It’s the 1980s and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has burst onto the scene, scoring millions of young fans.  

Half-human, half-turtle fighters Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo originated as comic book characters before spawning phenomenally popular films and cartoons.  

But “turtlemania” also inadvertently sparked a pet craze that ultimately led to an invasive species problem.  

Red-eared terrapins were a particularly popular pet. But many people didn’t realise they would grow from a matchbox-sized hatchling to a dinner-plate sized adult that lives for more than 40 years.  

   

As a result a significant number of freshwater turtles were illegally released in the late 80 and 90s. 

Rosie joins Turtle Tally UK’s Suzie Simpson to uncover the wild origin story of how invasive freshwater turtles became a familiar sight in our waterways.

 

 Quick breathers, calming walks or heart-pounding hikes. We feel better when we get out more.    

 Find quality kit and 50 years of outdoor wisdom. Plus, supporters save 15% in-store and online. Feel in your element, in the elements, at Cotswold Outdoor.    

Production:  

Host: Rosie Holdsworth  

Producer: Michelle Douglass  

Sound Editor: Jesus Gomez  

Contributor:  

Suzie Simpson, Turtle Tally UK 

Image: 

(c) Suzie Simpson / Turtle Tally UK

Discover More: 

Head to Turtle Tally UK citizen science project to discover more about freshwater turtles in the UK and submit your sightings 

https://www.turtletally.co.uk/ 

Find out about the National Trust’s work protecting our waterways and how you can help 

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/our-cause/nature-climate/climate-change-sustainability/protecting-coasts-and-rivers

The National Trust cares for places so people and nature can thrive. Everyone can get involved, everyone can make a difference. Nature, beauty, history. For everyone, for ever. You can donate to us at https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/donate

Follow Wild Tales nature podcast on your favourite podcast app or Youtube @nationaltrustcharity. And join us on Instagram @wildtalesnt.

If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story idea you’d love to hear, contact us at [email protected] 

On September 27th 2023, the famous Sycamore Gap tree in Northumberland was felled overnight in an act of vandalism, triggering a far-reaching wave of shock and sorrow. 

Join Heather Birkett, as she goes behind the scenes to explore the enduring impact of this beloved landmark, the aftermath of its loss, and the community’s efforts to preserve its memory.

This episode has been updated from an previous release; National Trust Podcast - Sycamore Gap |One Year on

Host: Heather Birkett

Producer: Nikki Ruck, Katy Kelly, Pippa Tilbury-Harris

Sound Design: Nikki Ruck   

Discover more

To find out the latest information surrounding The Sycamore Gap Tree including The Trees of Hope campaign

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sycamore-gap

Find out what’s on in Northumberland Park and The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre

https://www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk/whats-on/

When Ajay Tegala discovers that chaffinches, a small songbird, have a different accent every 30 miles, he’s intrigued. 

However, under threat from disease these birds are dying out in urban areas, and their unique urban songs may be lost for ever. But all is not lost. There's a way to find out how this disease is spreading...by recording their song.   

 

Follow Ajay and ecologist and UKYouth4Nature advocate Şeniz Mustafa as they search for this disappearing birdsong. 

To send Joe a chaffinch recording:  

[Ad] Wild Tales is sponsored by Cotswold Outdoor, your outside retailer and epic guides to adventure.   

Quick breathers, calming walks or heart-pounding hikes. We feel better when we get out more.   

Find quality kit and 50 years of outdoor wisdom. Plus, supporters save 15% in-store and online. Feel in your element, in the elements, at Cotswold Outdoor.   

www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/  

  

Production:   

Hosts: Ajay Tegala and Rosie Holdsworth   

Producer: Marnie Woodmeade 

Assistant Producer: Katy Kelly

Sound Designer: Jesus Gomez 

Contributors:  

Şeniz Mustafa 

Joe Cooper  

Ian Johnson 

  

Discover more:   

Find out more about chaffinches and the British Trust for Ornithology here: https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/chaffinch 

It’s the mid-1800s and pteridomania – or fern frenzy – is the new big craze.  

Across the UK, plant enthusiasts are heading into the countryside to pick all the prized specimens they can find.  

And fern fans far and wide are avidly creating collections and displays of the leafy green plants to show off.  

