Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart present Scotland Outdoors.

Jock Tamson's Gairden, Shetland Ponies, Beachcombing and a Doocot

A topical guide to life in the Scottish outdoors.

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In our latest Scotland Outdoors podcast Helen Needham meets regenerative farmer Nikki Yoxall in the hills of Aberdeenshire. Nikki’s cattle are outside all year round, moving from field to field as part of a system called mob grazing. She tells Helen about the benefits it has for the cattle and the land. In the last few years, there’s been an explosion in the number of community run gardens across the country. These bring huge positives to those who look after and visit them. However, new research from Aberdeen University suggests that sometimes the pressures of running such a project can mount up. Rachel went to speak to Professor David Burslem to hear more. The theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week has been movement, and on Out of Doors, we love nothing better to help clear our heads than heading out for a walk. Mark went along to join a group doing just that with Moray based charity Nature 4 Health. They aim to connect people with nature, each other and themselves, and Mark hears from some of those taking part about the benefits they feel of being part of the group. A new project linking up poets with farmers to shine a light on growing food has been launched by the Gaia Foundation. It involves 10 poets around the UK who each spent time on farms in order to produce a new poem. For the Scotland Outdoors podcast, Helen Needham went to meet Edinburgh-based poet Iona Lee who was paired with Lauriston Agroecology Farm in the city. They went for a wander on a very wet day to chat about Iona’s relationship with the natural world. Mark visits the National Trust for Scotland's St Abb's Head National Nature Reserve to see how the seabird colony there is faring. As Mental Health Awareness Week comes to an end, on Saturday we celebrate World Therapeutic Horticultural Day. One of the organisations involved is Trellis, who are based in Perth. We chat live to Fiona Thackeray, their chief executive officer, about what therapeutic gardening is and the different people they work with. If you’re interested in climbing, you might want to check out a new BBC podcast. It’s part of a series called Amazing Sports Stories and it’s called Chasing Mountains. Rachel spoke to the presenters Joanna Jolly and Kathy Karlo who told her more about making the series and let her hear some clips. Have you ever heard of the term Everesting? The idea is simple, but the activity is incredibly tough. Cyclists pick a hill and ride repeats of it in a single activity until they climb the height of Mount Everest - 8,848m. It’s something that musician Mark Bruce has become passionate about after struggling with his mental health. He told our Travelling Folk colleagues about his challenges, and we hear an excerpt where he talks about how extreme exercise saved him. And to round off Mental Health Awareness week, we take a moment to be mindful with a soundscape.

Movement for Mental Health, Therapeutic Gardening and Connecting with the Land

Helen Needham visits Nikki Yoxall and her herd of pasture fed cattle in Aberdeenshire

Mob Grazing Cattle in the Hills of Aberdeenshire with Nikki Yoxall

Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart follow the river Tweed from Kelso to Berwick Upon Tweed. In Kelso, they visit Floor Castle and Gardens in the company of Matt Thomson and Simon McManus. Jonathan Garrett shows Mark round the town's racecourse In Coldstream, John Elliot of the local historical society tells the story of one of the earliest bridges built across the Tweed into England, Mark delves into the history of the Coldstream Guards and Rachel hears about a marriage house with a past to rival Gretna Green The Battle of Flodden took place in 1513 close to the Tweed. In Branxton, Rachel discovers the so called smallest visitor centre in the world which commemorates the battle whilst Mark visits the battlefield with Clive Hallam Baker to find out why the Scots suffered such a loss The Union Chain Bridge is a suspension bridge which has linked Scotland and England for over 200 years making it the oldest vehicle suspension bridge in the world. Martha Andrews of the Friends of the Union Chain Bridge tells of its recent restoration Willie Robson and his family have been producing honey from the Chain Bridge Honey Farm for over 75 years. Rachel meets Willie and his daughter Frances to find out why they are both so enthusiastic about bees Linda Bankier is the Bewick Upon Tweed Archivist. She takes Mark and Rachel on a tour of the historic burgh including the walls surrounding the town and the town hall where a jail for debtors and criminals was situated Mark and Rachel go aboard the Border Belle with David Thomson at the helm for a boat trip to view Berwick Upon Tweed from a different perspective. They go under the three iconic bridges of the town - the Berwick Bridge, the Royal Tweed Bridge and the Royal Border Bridge

The River Tweed - Kelso to Berwick Upon Tweed

Helen Needham learns about the We Feed the UK project

Connecting Poetry, Photography and Regenerative Farming with Sophie Gerrard and Iona Lee

On Thursday this week campaigners gathered outside the Scottish Parliament to protest the proposed plans for a new powerline between Kintore and Tealing. SSEN Transmission says the upgrade is needed to meet net zero targets, while protestors say they haven’t been properly consulted and the scheme will blight the countryside. Mark went along to speak to Thomas Nicoll from SSEN Transmission and some of the protestors from Angus Action Against Pylons and Save Our Mearns. TV Nature series Wild Isles was a big hit for the BBC last year. Much of it was filmed in Scotland and recently Rachel chatted to producer Alastair Fothergill for the Scotland Outdoors podcast. We hear an excerpt where he chats about how they filmed Orca hunting whales in Shetland. Later this month Ullapool is hosting Lugger Fest ’24. It’s the village’s inaugural maritime festival of traditional boats and will feature talks, food, music plus the chance to get aboard the Luggers- small fishing boats that use a particular kind of sail. Dan Holland went along to find out more about what will be going on and explore one the luggers. Nikki and Ollie Lake are familiar faces to those who watch the BBC series This Farming Life. They farm near Dallas in Moray and have a rather interesting mix of animals including water buffalo and wallabies! Rachel went along to meet the couple and their marsupials to hear how they got started. Sunday 5th May is International Dawn Chorus Day so to mark the occasion we’re joined live by renowned sound recordist Chris Watson. Chris tells us what makes the dawn chorus so special to record and we hear an excerpt of a recording he did in Glen Affric. A community owned woodland in Aberdeenshire with links to a famous Doric poet has become part of a major European study. It’s being used as an example of how people can use what’s on their doorstep to tackle big issues like climate change. Rachel went to visit while they were planting some trees.

Jock Tamson's Gairden, Shetland Ponies, Beachcombing and a Doocot

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