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BBC Radio Scotland


A topical guide to life in the Scottish outdoors.


Scotland Outdoors

Mark is back with Heritage Engagement Manager Ingrid Shearer on the banks of the River Clyde to discuss one of Scotland’s first access rights success stories, the case of Harvie’s Dyke.

Also on the Clyde, Helen Needham takes a wander with author Louise Welsh and architect Jude Barber, who are asking for recognition of the legal personhood status of the river.

Helen and Mark are joined by Chris Romer-Lee who co-founded Swimmable Cities to discuss how we can swim in our urban waterways once more and the benefits of cleaning up our rivers for both people and nature.

It’s the 25th edition of the Strathaven Hot Air Balloon Festival this weekend and Mark heads along to find out what it takes to bring 25 hot air balloons together for a show and how they are recovered after they float away with the wind. Festival Secretary Les Hoggan confides that the secret lies in whisky.

In an excerpt of the midweek podcast, Helen catches up with Robert Macfarlane at the Edinburgh Festival to talk about the ‘aliveness’ of rivers.

How can nature influence more responsible AI systems? Mark finds out when he visits the exhibition Tipping Point: Artists Responses to AI in Edinburgh with Gavin Leuzzi, Lead, Fellowships at Edinburgh University’s Bridging Responsible AI Divides.

Ghillie and Manager Iain MacMaster has worked at Finavon Castle Water Estate for 10 years and he knows the land inside out. He takes Mark for a walk of the South Esk River and explains the changes in weather patterns he has been experiencing.

Helen learns about the legacy of Scottish geologist Hugh Miller who grew up in Cromarty. She joins Bob Davidson and Sidney Johnston of the Friends of Hugh Miller Society to go fossil hunting on the beach at Cromarty.

Rivers, Fossils and Hot Air Balloons

Helen Needham discusses the 'aliveness' of rivers with writer Robert Macfarlane

Rivers with Robert Macfarlane

Mark is in Aberdeenshire with RSPB’s Hywel Maggs to try to catch a glimpse of the Common crane and to find out why numbers of the birds are increasing in North East Scotland.

Naturalist and Educator Dan Puplett reads the Scottish landscape to track wildlife. Jenny Graham meets him Rafford, near Forres to search for evidence of local species.

‘Clouds’, a new book by Dr Edward Graham explores cloud formations, the science behind them and even the famous artists who have painted them. Mark meets author Eddy to take a look at the formations floating in the sky above Glasgow Green.

Crafted entirely from upcycled materials, a new statue by Helen Denerley is bringing the story of one of Scotland’s most notorious historical figures back to life. Phil Sime joins Shirley Neild in Kingussie to chat about the history of Alexander Stewart marked by the structure.

On a recent trip to Norway, Jenny Graham hopped on her bike in the Fosen district to adventure through Fjord territory.

The Balmoral Estate is home to a series of Royal commemorative cairns, including a structure that’s more reminiscent of ancient Egypt than Scotland. Mark explores with Heraldist Gordon Casely.

Red grouse numbers continue to be low in Scotland. Mark and Jenny are joined by Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust Director for Scotland Dr Nick Hesford to talk about their latest research on the grouse population.

Every summer the Woodland Trust announces its shortlist for UK Tree of the Year. The National Contest aims to highlight how vital trees are. Mark meets instrument maker Steve Burnett at Napier’s Craiglockhart Campus in Edinburgh to discover the history behind a sycamore with connections to famous war poet Wilfred Owen.

Moose, Cranes and the Wolf of Badenoch

Mark Stephen meets Eddy Graham, a lecturer/researcher in atmospheric science.

Eddy Graham - Clouds

Comedian Dion Owen is at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to combine his two passions, cycling and stand-up. Mark meets Dion before his show to find out more about his free bike programme for Fringe artists.

Gardening expert Julie-Ann Henderson is trying to encourage more young people to consider horticulture as a career. She established the first North of Scotland garden show this year and Rachel catches up with her at her home near Keith.

Ingrid Shearer is co-author of the A-Z of Rowing on the Clyde, an ebook that tells a myriad of stories about rowing, sport, Glasgow and the River Clyde. Mark meets Ingrid on the banks of the Clyde to discover more about the river that’s been home to the city’s rowing community for over 200 years.

Our mid-week podcast excerpt this week comes from the final section of the Whithorn Way, as Rachel and Mark reach Whithorn Priory.

Rachel joins a workshop organised by the North East Scotland Biodiversity Partnership which is all about identifying wildflowers and harvesting their seeds. She chats to John Malster in Newtonhill close to Aberdeen on a plot which is slowly being transformed to become more nature friendly.

Buglife’s Paul Hetherington joins Mark and Rachel to talk about why we might be seeing more wasps this year and the importance of the insects to our environment.

Mark dons his life vest and joins Pete Mowforth and Kat Kjos of Glasgow Rowing Club to learn about race rowing on the Club’s training boat.

