BBC Countryfile Magazine brings you The Plodcast - a weekly escape to the British countryside with fascinating guests and the wonders of the great outdoors. Enjoy a new escape into the countryside every Tuesday and wind down with our Sound Escapes on a Friday. Find out more about us at www.countryfile.com/podcast Subscribe to the print version of BBC Countryfile Magazine at https://www.ourmediashop.com/bbc-countryfile-magazine-wmonx25
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Sep 29, 2026 · 1:03:03
Head out on an incredibly mindful, soothing – and rather wet – adventure at Budleigh Salterton estuary in Devon with celebrated ethno-botanical researcher Robin Harford. Robin…
Sep 25, 2026 · 14:10
You follow a path through woods, high above a stream. There is wind high in the trees but you can hear falling water. Suddenly the path opens into a wide glade and find yourself…
Sep 22, 2026 · 55:25
The Plodcast celebrates the start of autumn with a visit to deepest Herefordshire to go foraging with expert Liz Knight. Liz extols the power of plants we tend to despise: docks,…
Sep 18, 2026 · 17:09
Recent rain has revived the woodland and you are compelled to take an evening walk in search of fungi along a stream and through the crunchy leaf litter. The strong, earthy scent…
Sep 15, 2026 · 1:12:11
Sometimes it's vital to take some time out and reconnect with nature and the present moment. The Sharpham Trust on the River Dart in Devon offers nature-based, mindful retreats…
Sep 11, 2026 · 11:44
After months of heatwaves and drought, it's blissful to wander through a wooden valley listening to rain falling on leaves. And as if summoned by the falling water, a rare marsh…
Sep 8, 2026 · 1:01:12
The Plodcast heads to the Cotswolds this week in search of King Arthur. Historian and artist Amy Jeffs has written a new study exploring the earliest origins of the legendary…
Sep 4, 2026 · 15:49
It's the morning after a storm on the island of Sark and you've followed a narrow track along a wooded valley that opens into a tiny cove. Taking shelter in a sea cave, you watch…
Sep 1, 2026 · 57:56
This week, the Plodcast heads to Sharpham Park Farm in the Somerset Levels to join the 'Pickle Me Walnuts' day of harvesting and preparing young walnuts to make an ancient…
Aug 28, 2026 · 16:56
On the crunchy parched grass of the Clifton Downs, you join the crowds gathering to witness the 2026 solar eclipse. As the atmosphere builds, people deploy eclipse glasses,…
Aug 25, 2026 · 56:48
“A fulmar once vomited in my eye!” Writer and naturalist Stephen Rutt recalls his adventures following s raindrop from source to sea for his new book The Waterlands. This week's…
Aug 21, 2026 · 18:13
There's nothing better on a hot afternoon than sitting in the cool of the reedbeds beside a lake. As you relax, wildlife emerges – waterbirds gossiping, bees and dragonflies…
Aug 18, 2026 · 1:09:17
This week we welcome award-winning novelist and nature diarist Melissa Harrison to the Plodcast for the first time. Melissa's new novel, The Given World, is a dark and beautiful…
Aug 14, 2026 · 18:11
Despite the endless drought, the river still runs. Reduced yes, but still a generous artery of life in a parched countryside. You sit beside it, cooled and reassured as numerous…
Aug 11, 2026 · 56:46
Since they escaped into the wild in the mid 20th century, American mink have wreaked havoc on our waterways, virtually wiping out water voles and other aquatic wildlife. But a…
Aug 7, 2026 · 19:16
It's too hot for gardening so you retire to a wildflower meadow where a cooling breeze and gentle conversations of sparrows and jackdaws soothe your soul.BBC Countryfile…
Aug 4, 2026 · 43:12
We head to Dorset this month to spend a day fishing at a lazy summer lake in the company of Plodcast regular Kevin Parr. But in a perfect Plodcast twist, Kev first has something…
Jul 31, 2026 · 18:07
Walking high in the parched hills you suddenly hear the welcome music of running water. After a brief search, you find a small cave mouth where a spring gushes continuously. The…
Jul 28, 2026 · 56:59
When we go on holiday to the coast, we tend to overlook the stories of the people who live and work there. Natasha Carthew grew up in a working class community in Cornwall and…
Jul 24, 2026 · 15:39
