Since 2021, Argyll Hope Spot’s Snorkelling Artists Residency has been offering artists the opportunity to explore the marine habitats of Argyll and create artwork inspired by what they find beneath the waves. Mark dons his wetsuit to join printmaker Louise Scammell and artist and writer Jane Smith who are helping to run the residency.Last week, Scottish Ministers approved a new seasonal byelaw to ban campfires and barbecues in the Cairngorms National Park at the most high risk times of the year. Rachel meets the Park’s Grant Moir to chat about how the byelaw will work.Producer Phil heads to Inverness Marina to talk to former professional rugby player Iain Sinclair about becoming the first person to swim the entire length of the Caledonian canal.Mark catches up with Ramblers Scotland Director Brendan Paddy in Edinburgh to discuss the challenges and opportunities for walking, paths and access rights in the country.Rachel visits an oak woodland and speaks to Eilidh Mair from Woodland Trust Scotland about why this appears to be a mast year.In this week's podcast excerpt, we hear about the Bessie Ellen, a unique sailing ship that has been lovingly restored by Nikki Alford. Writer Linda Cracknell has a personal association with the ship and Helen Needham joins her on board in Inverness to hear about her new book ‘Sea Marked’.With a focus on responsible access this week, Mark and Rachel are joined by Senior Lecturer in Law Malcolm Combe to explore more about what our rights are.Walter Micklethwait lives at Inshriach in the Highlands and has been noticing some negative impacts of tourism in the area. Rachel talks to him about what he’s been seeing, including a bit of an unpleasant poo related discovery.
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1:24:13
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1:24:13
An Historic Sailing Ship - The Bessie Ellen
The Bessie Ellen is a unique sailing ship which has been lovingly restored by Nikki Alford. Originally from the South West of England, she spends most of her time sailing in Scottish waters. Writer Linda Cracknell has a personal association with the ship after she started looking into her family history and discovered that she comes from a long line of sea farers. Helen Needham gets a tour of this beautiful ship whilst she was moored up in Inverness and hears about Linda's book 'Sea Marked'.
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27:39
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27:39
A Kitchen Garden, The Trossachs Explorer and 200 Years of the Modern Railway
Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart with stories from the great outdoors.
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1:22:19
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1:22:19
Life, Death and the Outdoors with Juliet Robertson
'Upsetting content warning' - Juliet talks very openly about her terminal illness which some people may find upsetting.
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22:48
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22:48
Trees, Trains and Spiders
Leslie Heritage Group in Fife came up with an ambitious project designed to unearth more information about the ancient village’s history and raised money for an archaeological dig. Rachel went along to day one of the excavation to learn more from Group members Bill Carr and Bill Fiet and archaeologist Philip Karsgaard.Woodland Trust Scotland has developed a database which maps social depravation against canopy cover and gives each neighbourhood a ‘tree equity score.’ Kevin Keane meets the Trust’s Anna Perks to talk about the scores and how many trees need to be planted to create urban equality.In this week’s midweek podcast excerpt Mark is in Dundee to hear how a consignment of teak salvaged from a sunken steamer is being used in the RRS Discovery restoration project.Hedgehogs are currently searching for food before their winter hibernation. It’s a busy time for rescue centres and Rachel visits Ballumbie Hedgehog Rescue in Dundee, a centre Dawn Airlie has created at her own home.The Keith and Dufftown Railway maintains an eleven mile line linking Dufftown with the historic town of Keith. The Railway celebrates its 25th anniversary this week. Mark joins volunteers to discover how the railway has been restored and continues to run today.Chris Cathrine is an expert in all things spiders. Chris joins Mark and Rachel to explain why we see more spiders at this time of year and why we shouldn’t pop them outside.Nature artist Jane Smith has written a new book – ‘Community: People and Wildlife on the West Coast of Scotland’. Starting from her own garden in Argyll, Jane travels to ten locations in the west of Scotland to explore the interaction between people and wildlife. Mark chats to Jane in Argyll about some of the stories she uncovered.
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