For the last few years, Stonehaven’s land train has been out of action. Now, it’s back in business and Rachel hops aboard to find out how the Stoney Express got back on the road.

Rowing on the River Clyde, Stonehaven's Land Train and Free Bikes at the Edinburgh Fringe

The Whithorn Way follows an ancient pilgrim route from Glasgow to Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. In this final episode, Mark and Rachel walk some of the Ayrshire Coastal Path south of Girvan. Then Mark takes to his bike for the final section to Whithorn. They reach Whithorn Priory where the relics of St Ninian were kept, and the place where pilgrims would seek atonement. Their final destination is the beach next to St Ninian's cave where he is said to have spent a considerable amount of time in the darkness praying.

The Whithorn Way - Part 6 - Girvan to St Ninian's Cave

Since 1978 the Travelling Gallery has been bringing exhibitions to communities throughout Scotland by putting art inside a bus. Mark steps on board with curator Louise Briggs in Callendar Park, Falkirk, to explore the latest exhibition, Seedlings: Diasporic Imaginaries. 

Phil Sime speaks to blind farmer Mike Duxbury about Scotland’s first inclusive farm, a place where people with disabilities can gain the confidence, skills, and opportunities to pursue a career in agriculture.

BBC’s Farmwatch is back to celebrate farming communities across the UK, with 24 hours of continuous broadcasting on BBC local stations on Thursday the 7th of August. Rachel and Mark are joined by producer Marie Lennon and Landward presenter and sheep farmer Cammy Wilson to chat farming life and Farmwatch stories. 

Rachel joins the annual Eyemouth Herring Queen celebration to meet this year’s newly crowned queen and to find out why the annual tradition is so important to the local community. 

New Arc Wildlife Rescue in Aberdeenshire is the largest rescue centre in the North East of Scotland. This summer, the team have seen their busiest months ever, partly due to the hot weather. Mark meets Paul Reynolds to find out how the centre is managing the increased numbers of fledgling rescues.

Linda Sinclair catches up with Tracey Howe in Aberdeenshire as she nears the end of her 5,000 mile walk around the British coastline in memory of her wife Angela.

Mark hops aboard one of Scotland’s smallest ferries and talks to skipper Dougie Robertson about the appeal of the Cromarty to Nigg crossing, a journey that takes only 10 minutes.

Excisemen disappeared from distilleries in the 1980s, but Fettercairn Distillery in Angus still has a Customs and Excise office tucked inside one of the original warehouses. Rachel meets Claire Sabison and Kylie Anderson to have a look and to discover where the distillery gets its casks from.

A Herring Queen, Art on a Bus and a Very Small Ferry

Phil Sime visits a farm near Aboyne, Aberdeenshire to speak to blind farmer Mike Duxbury and his partner Ness Shillitto about creating Scotland’s first inclusive farm. This is a place where people with disabilities will gain the confidence, skills and opportunity to pursue a career in agriculture.

Scotland's First Inclusive Farm

The rare Dark Bordered Beauty moth is found in only two sites in Scotland and one in England. Mark joins Dark Bordered Beauty Moth Champion Pete Moore at RSPB Insh Marshes nature reserve to find out more about attempts to reintroduce the moth to other areas in Scotland. 

Dark Bordered Beauty moths in Scotland are reliant on aspen suckers - shoots that sprout from the roots of an aspen tree, acting as a form of vegetative reproduction. Mark catches up with Conservation Manager Shaila Rao at Mar Lodge Estate in the Cairngorms to discover how the team are restoring aspen in the area. 

Rachel is in Dornoch to meet a group of women training for the traditional heavy events at the Highland Games. 

Mark and Rachel have a wander with David Coid and local historian Alasdair Malcolm on the coast of Prestwick, Ayrshire to explore a group of Grade-A listed houses built in the 1700s for the salt boiling industry. 

Phil Sime heads to a Creative Summer School with Cairngorms Connect to discover how the project helps local school children to explore art and creativity through different landscapes, habitats and species. 

Ben Saunders, Senior Marine Archaeologist at Wessex Archaeology, returns to the programme to update the team on exciting new information on the identity of the shipwreck found on Sanday, Orkney last year. 

Rachel meets Andrew Bateman who runs hiking tours in the Cairngorms with the comfort of a heated Nordic tipi at night. Andrew’s highland ponies join the trek to carry the camping equipment. 

Mark and Rachel have a gander around Girvan as they continue to explore the Whithorn Way pilgrimage.

An Orkney Shipwreck, A Rare Moth and Aspen Trees

The Whithorn Way follows an ancient pilgrim route from Glasgow to Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. In this episode, Mark and Rachel begin at Crossraguel Abbey at Maybole, once a significant stopping off point for pilgrims. Then it's off to the once very popular holiday destination of Girvan to learn about a new community led tourism initiative. And they are given the grand tour of the town ending at the jail.

Scotland's First Inclusive Farm

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