The Perthshire scientist hopes the wheel will encourage people to rediscover some of the lost tastes and uses of our wild plants.By BBC Radio Scotland

Rachel catches up with Nick Ray who previously kayaked around the coast of Scotland, sharing his journey and mental health challenges on social media throughout that year.He’s just completed another journey but walking this time, from far north to south via east and west. Rachel finds out why he decided to hang up his kayak for this challenge. Mark…

In this second episode of our Witches, Cunning Folk & Magic theme, I'm talking to Willow Winsham, an author and historian specialising in folklore, and the history of the English witch trials. Her books include the highly popular Treasury of Folklore series from Batsford Books, and Accused: British Witches Throughout History from Pen and Sword Book…

The Whithorn Way follows an ancient pilgrim route from Glasgow to Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. In this episode, Mark and Rachel start with a quick stop off at Renfrew to contemplate the motivation for pilgrimage in medieval times. Then they head to Paisley Cathedral to learn about the unearthing of a drain which revealed a slate containing mu…

A new initiative in Buchan called Sma Wids to encourage farmers and landowners to plant trees, the largest surviving ice house in the UK at Spey Bay, lapwing chick ringing in Upper Deeside, the rare dandelions of Shetland, the seabird village of Fowlsheugh near Stonehaven and the latest news from the osprey nest at Loch Garten plus the tale of a me…

In this first episode of our Witches, Cunning Folk & Magic theme, I'm talking to Dr Tabitha Stanmore! She's a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at University of Exeter on the Leverhulme-funded Seven County Witch Hunt Project, investigating the people affected by the 1640s witch trials in eastern England. Her doctoral research was funded by the South, We…

Mark Stephen visits Auchnerran, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust farm on Deeside to watch some lapwing chicks being ringed by research assistant Max Wright and data collector Honor JonesBy BBC Radio Scotland

Dendrochronology is a niche field of study, used to work out the age of trees, forests and wooden objects. However, it is not only useful for looking at the past, but also for considering how to manage wooded areas in the future. Mark met with expert dendrochronologist Dr Coralie Mills, and Borders Forest Trust Project Officer, Catriona Patience, t…

Much is often made of London's lost rivers, like the Tyburn, Fleet, and Walbrook. Yet Newcastle upon Tyne also has rivers we cannot see. Ours are not lost, rather they're simply buried. The Skinnerburn, Erick Burn, Pandon Burn, Lam Burn, and Lort Burn all continue to flow beneath the city, down to the mighty Tyne. The Lort Burn is perhaps the most …

The Whithorn Way follows an ancient pilgrim route from Glasgow to Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. In this episode, Mark and Rachel focus on the start of the journey at Glasgow Cathedral. Mark and Helen cycle down to Glasgow Green and imagine how pilgrims would have crossed the River Clyde. They then follow the River westwards to the new Govan- P…

Nature-based solutions are a key tool in solving environmental problems such as flooding. Rachel met with Dr Rebecca Wade from Abertay University, who is a big advocate for these solutions, to find out more about how they are actually implemented, and why they are so important. The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s demonstration farm in Auchne…

The Broads National Park, often known as the Norfolk Broads, is one of the UK's 15 National Parks. Seven rivers and over sixty waterways called Broads comprise the park. In the medieval era, locals dug peat from the land for fuel. By the 14th century, these channels flooded and created the Broads. They'd become a popular boating destination by the …

Dr Alexander Cummins is a contemporary cunning-man and historian of magic. His magical specialities are the dead (folk necromancy), divination (geomancy), the cunning-crafts of traditional British service magic, and the grimoires. His published works include The Black Raven with Brian Johnson, Nazarth: Pillars of Gladness, The Art of Cyprian’s Mirr…

Rachel Stewart meets environmental scientist Dr Rebecca Wade from Abertay University.By BBC Radio Scotland

This week, we are coming to you from the village of Whithorn, in Galloway, broadcasting from the replica Iron Age Roundhouse in the village. Julia Muir Watt from the Whithorn Trust, and Shaun Thomson from Building Futures Galloway feature as live guests, to share the history of the area, and the importance of promoting heritage crafts and building …

