We're in a wooden vale in the Black Mountains of south wales. It’s very late winter but recent bright and dry weather has crisped the autumn leaves – so while your feet crunch in the litter of oak litter, the first birds are singing and raven croaks rain down from the wide blue sky.

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 and presented by Fergus Collins

Email the Plodcast team – and send your sound recordings of the countryside – to: [email protected]

Visit the Countryfile Magazine website: countryfile.com

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