Uncover the truth about this Victorian phenomenon and how it influenced our love of house plants.  

But who were the pteridomaniacs? What did ferns secretly symbolise about young women and sex? And how can we learn from the conservation consequences of the craze?

 

Join Presenter and Ranger Rosie Holdsworth and Curator Clara Woolford to unfurl the curious story of Victorian fern fever. 

 

Quick breathers, calming walks or heart-pounding hikes. We feel better when we get out more.   

Find quality kit and 50 years of outdoor wisdom. Plus, supporters save 15% in-store and online. Feel in your element, in the elements, at Cotswold Outdoor.  

https://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/  

Discover more:   

Visit Cragside in Northumberland for a taste of fern fever. See the fernery, rockery and glass houses designed by Lady Armstrong in the 1800s, now cared for by the National Trust.  

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/north-east/cragside

Production: 

Host: Rosie Holdsworth  

Producer: Michelle Douglass 

Sound Editor: Jesus Gomez 

 

Follow Wild Tales nature podcast on your favourite podcast app or on Instagram @wildtalesnt. If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story idea you’d love to hear, contact us at [email protected]

Beneath the waves of West Wales lies a complicated network of relationships that determines not only who’s belly rolling who, but which calf survives. 

Join Katrin Lohrengel and her team at Sea Watch to search for one of the ocean's most loved and misunderstood creatures: bottlenose dolphins. 

For the Welsh transcript of this episode please click here.

[Ad] Wild Tales is sponsored by Cotswold Outdoor, your outside retailer and epic guides to adventure.  

Quick breathers, calming walks or heart-pounding hikes. We feel better when we get out more.  

Find quality kit and 50 years of outdoor wisdom. Plus, supporters save 15% in-store and online. Feel in your element, in the elements, at Cotswold Outdoor.  

www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/ 

Production:  

Host: Rosie Holdsworth  

Producer: Marnie Woodmeade

Sound Designer: Jesus Gomez

Discover more:  

Find out more about the dolphins in Cardigan Bay: www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk/ 

Did you know , you can see dolphins from the shore at Cardigan Bay? Explore the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’s coastal walks:  www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wales/strumble-head-to-cardigan 

Special thanks to Katrin Lohrengel for extra fact checking work and the whole team at Sea Watch. 

Follow Wild Tales on your favourite podcast app or on Instagram @wildtalesnt. If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected to our wild world, you can contact us at [email protected] 

Join Ranger Rosie Holdsworth to uncover the mystery of the leaping shark.  

On a boat off Cornwall, wildlife guide Jenny spots a huge animal she’s never seen before jumping out of the water.  But what exactly has she witnessed?   

Across the world in Florida, shark-obsessed Dr Molly Kressler sets off on a mission to discover more about what is beneath the calm of the surface. More than that, she wants everyone else to be able to get to know and love creatures of the deep too.  

[Ad] Wild Tales is sponsored by Cotswold Outdoor, your outside retailer and epic guides to adventure.   

Quick breathers, calming walks or heart-pounding hikes. We feel better when we get out more.   

Find quality kit and 50 years of outdoor wisdom. Plus, supporters save 15% in-store and online. Feel in your element, in the elements, at Cotswold Outdoor.   

www.cotswoldoutdoor.com 

  

Production:   

Host: Rosie Holdsworth   

Producer: Marnie Woodmeade 

Sound Editor: Jesus Gomez 

Additional research: Funbi Bakare

  

Discover more:   

Find out more about thresher sharks at sharkstrust.org.uk.  

If you want to be kept up to date with Molly’s research, you can find her on X, Instagram or TikTok at @marinemollyk.  

For incredible views of the Cornish coast, why not visit Trevose Head? Jutting out into the Atlantic, you can see for miles. Shark sightings not guaranteed (but possible!)  

Special thanks to Dr Molly Kressler and Jenny from Padstow Sea Life Safaris.  

  

Follow Wild Tales on your favourite podcast app or on Instagram @wildtalesnt. If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story idea, you can contact us at [email protected] 

Seagulls have a bad reputation. But is it deserved?  

Join Ranger Rosie Holdsworth to meet the gulls in Poole Harbour known for their chip-stealing behaviour. Are these birds feathered thugs or smart survivors? We’ll discover the myths and surprising truths about one of Britain’s most controversial birds.                       

