The Plodcast

Cerys Matthews shares her love of nature, music and poetry on a wonderful walk in Kew Gardens with our own Margaret Bartlett. Cerys reveals her deep love from the words of Dylan Thomas and her own retelling of his great work, Under Milk Wood, for children.You can hear Cerys on BBC Radio 6 every Sunday from 10am. Catch up on previous episodes on BBC Sounds.This is episode 5 of season 15 of the Plodcast: Mindful Walks in Nature.Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@countryfile.com. If 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.comWrite to us:Plodcast, CountryfileEagle HouseBristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode we've travelled to the otherside of the world. It's late spring at the Karori Sanctuary near Wellington, New Zealand and the kakas – a large species of parrot – are singing their eerie dusk chorus. 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 Margaret Bartlett. Presented by Hannah Tribe. Image by Getty. Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're heading to Cemlyn Bay on the northern coast of Anglesey for a gentle walk around lagoons and quiet coves where birds rule and grey seals sleep. Podcast host Fergus voices a wildlife ramble around this remote haven on a beautiful Welsh island. Recorded in August 2022.This is episode 4 of season 15 of the Plodcast: Mindful Walks in Nature. Image from Getty.Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@countryfile.com. If 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.comWrite to us:Plodcast, CountryfileEagle HouseBristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're back on a farm deep in the Devon countryside. At some point in the night you stir, woken by the patter of hail on the slate roof. The barn is old, built hundreds of years before your time, and as the minutes pass by you think of the many stories made, and the many told, within these thick stone walls. It’s a comfort – from your warm, cosy bed – and you soon drop back into a deep, dreamless sleep to wake up to clear skies.BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewherebeautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorded by Daniel Graham. Presented by Hannah Tribe. Image by Getty. Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Head deep into Goatchurch Cavern in the Mendips with historian and artist Amy Jeffs and Plodcast host Fergus to hear ancient tales, myths and legends as we enter the bowels of the earth. Amy's new book, Wild: Tales from Early Medieval Britain explores how our ancestors viewed nature and landscape through their stories, poetry and song. Listen on as ancient magic is conjured deep in the earth.A huge thank you to Daniel Matthews from the Mendip Caving Group for leading the adventure.This is episode 2 of season 15 of the Plodcast: Mindful Walks in NatureContact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@countryfile.com. If 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.comWrite to us:Plodcast, CountryfileEagle HouseBristol BS1 4ST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the 100th edition of Sound Escapes, we're on a boat in the Outer Hebrides at anchor near a small island. An underwater microphone captures grey seals swimming around the hull of the small boat while a full moon hangs in the still night. Enjoy a specially extended audio experience to celebrate our 100th episode.Recorded by musician David de la Haye.BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewherebeautiful, wherever you happen to be. Presented by Hannah Tribe. Image by Getty. Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Take a wander along on of Britain's oldest roads: the Ridgeway. TV presenter, writer and archaeologist Mary-Ann Ochota is the patron of the Ridgeway National Trail, and takes host Fergus on a circular walk from the stone circle at Avebury onto mysterious Fyfield Down before walking along the Ridgeway to magnificent West Kennet Long barrow – where a big surprise is awaiting them in the prehistoric burial mound. Photograph by Oliver Edwards.This is episode 2 of season 15 of the Plodcast: Mindful Walks in NatureContact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@countryfile.com. If 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.comWrite to us:Plodcast, CountryfileEagle HouseBristol BS1 4STHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're in a large wildlife-rich garden on Gower, a small and beautiful peninsular in South Wales. At this time of year, the beech hedges are orange, the leaves are curled, crisp and dry. At their base, blackbirds turn over the ones that have fallen, looking for treasure.BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewherebeautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorded and presented by Hannah Tribe. Image by Getty. Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our new season of mindful walks in nature explores the power of the green outdoors to bolster physical and mental health. In episode 1, Plodcast host Fergus transports you to his favourite haven of peace along the River Usk. It's early January and the river is high – but the wildlife is stirring on this magical Welsh waterway including a special guest right at the beginning of the recording…Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: editor@countryfile.com. If 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.comWrite to us:Plodcast, CountryfileEagle HouseBristol BS1 4STPPA Podcast of the Year!Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're sitting beside a log fire in a farmhouse in Devon. There’s something at once inconstant and rhythmic about fire. Each flame unlike the next, each ember on its own wild course, yet its heartbeat is as regular as yours. Perhaps that’s what lures you in, what comforts you; two beats aligning. Or perhaps the flames reveal a memory inherited from centuries prior. Either way, for those few precious moments, there’s nothing but you and the fire.BBC Countryfile Magazine's Sound Escapes are a weekly audio postcard from the countryside to help you relax and transport you somewherebeautiful, wherever you happen to be. Recorded by Daniel Graham. Presented by Fergus Collins. Image by Getty. Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: editor@countryfile.com Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices