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 relationships with nature with naturalist friends. Annabel Ross wanders Bute's shores with Lucy. Lucy's book is published by Bonnier Books.
Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=share
The BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast is the Publishers Podcast Awards Special Interest Podcast of the Year 2024 & 2025 and the PPA Podcast of the Year 2022.
If you've enjoyed the plodcast, don't forget to leave likes and positive reviews. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected].
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.
The Plodcast is produced by Jack Bateman and Lewis Dobbs. The theme tune was written and performed by Blair Dunlop.

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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 shelter you from the soft rain.
BBC Countryfile Magazine's Plodcast 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 and introduced by Hannah Tribe.
Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: [email protected]

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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 Chelsea on Press Day to see the finished garden.
He meets up again with garden designer Ashleigh Aylett and Nick Philips from the Woodland Trust to explore the magical garden and learn some of the secrets of the world's greatest gardening show.
For more on the Woodland Trust's Forgotten Forests campaign: www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/protecting-trees-and-woods/campaign-with-us/forgotten-forests/
For more on award-winning garden designer Ashleigh Aylett: https://aylettstudio.co.uk/
Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=share
The BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast is the Publishers Podcast Awards Special Interest Podcast of the Year 2024 & 2025 and the PPA Podcast of the Year 2022.
If you've enjoyed the plodcast, don't forget to leave likes and positive reviews. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected].
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.
The Plodcast is produced by Jack Bateman and Lewis Dobbs. The theme tune was written and performed by Blair Dunlop.

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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 many shades of green. The glistening palm leaves sway, and lull you into a deep sense of calm.
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 Jack Bateman and introduced by Hannah Tribe.
Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: [email protected]

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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 award-winning garden designer Ashleigh Aylett to create an ancient woodland garden for the Chelsea Flower Show, the world's most famous gardening festival.
In this, the first of two Chelsea Flower Show specials, Plodcast host Fergus meets Ashleigh and Nick Philips from the Woodland Trust at Penn Wood in the Chiltern Hills, an ancient woodland that helped inspire Ashleigh's design. And next week, we head to Chelsea to see the garden in situ at the show!
For more on the Woodland Trust's Forgotten Forests campaign: www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/protecting-trees-and-woods/campaign-with-us/forgotten-forests/
For more on award-winning garden designer Ashleigh Aylett: https://aylettstudio.co.uk/
Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=share
The BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast is the Publishers Podcast Awards Special Interest Podcast of the Year 2024 & 2025 and the PPA Podcast of the Year 2022.
If you've enjoyed the plodcast, don't forget to leave likes and positive reviews. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected].
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.
The Plodcast is produced by Jack Bateman and Lewis Dobbs. The theme tune was written and performed by Blair Dunlop.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 into the conversation with a delightful rendition of all his Maytime hits.
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 and introduced by Hannah Tribe. Image by Getty
Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: [email protected]

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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. With two friends, he embarks on a wild fishing expedition and meets some of the extraordinary local wildlife.
Plus, this episode, join the Plodcast team for a Plodchat where we share stories of nature and read out brilliant messages from listeners from our Facebook and email postbag.
Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=share
The BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast is the Publishers Podcast Awards Special Interest Podcast of the Year 2024 & 2025 and the PPA Podcast of the Year 2022.
If you've enjoyed the plodcast, don't forget to leave likes and positive reviews. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected].
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.
The Plodcast is produced by Jack Bateman and Lewis Dobbs. The theme tune was written and performed by Blair Dunlop.

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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 sound of human activity.
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 and introduced by Hannah Tribe.
Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 our most precious pollinators.
Plodcast host Fergus Collins enjoys a tour of this mini nature reserve and meets some of our charismatic spring bee species – while Dave tells fascinating tales of the hidden world of these astonishing insects.
Dave Goulson's latest book A Bee Spotters Guide is published by The National Trust.
Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=share
The BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast is the Publishers Podcast Awards Special Interest Podcast of the Year 2024 & 2025 and the PPA Podcast of the Year 2022.
If you've enjoyed the plodcast, don't forget to leave likes and positive reviews. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected].
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.
The Plodcast is produced by Jack Bateman and Lewis Dobbs. The theme tune was written and performed by Blair Dunlop.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 willow warbler and a chaffinch sing their steady descent. A wistful melancholy as the gorse begins to glow.
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 and introduced by Hannah Tribe.
Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: [email protected]

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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 Central station to begin a quest to find wildlife on a ramble through the busy city.
Listen on for a Plodcast full of surprises.
Amanda's book Wild Pavements: Exploring Britain's Cities with an Urban Naturalist is published by FLINT.
Photo by Lily Watts
Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=share
The BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast is the Publishers Podcast Awards Special Interest Podcast of the Year 2024 & 2025 and the PPA Podcast of the Year 2022.
If you've enjoyed the plodcast, don't forget to leave likes and positive reviews. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: [email protected].
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.
The Plodcast is produced by Jack Bateman and Lewis Dobbs. The theme tune was written and performed by Blair Dunlop.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices