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A Kitchen Garden, the Trossachs Explorer and 200 Years of the Modern Railway

Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart with stories from the great outdoors.

Mark is travelling by bus, boat and bike through Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. First up, he hops aboard the Trossachs Explorer to chat to head of visitor services Kenny Auld about the bus service.

Mark and Rachel are joined by Petroc Trelawny, who is live from Inverness as part of Train Tracks, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 3’s celebration of 200 years of Britain's modern railway.

Farmer and former National Farmers Union Scotland president Martin Kennedy recently suffered a loss on his farm after one of his highland cows walked through an open gate and got trapped in old fencing. Mark joins Martin in Aberfeldy to discuss responsible land access.

Rachel visits Leith Hall in Aberdeenshire to discover how the team are finding out more about who used to work there. And she meets Beatrice Fettes Leagas and head gardener Sarah Ramsay to learn about the hall’s kitchen garden.

Before she retired, Juliet Robertson was a global expert in outdoor learning and play. She now has a terminal illness and has written a new book about her health journey, Blood Lines – Living and Dying with Cancer. Rachel talks to Juliet about how she brought a piece of the outdoors into the hospital during cancer treatment.

Back in the park, Mark is on the steamship Sir Walter Scott, talking to ships and visitor attraction manager Stuart Brain about the cycle path connecting Stronachlachar and Trossachs pier.

Ten years ago, a new line brought trains back to the Borders for the first time since the closure of the old line 46 years earlier. Mark and Rachel are joined by Campaign for Borders rail chair Marion Short to talk about the anniversary.

Mark takes a spin along the 13-mile Stronachlachar cycle path which follows the shoreline of Loch Katrine all the way back to Trossachs Pier.

1 hour, 31 minutes

Broadcast

  • Sat 27 Sep 2025 06:30

Landward

Landward

Scotland's farming and countryside programme