Open Country

BBC Radio 4

Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of the British Isles

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20 episodes
Updated May 14

Episodes20

Newest first

May 14 · 24 min
Bluebird returns to Coniston
Donald Campbell's restored Bluebird returns to Coniston Water in Cumbria.
May 7 · 23 min
Wildlife Artists on Massingham Heath
Martha Kearney meets the artists documenting the return of this ancient Norfolk grassland.
April 30 · 24 min
Roadside Verges
Martha Kearney explores the forgotten and neglected world of roadside verges.
April 16 · 24 min
Deer Stalking in Essex
Mary-Ann Ochota finds out about deer culling.
April 9 · 23 min
Carrifran Wildwood
Martha Kearney visits an eco-restoration project in lowland Scotland.
April 2 · 24 min
In Celebration of the Daffodil
Martha Kearney is in Cambridgeshire to celebrate the humble daffodil.
March 26 · 23 min
Restoring Wallasea's Wild Coast
The island in Essex has been made into a magical landscape of marshland, lagoons and sea.
March 19 · 24 min
Stroudwater's missing mile
Martha Kearney finds out about ambitious restoration plans for the Stroudwater canal.
March 12 · 23 min
The Rock Houses of Staffordshire
Martha Kearney visits the cave dwellings at Kinver Edge that were lived in until the 1960s
March 5 · 24 min
Hedgerow havens
Martha Kearney finds out about hedgerows, learning about their history and their ecology.
March 2 · 23 min
Savernake Forest
Martha Kearney visits Savernake Forest in Wiltshire
February 20 · 23 min
The Mourne Mountain Fires
How this landscape, often shrouded in cloud and rain, is affected by recurrent fires.
Oct 2, 2025 · 23 min
Black Poplars: How to Save a Tree
Martha Kearney finds out about the black poplar, Britain's most endangered tree.
Sep 25, 2025 · 23 min
The Stones of Snuff Mills
Industrial centre turned nature reserve with stories of ghosts, fossils and an asylum.
Sep 18, 2025 · 28 min
Fair Isle
Martha Kearney is on one of Britain's most isolated islands, famous for knitting and birds
Sep 11, 2025 · 24 min
The Menai Strait
Martha Kearney visits the stretch of water which separates Anglesey from mainland Wales.
Sep 4, 2025 · 23 min
Pingos and Pool Frogs
Martha Kearney visits the Ice Age ponds called pingos which are being brought back to life
Aug 28, 2025 · 23 min
Exploring the Lakes by wheelchair
Caz Graham tries out a scheme which helps disabled people access the Lake District
Aug 21, 2025 · 23 min
Aeolian harps on Wicken Fen
Martha Kearney learns to make an aeolian harp on Wicken Fen
May 15, 2025 · 23 min
Flutterings on the Fleet
Martha Kearney meets little terns and swans by Dorset's unique and beautiful Fleet Lagoon.