The Plodcast

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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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677 episodes
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Episodes677

Newest first

Nov 28, 2023 · 56 min
222: Follow in the footsteps of St Patrick on the stunning coast of County Down
Join Plodcast host Fergus and wonderful storyteller Duane Fitzsimons as they following in the footsteps of St Patrick along the coastline of Co Down. As they search for St Patrick's Well and his final resting place, Duane recounts tales of local folklore, shipwrecks and chilling ghost stories. This is the final episode of 4 in 2023 exploring St Patrick's Way in Northern Ireland. For more about Duane and the magical Lecale Peninsula see www.lecalepeninsula.com/ A huge thanks to Tourism Northern Ireland for making these adventures possible. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@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. Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 24, 2023 · 8 min
Sound Escape 144: Relax to the crackle of falling beechnuts in an autumn woodland
As the fluttering of pigeons' wings loosen the last beech nuts of the season, you stand under a gentle shower of nature’s crackles and pops, reminding us that autumn is in full flow. Majestic beech trees envelop you, offering up their fruits to passing wildlife. 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 Annabel Ross, presented by Hannah Tribe. Image by Getty Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 21, 2023 · 36 min
221: Experience a night walk in an ancient woodland in a forgotten corner of Gloucestershire
Enjoy a night walk in an ancient forest in Gloucestershire with the Plodcast team of Fergus, Hannah and Jack. What is it like walking in the pitch black – and what stories and wild encounters will they experience? To help them in their quest, they deploy night vision scopes… The night vision devices used by the team were: Bushnell Equinox X650 Nightfox Corsac Night Vision Binoculars Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@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. Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 17, 2023 · 8 min
Sound Escape 143: Be soothed by waves on pebbles in a small Scottish harbour
Where the Burn of Latheronwheel meets the North Sea, you sit silently on the ancient harbour wall soaking in autumn sun, The waves draw the pebbles back down into the the depths of the peaty water. Once home to fifty boats, where salmon was a regular catch, Latheronwheel is now a ghost of its past, with the voices of long gone fishermen whispering onto the shore. 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 Annabel Ross, presented by Hannah Tribe. Image by Getty Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 14, 2023 · 59 min
220: Tales of ancient fossils and fossil hunters in Dorset
This week, the Plodcast tales are as ancient as can be. We’re in Dorset with Plodcast regular Annabel Ross hunting 500-million-year old fossils in the company of author and paelontologist Wolfgang Grulke, who has amassed an extraordinary collection of the strangest and rarest fossils on earth. Join them for a weird and wonderful adventure into prehistory. For more about Wolfgang Grulke, inclusing details on how to visit his collection, head to https://wolfganggrulke.com/author. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@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. Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 10, 2023 · 15 min
Sound Escape 142: Listening to a storm outside while sitting indoors by the fire
We’re in a little cottage deep in the Dorset countryside. The fire is lit. Steam swirls from a mug of tea. The curtains are drawn and we wait. Outside, there is a moment of calm as though the world is taking a deep breath. A storm is rolling in off the Atlantic, but before the wind comes the rain. Thudding into the brickwork and flicking off leaves and guttering. In the warm, we cosy up to listen. 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 Kevin Parr, presented by Hannah Tribe. Image by Getty Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 7, 2023 · 49 min
219: Meet Mark Beech – the new series editor of the Countryfile TV programme
Meet the new boss of Countryfile and learn about what he has planned for the UK’s most popular countryside TV show. Plodcast regular Annabel Ross takes Mark for a walk in a wonderful Mendip vale in north Somerset – listen on for some fascinating insight into rural passion and programme making. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@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. Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Magazine Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 3, 2023 · 8 min
Sound Escape 141: Pause beside a roaring and refreshing mountain stream
We're following a narrow mountain path through thickets of inpenetrable birch. It's been a long, hot, footsore day and so you are easily seduced by the sound of a tumbling stream. From a rocky cleft, ice-cold clear water pours. You stop to bathe your feet and splash your face. It is delicious. 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, presented by Hannah Tribe. Image by Getty Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 31, 2023 · 59 min
218: Spend an evening in the company of a deer stalker in southern England
It’s dusk in a valley somewhere in Dorset. Plodcast regular Kevin Parr has joined a local deer stalker to talk about why – and how – he culls these large mammals. Join the Plodcast team later in the studio to discuss some of the issues raised. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@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. Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Magazine Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 27, 2023 · 13 min
Sound Escape 140: The dreamy sound of the autumn meadow
