Scotland Outdoors

Golf courses are often criticised for their lack of biodiversity, but at The Plock, near Kyle of Lochalsh, a community project is reclaiming the local golf course and giving it back to the wild. Mark met up with the local ranger, Heather Beaton, to find out more about this rewilding initiative.A new award-winning footbridge has been built at Bracklinn Gorge near Callander. Mark visits the site and meets with advisor and architect Murray McKellar from the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority, to hear about the innovative design of this new bridge.The remote area of The Cabrach was once a hotbed for illicit whisky production, before falling into decline through the late 1800s. Now a new distillery has been built in the area, aiming to bring the historic whisky trade back, but reimagined through a sustainable and community focused lens. Mark meets up with members of The Cabrach Trust to find out about their efforts, and maybe even taste a wee dram.Rachel is on the West Highland Way, with Ian Ald

Mark Stephen hears from Graham Gillie about his extraordinary working life in Antarctica

Mark visits the Montrose Air Station Museum to hear about a new addition to their collection, part of a Halifax Bomber, which crashed in the Angus glens in 1944. Shan Brewis tells us the story behind the plane crash, and how the piece of wreckage came to be discovered exactly 80 years after the tragedy.Red Squirrels in Scotland are often under threat, but Rachel finds out about the newest concern for our native population. Speaking to Meja Vesterlund from Saving Scotland's Squirrels, she hears about the threat of squirrel pox.Global celebrations have been taking place this week for World Gaelic Week. Mark spoke to Robyn Ireland, Gaelic Officer with Nature.Scot, about the Forgotten Woodlands project, which mapped Gaelic place names in order to show historically wooded areas across Scotland, demonstrating both the ecological and cultural relevance of the Gaelic language.Roslin Glen Country Park is something of a hidden gem, close by to the well-known Rosslyn Chapel. Mark is shown around by park ranger Alan Krum

During the Covid lockdown, Tom Kelly decided to stroll along the Water of Leith Walkway every single day and take photographs of the wildlife in the area. The photographer from Edinburgh has always had a keen interest in nature and he wanted to explore what was living in his own neighbourhood. The result is a huge collection of photographs showcasing what lives on and near the river at different times of the year.

Winchburgh in West Lothian is expanding rapidly, with several new housing developments underway. At the heart of these new developments is the 85 acre Authcaldie Park, where Mark visits a group of volunteers who are building a new centre piece for the area – a model cathedral made entirely out of willow.RSPB Loch Leven has recently hosted the Convention of Migratory Species, a UN convention with 130 member states involved. Rachel meets up Sarah Scott and Professor Des Thompson to find out about the aims of this convention, and the impact that climate change is having on our migratory birds.The Glasgow Seed Library is an initiative which aims to collect and share seeds within the wider community. Helen Needham went along with one of the seed librarians Rowan Lear, to find out more about the purposes of a seed library, and the huge diversity of seeds they have in store.Back at the Convention of Migratory Species, Rachel hears from some of the international experts present at the meeting, and what their worries

Helen Needham meets seed librarian Rowan Lear

Auchnerran Farm is run by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust as a demonstration farm to test and trial conservation and land management strategies. Mark visits the farm to hear about their projects and how they manage these alongside a profitable enterprise of sheep farming.It is the 20th anniversary of the opening of Five Sister’s Zoo this year, and the facility has grown from very small beginnings to now housing over 160 species on site in West Calder. Rachel chats to Brian and Gary Curran about their growth over the last two decades and their recent attempts to rescue zoo animals from Ukraine.2025 marks 20 years since the Scottish Outdoor Access Code came into force, and Mark is joined by journalist and broadcaster Lesley Riddoch to look at exactly how this has impacted Scotland’s relationship with the outdoors.Rachel is on the banks of Loch Lomond visiting a project attempting to combat erosion on one of Scotland’s most popular hills. Conic Hill has undergone a £900,000 path restoration, and access

The 7th February 2025 marks 90 years since the death of Scottish writer Lewis Grassic Gibbon, author of Sunset Song. In 2016, it was voted Scotland's favourite novel. In this archive programme, Mark Stephen explores the area it was set in, the Mearns.

The National Farmers Union of Scotland Conference has been underway this week, and Kevin Keane is there, joined by Professor Colin Campbell from the James Hutton Institute, to hear his advice on how farms can become more resilient in the face of climate change.Muiravonside, Falkirk’s only country park, features several attractions, from a sculpture and poetry trail to the Avon aqueduct. Rachel catches up with the park’s ranger, Claire Martin, to hear about the history and appeal of the estate.Otters have been making a comeback along the Water of Leith, deep in the heart of Edinburgh. Rachel meets with Helen Brown from the Water of Leith Conservation Trust to hear about the lives of these metropolitan mammals.Sunset Song was written by Lewis Grassic Gibbon in 1932, and in 1971 was brought to TV screens across the UK by the BBC, in what is still claimed as one of the finest BBC dramas ever made. Mark learns about the history of the novel, and how the landscape of East Coast of Scotland, ahead of the re-release

The 7th February 2025 marks 90 years since the death of Scottish writer Lewis Grassic Gibbon, author of Sunset Song. In 2016, it was voted Scotland's favourite novel. In this archive programme, Mark and Euan explore the area it was set in, the Mearns.

Parts of the country are still recovering after last week’s Storm Eowyn including Jupiter Artland. The 100-acre sculpture garden on the outskirts of Edinburgh suffered quite a bit of storm damage as Mark saw when he visited earlier this week.Rachel meets a group of volunteers from a whole variety of backgrounds who have come together to help restore the HMS Unicorn, a 200-year-old ship which is docked in Dundee.Next Friday sees the start of the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s annual Big Farmland Bird Count. Mark headed to their demonstration Farm on Deeside to find out why the Trust wants farmers and land managers to take part in the count, and what they do with the data that’s gathered.We celebrate World Wetlands Day on Out of Doors as Mark visits Frankfield Loch on the outskirts of Glasgow. The site is part of the Seven Lochs Wetland Park and Mark explores an area he hadn’t visited before.At 11am on 31st January people in Stranraer gather to mark the sinking of the car ferry, The Princess Victoria. T

We celebrate Burns Day on Out of Doors on the 265th anniversary of his birth. Mark chats to Professor Fiona Stafford from University of Oxford who writes about Burns ‘the bard of nature’. They chat about his understanding of ecology and how that comes through in his poetry.Rachel hears the good news story about Goldeneye Ducks in the Cairngorms. Goldeneyes are a protected species that have suffered severe population declines, with only around 200 pairs in the UK. But recent work has seen their numbers increase. She finds out what’s behind the success.In our Scotland Outdoors podcast this week Helen Needham headed up Morven, a Corbett in Aberdeenshire with artist and adventurer Morven Stewart. We hear an excerpt where they chat about where her passion from sketching came from.No Burns Day would be complete without a haggis. Rachel heads to Glenesk where every year the locals make their own for the Tarfside Rural Burns supper. Anne Littlejohn lets Rachel into her kitchen to see the process- guts and all!We get

Helen Needham walks up Morven in Aberdeenshire with Morven Stewart

Rachel is in Lochaber where one of the biggest nature restoration projects in the country is underway. The Nevis Nature Network Project covers 22 thousand acres which includes fragments of Scottish rainforest and rare montane scrub. She met project manager Ellie Corsie for a walk to hear about their restoration vision.Mark is on Calton Hill in Edinburgh hearing about the challenges of repairing our historical buildings. Many of our famous landmarks were built using stone that is no longer quarried in Scotland. Imogen Shaw from the British Geological Survey tells him about their desire for more buildings to be built using Scottish stone to allow quarries to open here.Rachel delves into the history of the Newburgh on Ythan lifeboat, the oldest lifeboat station in Scotland. Charlie Catto has written a book about its history, and she met him at the station to hear about his research. She also hears about the plans of the Newburgh and Ythan Community Trust to take on the building and hopefully restore it to the co

Mark Stephen chooses some Burns favourites including his rendition of Tam O' Shanter

The weather has certainly been a big talking point for a lot of us this week. And it’s also the theme of a new exhibition at the McManus Art Gallery and Museum in Dundee. Rachel went to take a look at A Weather Eye along with curator Kirsty Matheson.We hear from Paul Hetherington of charity Buglife about the impact the mild weather before Christmas, and now the very cold weather, is having on our bees. Sadly, it’s not great news.A second pair of lynx has been captured after being found near Kingussie in the Cairngorms National Park. Two other lynx, released illegally, were caught in the same area on Thursday. We get the latest from BBC Scotland’s Environment, Energy & Rural Affairs Correspondent Kevin Keane.Huntly Nordic and Outdoor Centre in Aberdeenshire is Britain's only purpose-built all-weather facility for cross-country skiing and roller skiing. And since there was a bit of snow on the ground, Mark went along to try his hand at cross-country skiing.We speak live to Donald MacRae, vice chair of Sco

Rachel Stewart speaks to photographer and Landward presenter Shahbaz Majeed

Helen Needham meets musician and composer Cosmo Sheldrake

Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart spend a day on the island of Jura to get a sense of life on the Ardlussa Estate where the Fletcher family have lived for five generations. Mark also visits Barnhill, the house where George Orwell wrote 1984 which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year

Mark Stephen gets a tour of the Palace with Curators Deborah Clarke and Emma Stead