Scotland Outdoors

The Arbroath Signal Tower Museum is set to benefit from more than £300,000 of funding to develop its outdoor space. Mark went for a visit to hear about their plans to transform the garden into an accessible, multi-functional public space for education, community activities and events.Rachel Bell and her family try their hand at orienteering in Hazlehead Park in Aberdeen. They see if they can follow the map to complete the course and have fun at the same time.Ardestie Earth House is a souterrain, an ancient underground structure, near Monifieth. Mark goes along to explore and try to solve the puzzle of what it might have been used for.When Mark was in Glasgow a few weeks ago, something interesting caught his eye. The Cameron Fountain in Charing Cross is rather unique, as it sits on something of a lean. Glasgow sculpture historian Gary Nisbet tells Mark about this intriguing piece of Glasgow’s past. And they also visit the Doulton Fountain outside the People’s Palace and discover that it hasn’t always been in the same place in the city.Rachel Bell takes some time to slow down and immerse herself in the outdoors at a forest therapy session led by Sarah Stevens. Sarah guides her through the forest at Birsemore near Aboyne and tells her about the different ways we can connect with nature.We hear live from Finland, where Hiljaa Fest, the world's first nature listening festival, is happening right now. Hiljaa Fest, which translates as ‘Quietly Fest’, is happening in Valkmusa National Park and showcases things like black grouse, the wind and the bog moss as performers.In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast, Rachel Stewart meets poet and storyteller Tony Bonning. Tony, known as the Man with the Horse, undertakes treks across the country with his horse Chief to collect folklore and tales along the way. He tells Rachel a bit about his life and a wee tale or two as well.And Rachel Bell meets Shetland fiddler and Fetlar resident Maurice Henderson, who tells her about his love of traditional straw crafting and how it ties into the island’s local folklore.

It’s the time of year when we celebrate leaves as Autumn unfolds. Mark meets up with leaf expert Professor Jonathan Silvertown who’s written a book about them called Nature’s Magicians. Did you know that way back when there were no leaves on trees at all? Rachel’s been to the Carse of Gowrie to find out about the ancient pear orchards of the area, and the attempt to bring back Scottish pear varieties that have largely been forgotten. Neil Clapperton of Buglife is her guideMark meets some of those taking part in a recent international translocation conference on a field day in the Cairngorms. He hears from delegates from Australia, Kenya and UK about translocating everything from mosses to rhinosMark visits the St Cyrus National Nature Reserve near Montrose where he finds out about their brand new bird hide.Corncrakes were once common in Western Europe. Now their populations are mostly confined to the Western Isles and Skye. Shelagh Parlane of the RSPB describes how they've been advising crofters on how to adapt their land management techniques to encourage these rare birds to nest.Phil Sime and Morven Livingstone visit a youth club with a difference. In Alness, the club sits in the middle of two acre field. Jannette Douglas is the club coordinatorAnd most people who have livestock will have their own unique way of calling them in. In Finland it is an art known as kuhning. Rachel finds out more from Finnish storyteller and Highland cow breeder Riika Palonen ahead of the Scottish Storytelling Festival.

Funding is being made available to improve core paths in Aberdeen over the next few years and Rachel joined Chris York from environmental consultancy Walking the Talk to find out what a core path actually isMark visits a surf resort and he’s not had to go that far! He’s at Lost Shore in Newbridge just outside Edinburgh to find out what’s available at the inland resort which boast Europe’s largest wavepoolThis week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast excerpt features Gabriella Bennett, author of How to Build a City. Helen Needham met up with Gabriella in Glenrothes where she spent part of her childhood to look at some of the New Town’s public artPink footed geese have returned to our shores and the Scottish Wildlife Trust are hosting Goosefest to highlight the influx of geese to Montrose Basin. Visitor centre manager Joanna Peaker gives Mark the rundown on the staggering number of geese descending on the BasinSecuring a job as a ranger is a tough task with each post attracting huge numbers of applicants. Rachel talks to apprentice ranger Jenna Ross to find out how she managed to land her dream role working on the diverse habitats surrounding a windfarm in MorayRefugia – A Celtic Rainforest is the name of new film exploring the temperate rainforests of South West Scotland. Colin Tennant is one of the film makers who spent a year filming the flora and fauna of the areaIn the late 1800s, Wallace, a collie-setter became well known as a fire dog who was adopted by Glasgow’s fire service. 104 years after his death, a statue of Wallace has recently been unveiled at Central Station. Mark hears the story of Wallace and some of his heroicsHow well do you know your wild plants? Rachel has been testing the knowledge of Amelie Mackrory-Bowden, a seasonal ranger with Cairngorms National park who has been researching this vast topic, uncovering some really interesting stories and factsIn memory of Scottish crime writer Peter May who passed away earlier this week, we go back to 2013 when Mark met Peter at Port of Ness close to the Butt of Lewis, the very place he took direct inspiration for the first of the trilogy, The Blackhouse