Canals occupy a strange place in the cultural imagination. They're manmade, yet offer a connection to nature, and they offer a means of transport, but one that's only accessible by boat. Some cities depend on canals, like Amsterdam or Venice, while in the UK, canals are often overlooked or forgotten spaces that have long outlived their original pur…

Mo Wilde is a forager, herbalist and author who is also founder of the Wild Biome Project. In this podcast, Helen Needham meets her at Cambo Estate in Fife where they go foraging and discuss the benefits of a wild food diet.By BBC Radio Scotland

Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart with stories from the great outdoorsBy BBC Radio Scotland

We've no doubt seen plenty of content online about water's power to be a great healer. We need to drink it (this is your reminder for today), while people swear by cold water baths for their wellbeing. Then we think about how much water appears in nature, somewhere we're often counselled to go to improve our mental health. I think of how often I fi…

Mark Stephen meets head of soil forensics at the James Hutton Institute, Professor Lorna Dawson. Mark meets Lorna at the Institute's research farm, Glensaugh in Aberdeenshire to find out what exactly her job entailsBy BBC Radio Scotland

Peregrine falcons have been in residence at the University of Glasgow’s Gilbert Scott Tower for a number of years now, with a new clutch of chicks being born again this year. Rachel met with Clarke Elsby from the university and John Simpson, from the Scottish Ornithologists Club, to get a glimpse of these magnificent birds of prey. Solsgirth Home F…

A sense of mystery gathers around London's lost rivers, with their names whispered like forgotten deities from an ancient cult. Fleet, Tyburn, Walbrook, Effra, Westbourne, Neckinger. In some cases, they aren't so much lost, as buried. Sometimes, they break ground, appearing where you least expect them. Take the grey duct that carries the Westbourne…

Rachel Stewart speaks to Dr Kenny Taylor at the Montrose Basin about 60 years of the SWTBy BBC Radio Scotland

Tennants of Elgin is a family quarrying business that has been operating out of the North East of Scotland for fifty years. They have had numerous impressive contracts across Europe, but have recently begun some work that’s a little closer to home – providing the granite for Aberdeen’s Union Street works. Mark went along to meet with Director Gavin…

Visiting churches might not sound like everyone's idea of a great time. Yet the buildings are stuffed with strange carvings, peculiar graffiti, interesting artwork, and even sassy memorials. These church curiosities tell us a lot about what mattered to people in centuries past. They also preserve folklore, legends, and the beliefs of the congregati…

W.J. Gilbert is a writer, storyteller, and creator of the YouTube channel Eerie Edinburgh. Based in Edinburgh, he’s the author of the best-selling Hidden Haunts: Scotland, Hidden Haunts: England, and Ghostly Tales of the NC500 — a haunted journey through Scotland’s most legendary road trip route. His next book, Hidden Haunts: Ireland, is currently …

Mark Stephen visits the poetry path at Corbenic with its founder Jon PlunkettBy BBC Radio Scotland

The Elsick Mounth is an ancient trackway, linking the River Dee to the Mearns, and is one of the routes featured in the new Scotsways guide on hill tracks. Mark and Rachel both met up with Colin Young, a Scotsways volunteer, who guided them along part of the route to point out some of the important historical and archaeological sites that can be se…

Churches can be sites of divination, haunted locations, and important community hubs. Yet in Wallsend, Holy Cross Church is notorious for a tale of witches and heroic derring-do. The ruin might not look like it now, but appearances can be deceptive. It's not just a chapel. Throw in a midnight ritual, grotesque women, a desecrated corpse and an infa…

Lorraine McCall from the Highlands has overcome cancer three times in recent years. She has previously climbed all of Scotland's 221 Corbetts and 282 Munros.By BBC Radio Scotland

The Scottish Crannog Centre on the banks of Loch Tay is a bustling model Iron Age village, filled with various craftspeople to demonstrate ancient crafts and technologies. Mark went along to find out how the site has grown over the past few years, and how the construction of the crannog over the water is coming along. Jenny Graham follows the Posti…