It’s a sunny morning on the seashore and the tide is going out. It’s Leaving behind shallow rockpools, perfect mirrors of the crisp, blue sky. BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast…
Jul 21, 2026 · 54:11
Back in 1926, the first Winnie the Pooh book was published – and became one of the most loved children's stories of all time. One hundred years later, Plodcast host Fergus…
Jul 17, 2026 · 20:35
As you crest a little riverside cliff, the air is filled with clicks, trills and buzzes. Squadrons of sand martins career wildly around you from their colony – a series of…
Jul 14, 2026 · 57:53
One of the biggest issues facing our wildlife and wild places is our own disconnection from the natural world. You've got to love it to save it, says this week's guest Alastair…
Jul 10, 2026 · 14:39
Walking beside the deep green River Medway in Kent, your path takes in a broad meander that curls around a wildflower-rich meadow. Blackcaps and whitethroats sing from hedges,…
Jul 7, 2026 · 55:44
Is the chalk stream the purest and most delightful natural habitat in England? Plodcast host Fergus Collins heads to the Hampshire-Wiltshire border to meet author and fly fisher…
Jul 3, 2026 · 14:23
You’ve taken a break on the cliff path. A young family of ravens tilt and whirl beneath you. They seem so small against the outstretched sea. Near the shore its glittering…
Jun 30, 2026 · 54:39
Cool off with a Plodcast adventure to Portland Bill, the southernmost tip of Dorset, to spend a day fishing with expert Callum Harris. The quest is to catch a ballan wrasse, a…
Jun 26, 2026 · 14:29
It's an early summer morning. The sun is already shining through the woodland. Its gleaming rays dapple the well worn path. A gleeful chorus of birdsong welcomes the coming…
Jun 23, 2026 · 1:07:45
This week, the Plodcast visits Penstone Learning Centre – a farm on the edge of the town of Cheddar in Somerset where students who struggle in mainstream education – often with…
Jun 19, 2026 · 12:17
It’s evening on the clifftop. You’re sitting on short grass. It’s still holding the heat of the day, and it’s as soft and warm as a blanket. For the nearby lambs, it’s time for…
Jun 16, 2026 · 58:50
This week, the Plodcast heads to the island of Bute off Scotland's west coast to meet author and naturalist Lucy Lapwing to talk about her new book Love is a Toad – discussing…
Jun 12, 2026 · 21:24
High in the hills you enter a deep valley, green with the exuberant growth of early summer. As you wander into the woods listening to birdsong, the oak, beech and hazel gently…
Jun 9, 2026 · 36:15
After exploring the wild inspiration for the Woodland Trust's Forgotten Forests garden at the Chelsea Flower show in last week's episode, Plodcast host Fergus Collins heads to…
Jun 5, 2026 · 13:52
You deserve a break. Basking in the sun’s amber rays, on an island just off the coast of Africa, you take in the effervescent birdsong and lush vegetation. You’ve never seen so…
Jun 2, 2026 · 55:19
Britain's ancient woodlands are under threat and the Woodland Trust is fighting to save them with its Forgotten Forests campaign. In line with this, the Trust has asked…
May 29, 2026 · 16:14
Sitting beside a honeysuckle plant blooming in the late spring garden, you are lulled by the hum of many bees, while swallows twitter overhead – and a song thrush elbows his way…
May 26, 2026 · 56:46
Plodcast host Fergus Collins ventures into the stunning mountainous region of Torridon on the west coast of Scotland to explore the lochs, woods and peaks for the first time.…
May 22, 2026 · 20:37
As the dawn sun blazes over the wide Loch Torridon below, birds stir in the sheltered, verdant glen that runs down to the shore. A strident song thrush, a soft cuckoo – and not a…
May 19, 2026 · 57:31
Professor Dave Goulson is one of Britain's foremost experts on bee ecology and conservation. And his Sussex garden is a magnificent example of how to create the perfect haven for…
May 15, 2026 · 10:52
A mid-spring morning on the heath. Showers scud through on a brisk breeze, chased by the sun and a steady trickle of southerly arrivals. Among the grey peel of silver birch, a…
May 12, 2026 · 56:53
We head into the city this week with urban naturalist Amanda Tuke. Amanda is a champion of the nature on your doorstep so Plodcast host Fergus Collins met her outside Cardiff…
May 8, 2026 · 18:46
