Episodes

  • Sound Escape 266. Relax to the dusk melodies of a male blackbird

    Sound Escape 266. Relax to the dusk melodies of a male blackbird
    Mar 27 2026
    As dusk falls and human activity finally slows in a small market town, a blackbird decides now's the time to release his latest album of lullabies. Slow, beguiling and wistful, his songs lifts the spirits of all within earshot.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 by GettyEmail the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: theplodcast@countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    19 mins
  • 343. Join the Plodcast team for a lazy day's fishing on the Kennet and Avon Canal

    343. Join the Plodcast team for a lazy day's fishing on the Kennet and Avon Canal
    Mar 24 2026
    Join the Plodcast team for a new fishing adventure, this time on the Kennet and Avon Canal in Berkshire. Writer, angler and naturalist Kevin Parr joins Fergus, Hannah, Jack and Lewis to see if they can catch an elusive but beautiful predator of the waterways. Better still, they've been given special access to a normally private stretch of this famous canal. Listen on for a truly breathtaking encounter – and make sure you listen to the very end to hear the surprising finale to the adventure.Our Facebook page is back! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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
    Show more Show less
    52 mins
  • Sound Escape 265. Stirrings of spring on Llangorse Lake

    Sound Escape 265. Stirrings of spring on Llangorse Lake
    Mar 20 2026
    A rare day of sun across the lake transforms late winter into a hint of spring. Canada geese stir and honk, a great white egret chitters overhead and excitable peeps, churs and hums from the reedbeds suggest nestbuilding and courtship among the waterbirds.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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    16 mins
  • 342. A journey through time, land and community with country writer Nicola Chester

    342. A journey through time, land and community with country writer Nicola Chester
    Mar 17 2026
    Award-winning countryside writer Nicola Chester joins the Plodcast this week in her home village of Inkpen in Berkshire to talk about her new book, Ghosts of the Farm. In this amazing story, she weaves her own rural experiences with those of pioneering local farmer Julia White, who farmed in Inkpen in the 1940s and 50s and oversaw fundamental changes to agriculture and the landscape that have enormous ramifications today. Plodcast host Fergus Collins was lucky enough to venture out with Nicola to walk Julia's fields.Nicola's book, Ghosts of the Farm, is published by Chelsea Green Publishing. Our Facebook page is back! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 1 min
  • Sound Escape 264. Take the afternoon off by pottering in an allotment

    Sound Escape 264. Take the afternoon off by pottering in an allotment
    Mar 13 2026
    After a long day, green fingers are calling. Sat beside a quiet allotment, you take in the gentle breeze. Watching over the freshly sprouting veg and blooming bulbs, you're soothed by the murmur of fellow growers.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. Image by GettyEmail the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: theplodcast@countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    12 mins
  • 341. Enjoy the thrill of coldwater swimming in midwinter in the Cotswolds

    341. Enjoy the thrill of coldwater swimming in midwinter in the Cotswolds
    Mar 10 2026
    Could you go coldwater swimming in the depths of winter? James Fair attempts to do just that in lake deep in the Cotswolds. He joins his wife Louise and four of her friends to hear about how swimming in freshwater, whatever the temperature, has a hugely positive impact on physical and mental health. It's an inspiring adventure.Later, join the regular Plodcast team of Fergus, Hannah, Jack and Lewis in the studio for a roundup of your messages, audio postcards and other nature nattering,Our Facebook page is back! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 10 mins
  • Sound Escape 263. Be lulled by the sounds of a 17th-century mill and water wheel in action

    Sound Escape 263. Be lulled by the sounds of a 17th-century mill and water wheel in action
    Mar 6 2026
    Down a windy track in a small valley at the very point where Herefordshire meets Wales, you find a watermill, restored and still working. As water from the leat gushes onto the wheel, it slowly creaks into life. At first, you marvel at the throb of the wheels and gears within the mill before relaxing to the steady pulse of the wheel itself. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    21 mins
  • 340. Discover the healing power of wild plants with Brigit Anna McNeill

    340. Discover the healing power of wild plants with Brigit Anna McNeill
    Mar 3 2026
    After serious childhood trauma and a high-octane but destructive life as a model, Brigit Anna McNeill found solace and healing in the company of wild plants – and wise women. Plodcast host Fergus Collins met Brigit in a peaceful corner of Devon to hear about her journey to become whole again – and her advice on how we can all rewild ourselves to improve our mental and physical health. It's an unmissable story. Brigit's book, The Wild Within: What plants taught me about life, recovery and renewal is published by September, an imprint of Duckworth Books.Our Facebook page is back! Search "Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe 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
    Show more Show less
    59 mins