From their behaviours to their vital role in coastal ecosystems, uncover just what makes these ‘Gangster Gulls’ tick.  Plus, we take part in a citizen science survey that helps track how these much-maligned seabirds are surviving in a changing world.

[Ad] Wild Tales is sponsored by Cotswold Outdoor, your outside retailer and epic guides to adventure. 

Quick breathers, calming walks or heart-pounding hikes. We feel better when we get out more. 

Find quality kit and 50 years of outdoor wisdom. Plus, supporters save 15% in-store and online. Feel in your element, in the elements, at Cotswold Outdoor. 

www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/   

Presenter: Rosie Holdsworth

Producer and sound designer: Nikki Ruck

Contributors

Mya Bambrick

Dr Viola Ross-Smith

Paul Morton

Emma Caulfield

Katy

Sophie

Find out more about bird conservation in Poole harbourBirds of Poole Harbour

Take part in citizen science survey in your area BTO – British Trust for Ornithology

Follow us @wildtalesnt Instagram account 

Imagine being a fly on the wall throughout history.

Historians Helen Antrobus and James Grasby take you inside the stories of the people, places and moments that made us.

Experience the Great Stink of London. Make an entrance onto the Georgian dating scene. Find out if you'd survive a medieval battle. And unlock the secrets of Britain’s space race.

 

Our past is all around us. Be transported behind the scenes at landmarks from castles to dance halls and WWII bunkers to workhouses. You’ll meet people from all walks of life whose fascinating stories help us make sense of who we are now.

Lean in for a tale from time: introducing Back When, a new history podcast from the National Trust, launching 2 April. 

 

Follow Back When on your favourite podcast app and never miss an episode: podfollow.com/back-when

Wild Tales is launching 26 March. Immerse yourself in intriguing stories from our weird, wonderful and utterly wild world.  

Experience nature in a whole new way, from untangling the strange world of spider sex and digging up the greatest fossil finds, to meeting mysterious ocean giants and finding out why there’s no such thing as a seagull.

Join nature experts Rosie Holdsworth, Ajay Tegala and Heather Birkett on adventures around the UK’s diverse habitats and uncover fascinating tales that connect us with wildlife.  

New Wild Tales will be released twice a month.

Follow us on your favourite podcast app to keep up with every episode.

www.instagram.com/wildtalesnt

Journey to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Mottisfont garden in Hampshire, to discover a story of heritage and horticulture through two of the world’s most prestigious rose collections. 

We meet Princess Esther Selassie Antohin, founder of Heritage Watch Ethiopia, to explore the Tsegereda Rose Garden Project, an initiative that restores a link to Ethiopia’s imperial legacy and also tackles climate conservation challenges. The International National Trusts Organisation (INTO) has twinned the Tsegereda rose garden with one of the most important rose gardens in the world, the National Trust’s Mottisfont.

Uncover surprising connections between Ethiopia and the UK – from Emperor Haile Selassie’s wartime exile in Bath, to Sylvia Pankhurst, an English activist who championed Ethiopia’s independence.  Follow the fight to keep this heritage alive through extraordinary roses.   

Discover a story of gardens that have transcended borders to become symbols of heritage, resilience, and international collaboration.

[Ad] Open the door to more with a National Trust membership. As well as free entry and parking at over 500 places we care for, you’ll receive:

• Access to our online Members’ Area, full of exclusive member-only content,

• A yearly handbook packed with visit inspiration,

Become a National Trust member: 

For a taste of the digital magazine, visit nationaltrust.org.uk/historic-recipes, or if you're a member and you'd like to switch, look for My Account on the website.

 

Producer and host: Jesse Edbrooke

Sound Design: Jesus Gomez

We protect and care for places so people and nature can thrive. Everyone can get involved, everyone can make a difference. Nature, beauty, history. For everyone, for ever.

You can donate to us at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/donate  

Read more about International National Trust Organisation Twinning (INTO) project www.into.org/withstanding-change-twinning/

Visit Heritage Watch Ethiopia website www.hwethiopia.org

Find out more about Mottisfont’s Rose Garden, Hampshire, England www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/hampshire/mottisfont/the-rose-garden-at-mottisfont