Up until now, access from the top station of the Cairngorm funicular railway onto the mountain was not allowed outside the winter snowsports season, unless visitors were accompanied by a guide. However, as Mark went to find out, a trial is underway to allow visitors carrying GPS handsets to explore an "approved zone" in the mountain's ski area. Mark hears how the system works.Rachel is on the Newhailes Estate near Musselburgh exploring a rather unusual shell grotto. Diane Martin from the National Trust for Scotland shows her around and tells her about the history of the once elaborately decorated building.After years of vital conservation work, the historic palm houses at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh are just about ready to open their doors to the public. Mark went along to see how the impressive 19th century glasshouses are looking.During Mark’s visit to Dumfries House in Ayrshire last week he met Heather McPike, the Farming and Rural Skills Manager there. She tells him all about the different programmes they offer which aim to encourage young people from different backgrounds into farming.In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast Rachel is in Portsoy on the Banffshire Coast hearing about the village’s fascinating history connected with the quarrying of Portsoy Marble or serpentine. We hear an excerpt where Rachel finds out about a project to save and restore some of the historic listed buildings at the harbour once involved with the marble trade.Have you noticed a lack of wasps this summer? Is your house being taken over spiders? We chat live to Craig Macadam, Director of Conservation with the charity Buglife about how insects have fared over the summer and what the move into autumn means for them.Back near Musselburgh, Rachel is exploring another building on the Newhailes Estate. The restored doocot was a little too empty for staff, so some volunteers stepped up to create some rather cute residents.And Phil Sime and Morven Livingstone get up close and personal with some Highland Cows near Inverness who are proving rather popular with tourists and locals alike.

The Denburn car park in Aberdeen city centre is well known by locals, but not many people might be as familiar with what sits on top of it. Around the derelict health centre, a community group, Upper Denburn Gardens, is working to improve the site and use it to hold events. Laura Guthrie catches up with one of the volunteers, Joe, and hears about their plans.In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast, Mark spent time with former marine Jock Hutchison. Jock and his wife Emma run the charity Horseback UK from their Aberdeenshire farm. We hear an excerpt where Jock tells Mark about how the charity first started working with injured servicemen.Rachel explores the Alva Ice House in Clackmannanshire, which will soon be welcoming visitors as part of Doors Open Day. Susan Mills shows Rachel the restoration work that’s been carried out on the building.Earlier this week, Mark spent some time at Dumfries House, the headquarters of the charity The King’s Foundation. On Wednesday, some of the leading voices in food production and food security were attending a summit, alongside King Charles, to discuss the future of food production. Mark speaks to the organiser and some of the delegates, including Dr Chris van Tulleken, about what needs to happen to ensure a fair and sustainable future of food.This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Millenium Link project which reopened and reconnected Scotland’s lowland canals. As part of the anniversary, the Canal Listening Project has been gathering the rich sounds of the Forth and Clyde and Union canals. Rachel meets some of those involved in the project and hears some of the stories they have collected.We hear live from Dr Anna McGregor, one of the researchers involved in a University of Glasgow project which has rediscovered long-lost oyster beds on the west coast of Scotland thanks to research involving Gaelic and Scots.While he was at Dumfries House, Mark met up with a group of school pupils taking part in the King’s Foundation Food for the Future programme. The project starts off with the kids making compost, and eventually they will grow food and take what they’ve learned back to school. Mark hears how the project impacts the pupils involved.Rachel is on the Aberdeenshire coast hearing about a new food-tourism experience, the Cullen Skink Odyssey, which tells the story of the famous fish soup through a film.And Mark couldn’t resist stopping for a chat with Rosie the Ayrshire Dairy cow at Dumfries House. Although, as he discovered, she’s a bit quieter than your average cow...