Late afternoon meets the first tendrils of dusk and the oakwoods are empty of people. Instead, birdsong fills the half-light beneath the trees: song thrush, great tit, chiffchaff…
May 5, 2026 · 1:12:07
Head into a quiet, magical corner of Herefordshire to meet artists Jackie Morris and Tamsin Abbott who have collaborated to create Wild Folk: Tales From the Stones – stories of…
May 1, 2026 · 15:19
It's a hazy morning on the South-West coast. The sun's rays disperse across the silent waves, glittering over passing boats. A choir of birds greet you, as you sit and watch the…
Apr 28, 2026 · 56:29
Painter John Constable (1776-1837) is today one of the most celebrated painters of the English countryside. But in his lifetime his efforts to capture the true essence of nature…
Apr 24, 2026 · 18:30
A cool dawn, dew-dampened and soft air. In these folds of West Dorset, it will be another hour before the sun reaches above the sharp-edged ridge in the south east, but below,…
Apr 21, 2026 · 54:17
Come metal-detecting in the Essex countryside with Ellie Bruce and Lucy Gray – who call themselves Roman Found. After taking up detecting during the first Covid lockdown, Lucy…
Apr 17, 2026 · 10:32
A track winds up onto a bleak hill top – or it looks from afar. As you get closer, you realise the land is rich in bilberries, heather and small, stunted hawthorns. Soon you are…
Apr 14, 2026 · 1:01:56
This week we're in the Malverns in Worcestershire to try to find Britain's only venomous snake – the adder. Plodcast host Fergus Collins is guided by local adder expert Nigel…
Apr 10, 2026 · 18:41
A gentle walk at this time of year can suddenly throw up a surprise. A firecrest! The thin, accelerating song of Britain's smallest bird pipes among the robins, wood pigeons and…
Apr 7, 2026 · 49:05
Come with us through the high security gates of a flooded quarry in the Forest of Dean to explore Deep project. Here, in the deep waters of the quarry, DEEP is experimenting with…
Apr 3, 2026 · 11:20
Watching ripples of river water swirl and overlap, you allow your mind to wander. The clear water’s constant stream is hypnotic as it makes the vivid green algae dance. The proud…
Mar 31, 2026 · 53:26
It's night in the woods deep in the Cotswold Hills. Plodcast host Fergus joins friend and environmental writer James Fair to see if they can witness the great spring toad…
Mar 27, 2026 · 18:43
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,…
Mar 24, 2026 · 51:33
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…
Mar 20, 2026 · 15:55
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…
Mar 17, 2026 · 1:00:37
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…
Mar 13, 2026 · 11:38
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…
Mar 10, 2026 · 1:10:02
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…
Mar 6, 2026 · 21:21
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…
Mar 3, 2026 · 59:00
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.…
Feb 27, 2026 · 13:24
Very little is stirring in the deep dark winter woodland. That is until you come to a wide clearing on the edge of the wood, with slumbering farmland beyond. Here, inspired by…
Feb 24, 2026 · 56:18
Did you know that, even today, some of London's streets are lit by gas? Annabel Ross heading into the city's twilight zone to meet Aran Osman whose job it is to maintain these…
Feb 20, 2026 · 10:42
What's normally a gentle brook, winding through a peaceful woodland, has been transformed by many days of rain into a breathtaking torrent. You get your feet wet crossing the…
Feb 17, 2026 · 57:12
Did you know that the last battle fought on English soil occurred in the early years of Queen Victoria – out in the Kent countryside? Historical novelist Ian Breckon has…
Feb 13, 2026 · 7:30
This week we're featuring a lost sound of the countryside – the curious melodies of clattering mills. These were wind-powered devices on tall poles that made a racket to scare…
Feb 10, 2026 · 53:54
What is an honesty box? And how did it help writer Lucy Brazier understand her husband's serious mental health issues and save her marriage? And all this against a backdrop of a…
Feb 6, 2026 · 12:02
You awake to a strange silence, a deep calm. As you draw back the curtain, you are surprised to see a soft blanket of snow across the garden and beyond. This wasn't forecasted.…
Feb 3, 2026 · 40:39
