Mearns, and is one of the routes featured in the new Scotsways guide on hill tracks. Mark and Rachel both met up with Colin Young, a Scotsways volunteer, who guided them along part of the route to point out some of the important historical and archaeological sites that can be seen from the track.

Scotland’s peatlands are an iconic part of the landscape, and have been undergoing targeted restoration across the country for the last fifteen years. Rachel visited Loch Lomond and the Tr...

Lorraine McCall from the Highlands has overcome cancer three times in recent years. She has previously climbed all of Scotland's 221 Corbetts and 282 Munros.

The Scottish Crannog Centre on the banks of Loch Tay is a bustling model Iron Age village, filled with various craftspeople to demonstrate ancient crafts and technologies. Mark went along to find out how the site has grown over the past few years, and how the construction of the crannog over the water is coming along.

Jenny Graham follows the Postie’s Path – a route once taken by “Big John MacKenzie”, a post runner in the early 19th century, which runs along Strathconon Glen in the West Highlands, finishing at Achnasheen. The route used to take several days for...

Helen Needham meets with bird recorder Ian Broadbent to capture the April dawn chorus

Potato Enthusiast Bob Donald talks to Rachel about a community growing project in Aberdeen which has led to libraries in the north east handing out seeds and seed tatties.

Mark speaks with volunteers from a walking group in Govan, who share their personal experiences with homelessness and social hardship. They’re now involved in an innovative project that aims to turn them into city tour guides.

As we enter British Summer Time, Professor Danny Smith from Edinburgh University joins us to explain the importance of daylight for our body’s circadian rhythm and its impact on o...

Kerri Andrews is the author of Pathfinding - On Walking, Motherhood and Freedom. She describes her own traumatic experience with pregnancy, birth and motherhood and draws on examples of other female writers and their experiences over the centuries. She also discusses the history of women and walking and her desire for a more communal child rearing experience in the UK.

Lambhill, in the North of Glasgow, is home to a thriving community hub, built out of an old stable block on the edge of the Forth and Clyde canal. Mark went along to visit their community garden, and find out more about what goes on there.

Rachel is on the banks of Loch Lomond to find out about the issues of litter along the busy stretch of the A82, and what the local people have been doing to tackle it.

Auchindoun Castle in Moray has recently reopened after some careful masonry repairs. Mark meets with...

A shortage of volunteers means some clubs have struggled to restart following the Covid pandemic in 2020. Campaigners say more needs to be done to raise awareness of the issue.

The Cairngorm Funicular Railway is back up and running after some extensive structural works. Mark took a trip up to the snow-covered peak with the Interim Chief Executive Officer of Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Limited, Tim Hurst, to find out what impact the funicular has for the mountain resort.

Farmers and land managers are working together in Moray to investigate how they can tackle environmental challenges such as flooding and decline of biodiversity in the area. Rachel is with Ron Oliveira from Shempton Farms and Charlie Davis from Sylvestris Land Management at Balormie Marsh to hear how their...

Mark Stephen visits Duke Christie at his studio in Moray

Many landowners across Scotland are engaging with large scale restoration projects. One such project, spanning 80 thousand acres, is Wildland, in the Scottish Highlands. They have a 200 year vision to help the land heal, grow and thrive, and Rachel is there to find out more about the project, and perhaps even spot some of birds of prey who are thriving in this landscape.

HippFest, a silent film and live music festival based in Bo’Ness, is back this March, and one of the filmmakers, Moira Salt, has developed a silent film focusing on Scotland’s canals. Mark met up w...

The actors have become regular wild swimmers in recent years. In their latest BBC Scotland TV series, they visit some of Scotland's islands and try out a whole host of different dipping spots in remote and rugged locations.

Golf courses are often criticised for their lack of biodiversity, but at The Plock, near Kyle of Lochalsh, a community project is reclaiming the local golf course and giving it back to the wild. Mark met up with the local ranger, Heather Beaton, to find out more about this rewilding initiative.

