Scotland Outdoors

Wasps, Coos and Doos

Up until now, access from the top station of the Cairngorm funicular railway onto the mountain was not allowed outside the winter snowsports season, unless visitors were

The History of Portsoy Marble

Rachel Stewart finds out about a major heritage project linked to the distinctive stone.

Sounds of the Canal, Rosie the Cow and a Garden on a Carpark

The Denburn car park in Aberdeen city centre is well known by locals, but not many people might be as familiar with what sits on top of it. Around the derelict health cen

The Healing Power of Horses with Jock Hutchison

Horseback UK is a charity run by Jock Hutchison and his wife Emma bringing together horses and humans to overcome some of the stresses of everyday life

Scottish Rain, Productive Worms and an Archive of Soil

Mark visits the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen where researchers are carrying out a project to restore, preserve and digitise irreplaceable soil and peat maps, aerial

Capturing the Wild with Photographer Karen Miller

Mark Stephen talks to former colleague Karen Miller about swapping her desk for wildlife.

Little Egrets, Popular Peacocks and The Book of Birds

Mark visits NatureScot’s Forvie National Nature Reserve in Aberdeenshire where little egrets have bred in north-east Scotland for the first time. They are a welcome addit

The Book of Birds with Jackie Morris

Helen Needham discusses The Book of Birds with illustrator and artist Jackie Morris

Surfing Quines, Sunflowers and Sea Eagles

Mark catches up with another of the finalists in BBC Scotland’s Make a Difference Award environmental category. Midlothian Wildflowers started as a small group of people

60 Years of the Tay Road Bridge

Mark Stephen climbs inside the Tay Road Bridge to mark its 60th Birthday

Nature Journaling, Ferries on the River Tay and The Art of Crookmaking

Mark visits Greenhead Moss Community Nature Park in Wishaw. The 100-hectare site contains many different habitats including ponds, wildflower meadows and woodlands. He ta

A 1960's Archive Special featuring Snowy Owls on Fetlar, Thatching in Aberdeenshire and a Tree Loving Tramp in the Highlands

Helen Needham digs into the BBC Archive to share some audio gems from the past

Inside The Scott Monument, Midnight Swimming and Nordic Walking

Mark visits Glasgow’s Queen’s Park Glasshouse which was threatened with closure earlier this summer. He speaks to some of those involved in the campaign to secure its fut

In The Company of Sheep

Mark Stephen meets naturalist and author Polly Pullar in the sheep shed of her farm in Perthshire. Polly's latest book In The Company of Sheep describes her fascination w

Living Our Best Iron Age Life on the Banks of Loch Tay

Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart with a special programme from the Scottish Crannog Centre

Rowing to Fowlsheugh Nature Reserve with the Catterline Coastal Rowing Club

Helen Needham visits the spectacular seabird colony on a skiff

Island Life, Fringe by the Sea and the Strichen Staggers

A few weeks ago, Mark went along to a conference at the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen. Under the banner of Living Labs, the institute brought together folk living in

Exploring the history and wildlife of the Island of Lismore

Mark Stephen takes a Land Rover tour of the Inner Hebridean island of Lismore to explore its history, wildlife and nature

A Lavender Farm in Fife, Cairngorm Wildfires and a Sealife Safari

In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast Mark meets author Cal Flyn, whose latest book is called The Savage Landscape – How we Made the Wilderness. We hear an excerpt of

Cal Flyn - The Savage Landscape

Mark Stephen meets Cal Flyn, author of The Savage Landscape - How We Made The Wilderness in which she explores the meaning of wilderness in a journey into the forests, de