Mark visits the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen where researchers are carrying out a project to restore, preserve and digitise irreplaceable soil and peat maps, aerial imagery, field notebooks and survey records collected since 1947. Mark hears why Hutton Unearthed: A New National Soils and Peat Map Archive is so important for the future of soil health.Stirling is busy this weekend as Radio 2 in the Park rolls into town but one of the other popular locations near the city is Dumyat. Rachel visited recently to see the work of the Future Forest Company which has been planting thousands of trees on the estate.In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast Mark spent a morning with wildlife photographer Karen Miller. They spent some time trying to spot voles.This week, a new path was officially opened at Ben Rinnes in Moray. Rachel went along to test out the new route, which was funded by a local windfarm, alongside Ella Grant from Friends of Ben Rinnes, Marion McDonald from Foundation Scotland and Ewan Watson from the Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland.Becoming a worm farmer is perhaps not an obvious career choice, however Scott Baxter has turned a lifelong fascination with the invertebrates into his job. Mark went to visit his wormery near Balmedie in Aberdeenshire to hear how business is booming.We hear live about Earth Matters, the exhibition at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh which is a multidisciplinary salute to soil.Phil Sime is on Nairn beach trying out some outdoor cooking alongside influencer Etta May who tells him about moving from Harris to the mainland to launch her social media profile which aims to inspire other young people to get active in the outdoors.Mark is in Tranent visiting the Heugh Community Garden which is located on the site of an old gas works. He hears how the area has been transformed and meets some of those involved.And Rachel visits an exhibition at the National Library for Scotland which explores Scotland's relationship with rain. Curator Sarah Mackay shows her around.

A few weeks ago, Mark went along to a conference at the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen. Under the banner of Living Labs, the institute brought together folk living in rural or island communities, and Mark chatted to Phyl Meyer from Tiree and Euan Maclachlan from Assynt to find out what sort of challenges they face in everyday life.The island of Fetlar is known as The Garden of Shetland due it being a very fertile and green. This week’s presenter Rachel Bell took a trip there and visited the dilapidated Brough Lodge. It's a striking structure with a complicated past. But as Rachel hears, plans are in place to restore it to its former glory.As North Berwick’s Fringe by the Sea festival kicks off this weekend, Mark got an early look at an immersive installation called the Nest. The project celebrates North Berwick and the northern gannet with new music composed by award-winning composer Erland Cooper and has been designed by artist Naomi McIntosh.Work is underway to preserve one of Scotland's only hill figures. The white stag on the side of Mormond Hill near Strichen in Aberdeenshire lay hidden for years, until the area was cleared by volunteers. Rachel went along to join in with the group called the 'Strichen Staggers', who are undertaking back-breaking work to keep the stag in good condition.In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast, Mark visits the island of Lismore with Iris Smith from Explore Lismore. We hear an excerpt where they chat about what life is like on the small island off the coast of Oban.And this week’s presenter Rachel Bell packs up her whole family and takes a few ferries to visit the island of Fetlar. We hear a snapshot of their day adventure to explore the beaches of the island.

In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast Mark meets author Cal Flyn, whose latest book is called The Savage Landscape – How we Made the Wilderness. We hear an excerpt of Cal explaining where her interest in exploring the meaning of wilderness came from.Rachel is on the North East coast on a seabird spotting safari run by the Aberdeen Countryside Ranger Service. The trips have become popular with visitors who arrive in the area by cruise ship.Over the last week the Glenmore area of the Cairngorm National Park has been severely impacted by wildfires. Mark went to speak with Duncan Ferguson, a resident of Glenmore who was evacuated to hear about his experience.Throughout the programme we also hear from Colin Simpson, Cairngorm National Park visitor experience manager about the response to the fires as well as Ben Jones from the RSPB who tells us about the impact on bird and wildlife in the area.For a few weeks every summer, you can experience the glorious sights and smells of lavender fields in Fife. Rachel went along to Scottish Lavender to hear about where the idea to grow lavender came from and what they use the plants for.The Johnshaven Heritage Museum on the Aberdeenshire coast are currently running an exhibition called Land and Sea. Mark went along to take a look and find out more about the fishing village and surrounding area.And as the Commonwealth Games kicks off in Glasgow, Mark went along to Pinkston Watersports to hear about Glasgow Canal Quest, one of the many family friendly events which are being held to celebrate the games.