This week, Plodcast host Fergus sets out to find signs of spring in seldom-visited woodland in south Monmouthshire. Listen on for a mindful Plodcast full of eerie midwinter…
Jan 30, 2026 · 12:39
The pipes and flutes of curlews, oystercatchers and redshanks rise occasionally above the rush and roar of breakers on this little visited haven along the Sussex coast. You walk…
Jan 27, 2026 · 1:02:37
Hugh Crossley aka Lord Somerleyton has rewilded large parts of his estate on the Norfolk-Suffolk border. After initial success spreading his message across East Anglia – in what…
Jan 23, 2026 · 16:59
After several days of intense cold deep in the Sussex countryside, a bright, warmer morning encourages a procession of birds to move through the garden in search of food – from…
Jan 20, 2026 · 1:12:20
Head to the Severn Estuary to meets curlews and other wild waterbirds in the company of singer-songwriter Merlyn Driver. Merlyn's music draws on nature and folk traditions and he…
Jan 16, 2026 · 17:05
Just a few miles from its source, the River Severn is already a dashing, tumbling river, full of youthful promise and energy. You meet it while walking in a small market town –…
Jan 13, 2026 · 56:15
The RSPB's annual Big Garden Birdwatch is one of the world's biggest citizen science projects and provides incredible insights into the populations of our common birds.To find…
Jan 9, 2026 · 12:39
It's bright and sunny but it's an illusion: a gale is swirling through the treetops, the aftermath of last night's storm. Shielded among the trees, you enjoy a walk through piles…
Jan 6, 2026 · 53:37
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…
Jan 2, 2026 · 13:34
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…
Dec 30, 2025 · 49:27
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…
Dec 26, 2025 · 15:04
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…
Dec 23, 2025 · 58:53
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…
Dec 19, 2025 · 15:54
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…
Dec 16, 2025 · 50:24
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…
Dec 12, 2025 · 13:09
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…
Dec 9, 2025 · 1:00:38
Plodcast regular Kevin Parr joins host Fergus Collins for a charming mushroom hunting walk in a wooded Welsh valley. Along the way, as the foraging basket with treats, they…
Dec 5, 2025 · 13:54
After 36 hours of rain, the town floods and then the waters recede, surging down brooks such as this. You pause on a bridge above, hearing a stranger, bolder song in a stream you…
Dec 2, 2025 · 1:02:56
This week, we're heading to the bleakly beautiful Essex marshes to meet historian and birder Michael J Warren – and thousands of waders and wildfowl in this stunning area of big…
Nov 28, 2025 · 14:59
Deep in the Essex Marshes, you find solitude on a path that skirts marsh and lagoon. But you're not entirely alone – from the creeks and open water the fluting calls of waders…
Nov 25, 2025 · 39:53
Join the Plodcast team of Fergus, Hannah, Jack and Lewis in a wild corner of the centre of Bristol for a long-awaited Plodchat – a round-up of our nature adventures plus listener…
Nov 21, 2025 · 18:19
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…
Nov 18, 2025 · 57:38
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…
Nov 14, 2025 · 20:16
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…
Nov 11, 2025 · 50:34
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…
Nov 7, 2025 · 10:22
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…
Nov 4, 2025 · 1:08:42
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…
Oct 31, 2025 · 17:11
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…
Oct 28, 2025 · 1:00:25
Explore the history and identity of England from Saxon times to the modern day through 25 poems. Host Annabel Ross meets author Catherine Clarke in the heart of England by the…
Oct 24, 2025 · 20:16
It's early in the morning and the human world is awake and bustling. But down by the river you pause to watch the water glide over its stony bed and listen as it composes a…
Oct 21, 2025 · 56:55
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…
Oct 17, 2025 · 12:00
You've wondered down a country lane to find a small, ancient church with a square tower. Crumbling gravestones covered in moss or lichen lean here and there in the churchyard but…
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