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BBC Radio Scotland


A topical guide to life in the Scottish outdoors.


Scotland Outdoors

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 Aberdeenshire. Mark meets Reserve Manager Catriona Reid to discover how to observe the seals without disturbing them.

Phil Sime and Morven Livingstone take to the Caledonian canal to speak to Robert Gordon from Inverness Rowing Club about how the club is making the sport more accessible.

A mother-daughter duo are co-authoring a memoir called Sea Legs. The book follows 11-year-old competitive para swimmer Oona Dooks and her mother Eleanor Thom in their travels across the UK coast and beyond. Mark joins the pair at Montrose Basin to discover what they’ve learnt about caring through the lens of the natural world.

Rachel meets Biosphere Dark Sky ranger Elizabeth Tindal at Crawick Multiverse in Dumfries and Galloway to find out how best to adjust our eyes to the dark and observe the stars.

The Woodland Carbon Code is the UK’s standard for woodland creation projects that aim to generate credible carbon credits. Mark and Rachel are joined by Pat Snowdon of Scottish Forestry to find out how to code is contributing towards Scotland’s net zero targets.

Mark discusses the often misunderstood magpie with author Esther Woolfson, who shared her home with a magpie for eight years.

Magpies, Dark Skies and Cairngorms Pride

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.

Adventures in Gaelic with Coinneach Rankin and Hamish Macleod

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

Daydreaming, Rare Moss and Photographing the River Spey

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

The Battle of Culloden

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 November 2021 a family of beavers were relocated.

A new permanent exhibition which showcases the history and future of Shinty in Scotland opens this weekend in Inverness. Mark visits as the final touches are taking place and chats to artist and former Shinty player Tom Smith and Steven MacKenzie of the Camanachd Association.

Rachel visits this year’s Scottish International Storytelling Festival and chats to Georgiana Keable who has written a book exploring Norwegian Folk Tales. Also appearing at the Festival is Beatrix Wood, the Director of Tim Stead: Magician with Wood. Rachel joins Beatrix and Tim’s former colleague and friend Eoin Cox from the Big Tree Society in Tim’s workshop in Jedburgh.

Green Shores is a St Andrews University based initiative aiming to restore saltmarshes. Mark meets a volunteer group on the Tay Estuary and chats to Dr Clare Maynard, Dr Helena Simmons to discover why saltmarshes are so important.

The Scottish Ploughing Championships take place this weekend and Rachel and Mark are joined by Chairperson Gordon Beattie who explains what it takes to impress the judges.

Mark takes a wander up Ben Rinnes to admire the autumnal colours of a landscape in flux.

Saltmarshes, Shinty and A Horse's Tooth

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

Tom Bowser, author of Waters of Life, Fighting for Scotland's Beavers

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

Campervans, Catching Leaves and a Community Garden

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.

The Power of the View with Alec Finlay

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 old Massey Ferguson left its shed and was put to work on wildlife crop.

Mark meets conservationist Roy Dennis at an innovative project in Moray, where the introduction of highland cows could be helping to restore Scotland’s capercaillie population.

Rachel meets gardeners Mark Armour and Euan Shelley to find out about the unusual pumpkin varieties at The National Trust for Scotland’s Hill of Tarvit in Fife.

Mark is in Glasgow to explore Hamiltonhill Claypits, an inner-city Local Nature Reserve. The Reserve's Julieanne Levett, Bob Alston and Scott Milligan explain the benefits to local communities.

A new book reveals results of a major archaeological project at Finlaggan, the site of a medieval kingdom’s centre of power. Mark and Rachel are joined by author of The Archaeology of Finlaggan, Islay, Dr David Caldwell.

Rachel is off to Tamala Farm in Aberdeenshire to try her hand at tattie howking and to catch a glimpse of harvest life before machinery took over.

Mark checks out the ‘The Air We Breathe’ exhibition in Glasgow. Ingrid Shearer, Heritage Engagement Manager at Glasgow Building Preservation Trust, shares the history of Glasgow’s air quality and just how far the city has come.

The Sound of Beavers, Larch Trees and the Home of the Lord of the Isles

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.

Roy Dennis - Highland Cows and Capercaillies

A profile of Professor Des Thompson of Scottish Natural Heritage

Mark and Euan meet up with Professor Des Thompson, principal advisor on science and biodiversity for Scottish Natural Heritage

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