Scotland's great outdoors are full of incredible stories and fascinating people.
Join me, Richard Baynes, as I travel the country looking at our wildlife, ecology, the natural environment, and adventure sports.
Please follow or subscribe on your podcast platform of choice so you don’t miss an episode. It really helps the show reach new audiences.
And if you’d like to support journalism like this, and like what you hear on the podcast, for a couple of pounds a month you can contribute as a Patreon.
The link to sign up is here: xxx
See much more of my work, click on the links below:
richardbaynes.com (www.richardbaynes.com)
@ScotNatureCorr (https://twitter.com/ScotNatureCorr)
I’d love it if you’d subscribe to the podcast feed, and leave us a review if you’ve liked what you’ve heard.
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Our title music is a special composition by the wonderful Nottingham's own Rob Baynes. Check out his work here: https://www.facebook.com/Beeeaaanz/
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NatureScot woodland champion Kate Holl and I head for an extraordinary lost world on an island, off an island, off the west coast of Scotland. A little extra for the faithful followers of the podcast... and great fun to make. Windy though!
We took this trip a while back but Kate is still at it with NatureScot flying the flag for woodland restoration.
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15 Nov 2023
12: Scourge of the Parks
This week I have had the pleasure of a half an hour or so in the company of Nick Kempe. He's a blogger, campaigner - and one of the nicest obsessives you could hope to meet! He helped create our access laws, was on the board of SNH and now holds our national parks to account.
Fine out if he believes:
The access laws need revision
"King" Charles should change his behaviour
Social work helps your campaigning
We need to invest in tourism
Rogue landowners should be taken to task
His large dossier on the Loch Lomond park needs attention...!
Can you guess which answer is no!? I'll almost certainly come back to Nick in the next podcast series. Meanwhile sign up, follow, subscribe and give me feedback - it is a pleasure to do this work and to know that it's valued by so many people. Find me on Facebook, Linkedin, X (@ScotNatureCorr), Instagram...
Music created for this podcast by Nottingham's own Rob Baynes https://www.facebook.com/Beeeaaanz/ - hit him up if you want your own specially created music!
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1 Nov 2023
11: Conservation with a difference...
We're taking a different tack this week with a senior representative of an organisation that has its roots in the world of hunting, shooting and fishing. Rory Kennedy was a lad with a fly rod and a ferret, and now he's the head of the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust in Scotland. His views on some issues might surprise you... he tells me:
How lynx might be a gateway to restoring the wolf
Why recovering pine marten might have to be culled to save another species
Why nature recovery needs to be on a landscape scale, not just nature reserves
And he tells me that grouse moors, so hated by conventional conservationists, are actually bastions of biodiversity. Is he right?
I'd love to hear your views, get me on Twitter/X where I'm @ScotNatureCorr, and on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. Give it a follow, subscribe... give it a share... Even if you don't agree with Rory, his are views that have been given a lot of thought.
Music created for this podcast by Nottingham's own Rob Baynes https://www.facebook.com/Beeeaaanz/ - hit him up if you want your own specially created music!
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25 Oct 2023
Bonus: Glen Coe - Rewilding and deer
With Chris Packham declaring Glen Coe to be an ecological desert, many people will be interested in how National Trust for Scotland manages the glen. Last year I made this programme for BBC Radio Four about the battle over deer management, which is at the heart of the problem of tree cover that Chris wants to see.
Hear about:
The NTS side of things
What deer managers think
What has been done to revive the landscape in another area which was similarly treeless landscape.
Note - this programme is almost a year old, so some of the situations and views may have changed - but it's a good view of the debate from Scottish stakeholders
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18 Oct 2023
10: Picture this ...
How do you go from wannabe truck magnate to campaigner for rewilding in Scotland, with a brief to bring back the lynx? That's what Peter Cairns has done, and for this episode he talks about the evolution that has made Scotland: The Big Picture a major part of the conservation landscape in Scotland.
Find out what he thinks about:
Whether rewilding is a useful term
What gang small landowners with a conservation bent can join
His neighbours in the giant Cairngorms Connect nature restoration project
Why this small organisation is going big on bringing back the lynx
How you monetise nature recovery - is it just vulgar?!
... and get some clues about a major new interconnected landscape-scale renaturing project in the west Highlands after Peter lets slip a wee secret.