We're resting on a field gate. Late summer warmth spills into the autumn. The sun slow to rise but blazing when it does. The overnight dew clings on in the shadows, while the long grass of the field margins rattle with the chirrup of grasshoppers. Flies and bees buzz. A nuthatch bubbles from the hedgerow. A last hurrah before the first frost. 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 Kevin Parr, presented by Hannah Tribe. Image by Getty Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 24, 2023 · 58 min
217: Hear the mysterious and magical songs of trees – with musician Tiny Leaves
In our latest quest seeking tales from the British landscape, musician Tiny Leaves takes Plodcast host Annabel Ross onto a mysterious hill in Shropshire known as the Long Mynd. Here, Tiny Leaves has discovered a way of recording the songs of trees and plants and incorporating them into his music. But what do the ‘voices’ of trees sound like? Listen on to find out – it’s pure magic. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@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. Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Magazine Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 20, 2023 · 13 min
Sound Escape 139: Relax to the patterning of rain on autumn leaves
We’re on a small, wooded hill in Herefordshire. Sullen clouds gather over the trees, which cloak the brooding ramparts of an ancient hillfort. It’s silent now, its people long gone, replaced by birds and badgers. A gentle rain falls, pattering through the canopy of hazel and oak. 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, presented by Hannah Tribe. Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 17, 2023 · 53 min
216: Dark tales from a hillfort in deepest Herefordshire
Come with us to a mighty hillfort, all but forgotten on a wooded hill deep in the Herefordshire countryside – and discover tales of dark deeds long ago. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@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. Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Magazine, Eagle House, Bristol, BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 13, 2023 · 7 min
Sound Escape 138: Take a wander around a bustling harbourside
It’s early autumn and the sunshine has brought bustle to a small harbour on the south coast. There is a light breeze and the air is soft. Families find fun with crab-lines, lowering baits between the fishing boats and dinghies. The sea a gentle swell beneath the sound of footsteps on the flagstones. 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 Kevin Parr, presented by Hannah Tribe. Image by Getty Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 10, 2023 · 1 hr 1 min
215: Into the Deep Dark Wood with children's author Julia Donaldson
Wander through a Sussex woodland with Julia Donaldson for a joyous mix of story-telling, mushroom foraging and Gruffalo-reenactment! Relive Julia’s journey to becoming one of the world’s most famous children’s authors as well as hearing the tales behind the Gruffalo and other family favourites, You’ll hear about her new book – The Oak Tree, illustrated by Victoria Sandøy who also joins the Plodcast along with Julia’s mushroom-hunting husband Malcolm. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@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. Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 6, 2023 · 9 min
Sound Escape 137: Enter a trance-like state to the song of a cicada in a French garden
We’re in the garden in a small village in Picardy in Northern France. The early evening warmth teases sweet scent from the lavender bushes and myrtles while a single cicada plays its eternal silvery zither, drawing down the night. 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, presented by Hannah Tribe. Image by Getty Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 2, 2023 · 49 min
214: A quest to find a mysterious standing stone in a Welsh desert
Welcome to a new season of Plodcasts, a new series of quests to explore overlooked corners of countryside where folklore and mystery create curious tales. And along the way, we’ll be encountering wonderful wildlife and fascinating human characters. In this first episode, Plodcast host Fergus and his son Owen wander out into a corner of the Bannau Brycheiniog lost to the ravages of the industrial revolution in search of lost standing stone. Here’s what they found. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@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. Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Magazine Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sep 29, 2023 · 17 min
Sound Escape 136: The delicious sound of rain on a porch while you shelter inside
What weather! At times like this you forget it can rain so hard; the clouds overturned and emptied like water buckets on the ground before you. You find a step in the porch of the old farmhouse and make yourself comfortable. The rain continues to cascade. Puddles sparkle. Leaves spiral down, caught up in the storm.
Sep 25, 2023 · 18 min
213: Join the Plodcast team as they look forward to a new season of adventures in the wild countryside
It’s the end of summer and the end of a season of Plodcasts. Join the Plodcast team of Fergus, Hannah and Jack in the studio for a look forward to what you can expect over the autumn and winter months – plus a fabulous listener email… and cake. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@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. Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Write to us: Plodcast, Countryfile Magazine Eagle House Bristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sep 22, 2023 · 10 min
Sound escape 135: A lazy stroll along a beach of shingle in the sunshine
A late summer stroll through the shingle and sand of the south coast. There is warm sunshine between the cloud and a busy beach with families making the most of the holidays. Splash and laughter, ice-cream and sun-screen. And the gentle wash of the sea.