Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart present Scotland Outdoors

Via Ferrata, Binny Dipping and Tawny Owls

A topical guide to life in the Scottish outdoors.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Science

Open Seas is a Scottish charity that focusses on protecting our marine environment and the things that live in it. A few weeks ago, Mark joined them in Skye where they were carrying out seabed surveys. While the weather didn’t play ball and they didn’t get out on their planned boat trip, the team did manage to show him the kind of footage they record and why it’s important in influencing the kinds of protection marine areas can get. Rachel is in Pitlochry where the Firebrand Theatre Company along with the Festival Theatre are staging a play all about naturalist and poet Nan Shepherd: Naked and Unashamed. She hears about how the play came together and the extraordinary legacy of Nan. Wigtown is now well known across Scotland and the wider literary world as Scotland’s Book Town. It’s a title it has held since 1998 and since the first festival in 1999, the town has seen its prospects transformed. Mark met up with Anne Barclay from the festival company to hear about the positive changes in the town over the past 25 years. Rachel heads out on a coastal foraging walk as part of the 2024 Moray Walking and Outdoor Festival which kicks off this weekend. Forager Daniel shows her some of the things that can be found along the coastline from plants to seaweeds, foods and medicine. By the time Out of Doors is broadcast, Scotland will have played Germany in the opening match of Euro 2024. For the past few days Scotland fans have been arriving in Munich and the town is covered in tartan and saltires. But what is the origin of the white cross on a blue background? Mark visits the Scottish Flag Trust at Athelstaneford in East Lothian to find out more. The story of modern whaling in the Southern Hemisphere is a controversial one. Many British companies played a key role in the industry, and they had a largely Scottish workforce. A project is underway to collect the memories of those who worked in the industry and their families before it’s too late. We chat live to Helen Balfour from the Whalers’ Memory Bank to find out more about the project. A couple of weeks ago the last seagoing paddle steamer in the world, The Waverley, made its first ever visit to Ullapool. Our news colleague in Inverness Stephen Macleod went along to experience the excitement. In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast, Rachel speaks to Artist in Residence at the Rahoy Nature Reserve, Liz Myhill. Her role is to raise awareness of the huge reserve and encourage people to visit and explore. We hear an excerpt. More than 130 years ago two men began a years' long adventure to discover, climb and map Skye's famous Black Cuillin. Professor Norman Collie was a scientist and John Mackenzie was a local mountain guide. The unlikely pair are considered among the greatest pioneering mountaineers of their time and in 2020 after several years of fundraising, a statue was erected in their memory. Mark went to visit it in Sligachan and hear Collie and Mackenzie’s story.

The Saltire,Sligachan Statue and the Voice of Nan Shepherd

Rachel Stewart speaks to Artist in Residence Liz Myhill. The landscape and wildlife artist has been creating pieces based on her time at the Rahoy Hills Reserve in the Morven peninsula. It is managed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust and is widely regarded as being a unique and wild place. Her role is to raise awareness of the huge reserve and encourage people to visit and explore. She has spent several weeks on location, experiencing the different seasons and hopes her artwork will reflect the rich diversity of plant and animal life which can be found there. During her residency, she has been assisted by Steve Hardy who has been the ranger at the site for more than twenty years.  His recordings of nature captured at Rahoy feature in the podcast.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE AT RAHOY HILLS RESERVE