If you like what you hear give us a follow or subscribe, and tell your friends that it's good. There is a decent archive built up of nine other episodes and they're all a good listen. Get me on Facebook, Twitter/X - @ScotNatureCorr - Linked and Instagram, I'd love any feedback.
Music created for this podcast by Nottingham's own Rob Baynes https://www.facebook.com/Beeeaaanz/ - hit him up if you want your own specially created music!
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4 Oct 2023
09: A rising tide ...
It's common sense, but is anyone listening? Nick Underdown of the Open Seas marine charity is the straightest-talking man in conservation, and his sense of disbelief at the way our seas are being managed is palpable in this interview. Listen to his inimitable, resonant tones as he explains:
Why Scotland's much-vaunted marine protected areas are just paper parks
Why proposals for much greater protections were fundamentially flawed
How the fishermen who make their livings from the sea can't be ignored
Just why he has to skim stones!
Nick is ready with the facts and figures and is a master of fine detail but he's got the broad brushstroke to give us a clear picture of why marine conservation matters.
If you like this podcast, give it a like, a follow, a subscribe or whatever, and please share... the more hits we get, the better we can do it next time, and the more you can here about our conservation and outdoors champs. You can get me on Twitter/X as @ScotNatureCorr and find me on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram (where there's a neat video clip of Nick in action). All feedback gratefully received.
Music created for this podcast by Nottingham's own Rob Baynes https://www.facebook.com/Beeeaaanz/ - hit him up if you want your own specially created music!
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20 Sept 2023
08: Rescue me...
Polly Pullar is well-known as a writer and conservationist, but her remarkable collection of rescued animals, and her views on how farmers should be helped to live with rewilding, need more attention. She's a farmer herself and has robust opinions. She also has a crazy squirrel named Alistair, a fecund one-eyed hedgehog named Reggie, and some very funny stories - including one about a kid with a head full of dolphins.
So this week we learn about:
Animal rescue and why it's worthwhile
Saving a paralysed, tick-infested red deer hind
How gardeners can help rewild
Just how frightened I am of getting a squirrel down my trousers
Why kids might be the answer to nature's decline
Join in, contact me - @ScotNatureCorr - on X/Twitter with ideas/crits, if you're liking this, sign up and spread the word. And if you're new here there are seven other fun-packed episodes, all putting the Great into Outdoors, that you can take a listen to.
Music created for this podcast by Nottingham's own Rob Baynes https://www.facebook.com/Beeeaaanz/ - hit him up if you want your own specially created music!
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6 Sept 2023
07: Hitting the trail
We all use footpaths but do we think for a moment about who builds and maintains them? In this episode we talk to footpaths ace and outdoorswoman Shona Irvine, who organises volunteering and more for mountain paths charity the Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland.
We're finding out about:
How paths get worn and battered
What you can do to help put things right
Sandwich fillings, pink trousers and the patriarchy!
Warning: Shona is one of the brightest and keenest people working in the outdoors, and just listening to her will make you want to get out and devote your time to fixing paths! But don't let that put you off too much - the more listeners the better and if you can subscribe, share, stick it on X/Twitter that's great too.
Music created for this podcast by Nottingham's own Rob Baynes https://www.facebook.com/Beeeaaanz/ - hit him up if you want your own specially created music!
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16 Aug 2023
06: Rock star. How geology's for everyone
It's not set in stone, but I reckon Dr Eileen Tisdall is the most enthusiastic scientist you're ever going to meet. She's been mad about rocks from an early age, and now preaches the importance of geology - how it shapes our lives as well as the landscape around us. In this episode she tells me
How the glaciers helped build the second Forth road bridge
What a real rock festival is about
How Scotland could get a whole lot colder thanks to global warming
Why geology is the perfect career for a woman
How we need to look after our rocks better
On the way we have a few laughs and learn exactly why there's a magnificent piece of geology behind a row of council houses in Callander. If you're enjoying this podcast, give it a follow or subscribe, and share it with anyone you can think of. The more listens we get the better we're able to keep it going!
Music created for this podcast by Nottingham's own Rob Baynes https://www.facebook.com/Beeeaaanz/ - hit him up if you want your own specially created music!
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2 Aug 2023
05: From Natureboy to Nature's champion
This time we're talking to Steve Micklewright, the chief executive of up-and-coming nature charity Trees for Life. In his time in the job he has doubled the charity's staff, established the UK's first rewilding centre, and tackled the Scottish Government in court over beaver shootings. That's despite working WITH the government on many issues....
So
Do too many NGOs back off from such confrontation when they should have nothing to fear?