A new award-winning footbridge has been built at Bracklinn Gorge near Callander. Mark visits the site and meets with advisor and architect Murray McKellar from the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority, to hear about the innovative design of this new bridge.

...

Mark Stephen hears from Graham Gillie about his extraordinary working life in Antarctica

Mark visits the Montrose Air Station Museum to hear about a new addition to their collection, part of a Halifax Bomber, which crashed in the Angus glens in 1944. Shan Brewis tells us the story behind the plane crash, and how the piece of wreckage came to be discovered exactly 80 years after the tragedy.

Red Squirrels in Scotland are often under threat, but Rachel finds out about the newest concern for our native population. Speaking to Meja Vesterlund from Saving Scotland's Squirrels, she hears about the threat of squirrel pox.

Global celebrations have been taking place...

During the Covid lockdown, Tom Kelly decided to stroll along the Water of Leith Walkway every single day and take photographs of the wildlife in the area. The photographer from Edinburgh has always had a keen interest in nature and he wanted to explore what was living in his own neighbourhood. The result is a huge collection of photographs showcasing what lives on and near the river at different times of the year.

Winchburgh in West Lothian is expanding rapidly, with several new housing developments underway. At the heart of these new developments is the 85 acre Authcaldie Park, where Mark visits a group of volunteers who are building a new centre piece for the area – a model cathedral made entirely out of willow.

RSPB Loch Leven has recently hosted the Convention of Migratory Species, a UN convention with 130 member states involved. Rachel meets up Sarah Scott and Professor Des Thompson to find out about the aims of this convention, and the impact that climate change is having on our migratory bi...

Helen Needham meets seed librarian Rowan Lear

Auchnerran Farm is run by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust as a demonstration farm to test and trial conservation and land management strategies. Mark visits the farm to hear about their projects and how they manage these alongside a profitable enterprise of sheep farming.

It is the 20th anniversary of the opening of Five Sister’s Zoo this year, and the facility has grown from very small beginnings to now housing over 160 species on site in West Calder. Rachel chats to Brian and Gary Curran about their growth over the last two decades and their recent at...

The 7th February 2025 marks 90 years since the death of Scottish writer Lewis Grassic Gibbon, author of Sunset Song. In 2016, it was voted Scotland's favourite novel. In this archive programme, Mark Stephen explores the area it was set in, the Mearns.

The National Farmers Union of Scotland Conference has been underway this week, and Kevin Keane is there, joined by Professor Colin Campbell from the James Hutton Institute, to hear his advice on how farms can become more resilient in the face of climate change.

Muiravonside, Falkirk’s only country park, features several attractions, from a sculpture and poetry trail to the Avon aqueduct. Rachel catches up with the park’s ranger, Claire Martin, to hear about the history and appeal of the estate.

Otters have been making a comeback along the Water of Leith, deep in t...

The 7th February 2025 marks 90 years since the death of Scottish writer Lewis Grassic Gibbon, author of Sunset Song. In 2016, it was voted Scotland's favourite novel. In this archive programme, Mark and Euan explore the area it was set in, the Mearns.

Parts of the country are still recovering after last week’s Storm Eowyn including Jupiter Artland. The 100-acre sculpture garden on the outskirts of Edinburgh suffered quite a bit of storm damage as Mark saw when he visited earlier this week.

Rachel meets a group of volunteers from a whole variety of backgrounds who have come together to help restore the HMS Unicorn, a 200-year-old ship which is docked in Dundee.

Next Friday sees the start of the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s annual Big Farmland Bird Count. Mark headed to their demonstration Farm on D...

We celebrate Burns Day on Out of Doors on the 265th anniversary of his birth. Mark chats to Professor Fiona Stafford from University of Oxford who writes about Burns ‘the bard of nature’. They chat about his understanding of ecology and how that comes through in his poetry.

Rachel hears the good news story about Goldeneye Ducks in the Cairngorms. Goldeneyes are a protected species that have suffered severe population declines, with only around 200 pairs in the UK. But recent work has seen their numbers increase. She finds out what’s behind the success.

In our Sc...