Rachel meets Peter Livingstone who has spent a decade campaigning to save the Aspen tree. Thanks to his hard work, numbers of Aspen in Renfrewshire have grown from single digits to thousands. He shows Rachel his nursery near Bishopton. Andrew O'Donnell is a natural history film maker and musician who records under the moniker of Beluga Lagoon. In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast, Maud Start meets up with Andrew on a river bank. We hear an excerpt where they watch dippers and talk about the nature themes in his music. Last week on Out of Doors we heard about how busy the island of Skye is all year round with tourists. While Mark was visiting, he took time to seek out a quieter style of tour with Mark Purrett from Skye Geography Tours. He took Mark to a less popular location and told him about the geography of the island. It’s osprey watching season and as always, there have been highs and lows at the various nesting sites around the country. Rachel visits the RSPB’s Loch Garten where they have had no shortage of drama this year. Ranger Jess Tomes tells her more. You might remember a few months, ago Mark went for a walk with Dr Kat Jones, Director of Action to Protect Rural Scotland, who had undertaken a challenge to walk Glasgow’s Greenbelt. Well she’s just completed her walks, so Mark went back to catch up with her to find out how it had gone. Later this year the BBC Food and Farming Awards will be held in Scotland. And here on Out of Doors alongside our TV colleagues at Landward, we are launching The BBC Scotland Local Food Hero award. Joining us to tell us more is presenter of Radio 4’s Food Programme, Sheila Dillon. Rachel is back at the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Rahoy Nature Reserve where ranger Steve Hardy lets her listen to some of the recordings he’s made of the amazing wildlife that makes its home in Rahoy. We catch up with the incredible Ethan Walker, who just nine months after suffering horrific injuries when he was hit by a car, is cycling to Munich for Euro 2024. We chat to Ethan live to see how far he’s managed to travel in a week. And as the country marks the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day landings, Mark is in Garlieston in Dumfries and Galloway where crucial parts of the invasion infrastructure were tested.

Aspen, Osprey and Mulberry Harbours

Andrew O'Donnell is a natural history film maker but he's also a musician who records under the moniker of Beluga Lagoon.   Maud Starts meets up Andrew on a river bank where they watch dippers and talk about his latest album

Natural History Film Maker and Musician, Andrew O'Donnell aka Beluga Lagoon

Rachel visits the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Montrose Basin reserve in Angus where a group of nursery children were out exploring the mudflats to see what beasties they could find. She speaks to nursery and reserve staff about the importance of getting young kids involved in nature. Isle Martin is a small island just three miles off the coast of Ullapool. It’s had many uses over the years including a herring station, a flour mill and a bird reserve. It’s now in community ownership and recently Mark went for a visit for the Scotland Outdoors podcast. One of the community trust directors Lesley Strachan took him for a tour and told him about their plans. It started as a lockdown project and has since become a big hit on social media. Aberdeenshire walks is a site promoting good routes and attractions for those eager to explore the area. Rachel went out for a walk with one half of the couple behind it, Anna Gill, to hear about how it all started and about their recent singles walks! The Fairy Pools on Skye have become a bucket list destination for tourists from right across the globe. However, that popularity had begun to cause issues with overcrowding. Recently as part of the Skye Iconic Sites Project, work was carried out to create car parking and toilet facilities at the fairy pools. Mark went to see the changes and hear from those involved in the project about the difference it has made, as well as chatting to some of the visitors from places as far away as Dubai and India. And sticking with tourist hotspots, we’re joined live by Dr Guillem Colom-Montero from Glasgow University who has carried out research into the parallels between Skye and the Scottish Highlands, and the Spanish island of Majorca. We chat to him about how tourism can be managed to benefit both visitors and those who live and work in popular destinations. The Rahoy reserve in the Morvern Peninsula is run by the Scottish Wildlife Trust and as well as being one of their largest reserves, it’s also one of the most biodiverse in the country. Rachel headed out for a walk with ranger Steve Hardy to see what they could spot. Why are the Fairy Pools on Skye so popular? Where does the legend of fairies come from and are they really a magical place? Catherine MacPhee is an archivist at the Skye and Lochalsh Archive Centre, and she busts some myths on the history of the picturesque location. 18-year-old Ethan Walker from Auchnagatt is about to embark on an incredible bike trip from Hampden Park to Munich for the Euros. It’s over 1,000 kilometres in total which is a big achievement for anyone, but even more so for Ethan who was run over in an horrific accident in New York State whilst over there on a football scholarship. Earlier this week Mark caught up with him and his mum, Jaclyn ahead of his trip and heard all about his incredible recovery journey

Via Ferrata, Binny Dipping and Tawny Owls

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