Open Country Podcast
Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of the British Isles
Episodes to download
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The Music of the Surrey Hills
Thu 16 Apr 2020
Ian Marchant explores music inspired by the landscape of the Surrey Hills.
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Small Fish - Big Project
Thu 9 Apr 2020
How a little known fish, rare and remarkable, is behind a huge project on the River Severn
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Closed Country: Helen Glover in her Buckinghamshire back garden.
Thu 2 Apr 2020
Helen Glover discovers what's in her own back garden with the help of Steve Backshall.
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Halsway Manor
Thu 6 Feb 2020
Helen Mark visits the national centre for folk arts which sits in the Quantock Hills.
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Tintagel
Thu 30 Jan 2020
With storms and high winds will Helen Mark be able to cross Tintagel's new bridge?
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Ryebank Fields
Thu 23 Jan 2020
Helen Mark visits Ryebank Fields in Chorlton and asks if it can be saved from development.
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The Chilterns - a new National Landscape?
Thu 16 Jan 2020
Ian Marchant visits the Chilterns, to test ideas from a new review into National Parks.
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Planting Trees to Save the Planet in Cumbria
Thu 9 Jan 2020
Helen Mark meets teenage campaigner Amy Bray planting trees to save the planet in Cumbria.
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Skateboarding in the Woods
Thu 2 Jan 2020
Ruth Sanderson discovers a skateboarding camp, deep in the Forest of Dean.
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In the Bleak Midwinter: Holst's Cotswolds
Boxing Day 2019
Helen Mark considers how composer Gustav Holst's youth in the Cotswolds shaped his work
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Bristol and the transatlantic slave trade
Thu 19 Dec 2019
Jasmine Ketibuah-Foley examines how the transatlantic slave trade has shaped Bristol.
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Painshill in Surrey - lost and found
Thu 12 Dec 2019
Charles Hamilton's Painshill in Surrey was nearly lost. Helen Mark discovers more.
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The Secret Life of Pigeons
Thu 5 Dec 2019
Join us as we uncover the little-known world of the humble homing pigeon
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Witham Navigable Drains
Thu 28 Nov 2019
Ian Marchant fulfils a boyhood dream, of navigating the Witham Navigable Drains.
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Arnos Vale Cemetery
Thu 21 Nov 2019
Helen Mark explores the landscape of Arnos Vale Cemetery in Bristol.
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Community Resilience in Toppesfield
Thu 14 Nov 2019
Helen Mark meets the thriving community of Toppesfield.
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One Tree Hill
Thu 7 Nov 2019
One Tree Hill: a landmark that connects us emotionally and confounds us archaeologically
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Folklore and Ghost Stories in Northumberland
Thu 31 Oct 2019
On Halloween, Jez Lowe explores Northumberland's rich folklore, song and ghost stories.
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Rick Stein's Cornwall
Thu 24 Oct 2019
For Rick Stein why Padstow remains old fashioned and that little bit different.
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Darwin’s Landscape Laboratory
Thu 29 Aug 2019
How Charles Darwin used the plants in his garden to develop his theory of evolution.
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The Centre of the Earth
Thu 22 Aug 2019
Helen Mark journeys to The Centre of the Earth, a hidden nature reserve in Birmingham.
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The Isle of Eels
Thu 15 Aug 2019
Helen Mark visits the Isle of Eels and joins their annual eel day parade
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Inspiration On The Island of Jura
Thu 1 Aug 2019
The Isle of Jura has inspired many artists, including George Orwell. Helen Mark hears why.
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Rockfield Studios
Thu 25 Jul 2019
Laura Barton visits Rockfield Studios, used by Queen to record Bohemian Rhapsody.
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Family Monsters Garden in Swaffham and Chelsea
Thu 18 Jul 2019
Helen Mark visits the Escape Project in Swaffham as they prepare for Chelsea Flower Show.
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Ulva - An Island for the People
Thu 11 Jul 2019
Helen Mark visits Ulva to hear about plans to repopulate and revitalise the island.
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Exercise Shallow Grave
Thu 4 Jul 2019
Mary-Ann Ochota joins former members of the armed forces as they unearth Saxon artefacts.
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Stonehenge and its community
Thu 9 May 2019
The makers and trades people of Stonehenge, whose lives are shaped by their landscape.