Here in the 21st century, death and burial often occur as part of a sanitised process. Death happens away from home, often in hospitals, and funerals are usually tidy, respectful affairs. We can forget that this wasn't always the case, and that our quaint, inner city gardens were sometimes putrescent burial grounds, crammed with rotting remains. Ev…

Helen Needham meets with bird recorder Ian Broadbent to capture the April dawn chorusBy BBC Radio Scotland

Potato Enthusiast Bob Donald talks to Rachel about a community growing project in Aberdeen which has led to libraries in the north east handing out seeds and seed tatties. Mark speaks with volunteers from a walking group in Govan, who share their personal experiences with homelessness and social hardship. They’re now involved in an innovative proje…

You would absolutely know a lychgate if you saw one. They make popular backdrops for wedding photos, and provide a quaint air of rustic charm to country churchyards. They're the wooden or stone gateway, complete with tiled roof, that marks the entry into the churchyard. Not all churches have them, and they're far more common outside churches in the…

Kerri Andrews is the author of Pathfinding - On Walking, Motherhood and Freedom. She describes her own traumatic experience with pregnancy, birth and motherhood and draws on examples of other female writers and their experiences over the centuries. She also discusses the history of women and walking and her desire for a more communal child rearing …

Lambhill, in the North of Glasgow, is home to a thriving community hub, built out of an old stable block on the edge of the Forth and Clyde canal. Mark went along to visit their community garden, and find out more about what goes on there. Rachel is on the banks of Loch Lomond to find out about the issues of litter along the busy stretch of the A82…

I started out with the intention of looking at unusual church names. The problem was, this offered the potential to accidentally poke fun at their congregations. It also didn't help that most churches in the UK have pretty similar names. They're named for individual saints, like St Nicholas' Cathedral in Newcastle, or even all saints like, funnily …

A shortage of volunteers means some clubs have struggled to restart following the Covid pandemic in 2020. Campaigners say more needs to be done to raise awareness of the issue.By BBC Radio Scotland

The Cairngorm Funicular Railway is back up and running after some extensive structural works. Mark took a trip up to the snow-covered peak with the Interim Chief Executive Officer of Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Limited, Tim Hurst, to find out what impact the funicular has for the mountain resort. Farmers and land managers are working together in Mo…

Looking at the origins of sports team names might seem antithetical to folklore. Yet sport forms part of the ritual calendar for many people, whether on a personal or a mass scale. Look at the good luck rituals people follow before they watch their team play. Or how about the sporting events that become part of the folk tradition of a place through…

Mark Stephen visits Duke Christie at his studio in MorayBy BBC Radio Scotland

Victoria Male is an internationally recognized screenwriter, earning accolades from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, film festivals, and major industry lists. Her prose has been published worldwide in fifteen literary magazines and she’s written op-eds for major publications. She worked in creative development for The Montecito Pictur…

Many landowners across Scotland are engaging with large scale restoration projects. One such project, spanning 80 thousand acres, is Wildland, in the Scottish Highlands. They have a 200 year vision to help the land heal, grow and thrive, and Rachel is there to find out more about the project, and perhaps even spot some of birds of prey who are thri…

There is no shortage of bizarre pub names in the UK. Some of them appear to be a combination of random objects, like the Frog and Nightgown. Others have a local story behind their odd name. I've covered unusual pub names before, so consider this Part 2. Yet when I started researching these examples, it became apparent that pub names didn't have to …

The actors have become regular wild swimmers in recent years. In their latest BBC Scotland TV series, they visit some of Scotland's islands and try out a whole host of different dipping spots in remote and rugged locations.By BBC Radio Scotland

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 Brack…

Unlike place names, which often give us information who once lived somewhere, street names can be a different case entirely. Sometimes they bear the names of notable (and often now infamous) people. Other times they refer to long-gone industries performed in the area - you can guess what happened on Cock Lane in London, site of the Cock Lane Polter…

Mark Stephen hears from Graham Gillie about his extraordinary working life in AntarcticaBy BBC Radio Scotland

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 thr…