The Plodcast

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

We're at Hartland Quay, Devon. The day is late by the time you reach the Hartland coast and all you can do is run. Breathless, you reach the shore to see the sun sitting low amid a bed of coral clouds. You settle on a rock. A waterfall spills beside you, lit by the winter sun. Waves roll pebbles up and down the beach. The air feels cold on your cheeks.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 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

Welcome to our last Plodcast of 2022 – the Christmas special issue. Plodcast regular Kevin Parr joins author Patrick Galbraith and Brittany Collie in the studio with Plodcast host Fergus. We talk favourite moments of 2022, look ahead to the New Year and, best of all, invite you to join us for Kevin's special Christmas quiz. A lovely way to round off the Plodcast year. Image from Getty.Find out more about Kevin's book, The Quiet Moon And for more information on Patrick's Book One Last Song…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 at Ham Wall in Somerset for the great starling murmuration. At first they come in small flocks, barely discernible against the winter sky. But as the light begins to fade, their numbers strengthen; a thousand here, two thousand there. They gather like mercury, then split and bind again, growing ever larger until soon there are half a million of them throwing forms across the sky. A strand suddenly breaks free, plummeting into the reedbeds, and the rest follow. The sound absorbs you. Image by Getty.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 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

In this our last episode before Christmas – we are appropriately talking about partridges, one of the famous birds of the festive season. In Britain, our native grey partridge is not doing well – so met up with writer, nature lover and editor of the shooting times Patrick Galbraith to search for them in the Hampshire countryside and talk about what can be done to turn the tide.Find out more about Patrick's book: In search of one last song: Britain's disappearing birds and the people trying to save themContact 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 beside the River Severn in South Gloucestershire on a cold, quiet, crisp, sunny winter afternoon. The air is fresh and still and your breath steams in front of you. A gentle breeze moves through the last remaining leaves on the hedgerows and few birds sing. The occasional dog walker potters past.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 Annie Sanderson. Presented by Hannah Tribe 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

In this week’s episode, we're discovering the joys of walking groups. Back in March Plodcast host Fergus joined up with a gang of hikers from the Crickhowell Walking festival to exploring the history and wildlife of the Black Mountains. We began our adventure at the medieval ruins of Llanthony Priory – under the wise instruction of walk leader Andy Johns…2023's Crickhowell Walking Festival takes place 4-12 March. Click here for more information. 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.comPPA 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 may be in the depths of winter but in this episode we're giving you a little Christmas present of hopeful spring birdsong. We're outside the ruins of Llanthony Priory with the ridges of the Black Mountains of Wales rising on either flank. Robins and song thrushes are singing lustily… 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 Fergus Collins. Presented by Hannah Tribe 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

Head to Dorset in the ever-amiable company of Plodcast regular Kevin Parr. Angler and nature writer Kev takes us up onto Eggardon Hill to explore its wildlife and its mysterious hillfort. On the way, he meets a local farmer with some stark insights into life in the modern countryside. Beautiful and thought-provoking…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.comPPA Podcast of the Year!Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's rained for days but there's a gap in the cloud cover this late autumn morning. You wander down to the river to find it in full spate. Another 50cm rise and it will burst surrounding fields. Its voice, a whisper in summer, is a roar now – the surging water unleashed and cleansing. And if you listen very closely, you might even hear the peeping calls of kingfishers.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 Fergus Collins 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