Should lynx, absent from Scotland for more than a millennium, come back in the next decade - and what will sheep farmers make of that?
Just how scary is it working for a bird charity in Malta?
Listen in, subscribe, share - Steve is an important figure in conservation in Scotland, and his views should be heard.
Music created for this podcast by Nottingham's own Rob Baynes https://www.facebook.com/Beeeaaanz/ - hit him up if you want your own specially created music!
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20 Jul 2023TRANSCRIPT
04: Love, lambs, and white-tailed eagles ...
It's 48 years since white-tailed eagles were brought back to Scotland. Since then they have delighted conservationists and twitching tourists, who flock to see them on Scotland's west coast. but horrified sheep farmers, who blame them for lamb losses. So what does John Love, one of the people responsible for their reintroduction in 1975, think about them now?
Has the environment changed too much to sustain them?
Is the successful reintroduction of this apex predator a blueprint for bringing the lynx and wolf back to Scotland?
And - should farmers be grateful to the sea-eagle reintroduction programme?
John is a legend in the conservation world and his reflections on these topics may not be quite what you would expect.
This is the fourth of the first W&I series, and we're building some momentum but I could do with more help to sustain this podcast, so if you're interested in this stuff, please follow, subscribe or whatever your chosen podcast source allows, to give us a boost. A share would help too!
Music created for this podcast by Nottingham's own Rob Baynes https://www.facebook.com/Beeeaaanz/ - hit him up if you want your own specially created music!
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5 Jul 2023
03: Beaver believer
It’s windswept Wednesday again, and this week I’m finding out how the estate at the heart of Scotland’s rewilding journey is still forging ahead with restoring nature.
I’m talking to Sophie Ramsay, daughter of arch beaver enthusiasts Paul and Louise, at their transformed estate at Bamff in Perthshire.
She has picked up the rewilding baton from her parents and is now leading on much of the project. So
What did a snake that hands out superpowers have to do with the Bamff story?
Which beavers are the biggest show-offs?
Did the Bamff beavers start the population which now lives on the Tay?
And how do you tempt ospreys to move into your neighbourhood?
Listen in to find out…
And remember, we're giving out a slice of Scotland's outdoors folk every first and third Wednesday, so sign up and make sure you know we're coming!
Music created for this podcast by Nottingham's own Rob Baynes https://www.facebook.com/Beeeaaanz/ - hit him up if you want your own specially created music!
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27 Jun 2023
Bonus: Lorna Slater interview
Here’s a bonus for loyal listeners, one from my archives, previously unpublished, revealing something of how Scotland’s Green environment minister Lorna Slater thinks about a lot of issues close to the hearts of those who care about the Scottish environment. The deer management stuff and the green finance plans may worry some in the conservation world…
Music created for this podcast by Nottingham's own Rob Baynes https://www.facebook.com/Beeeaaanz/ - hit him up if you want your own specially created music!
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21 Jun 2023
02: Mountain time
This week we're at Mar Lodge, arguably Britain's most important conservation estate, covering 70,000-plus acres.
David Frew is the man in charge - we're finding out:
why a conservationist has had thousands of deer shot
whether no fences make good neighbours
why the National Trust estate still has commercial stalking
and whether David would like to organise a cull of hillwalkers.
We're getting listened to in the USA, Canada, Singapore and Sweden - rather amazingly - and it all helps build momentum - so subscribe if you can, or buzz me @ScotNatureCorr on Twitter with suggestions etc.
Lots more eps to come, and we're aiming to hit at least two Wednesdays a month...
Music created for this podcast by Nottingham's own Rob Baynes https://www.facebook.com/Beeeaaanz/ - hit him up if you want your own specially created music!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
6 Jun 2023
01: It's downhill - but not all the way...
It's the first Windswept and Interesting podcast, on what I'm hoping will be Windswept Wednesdays. This show features the ever-youthful Andy Meldrum, the man who took on the Glen Coe Ski Centre and won, turning it into Glencoe Mountain resort, complete with fabulous cafe, mountain biking, accommodation pods and more. So - is it true he didn't tell his wife the full story when he remortgaged their house to buy the place? How confident is he that skiing will go on at Glen Coe when snow is a fast disappearing commodity in the Highlands? And what's the worst possible Christmas present you could have if you own a ski resort (and no, there was plenty of snow...)? Listen in to find out, and subscribe if you can - it will help ensure we keep going! Find me @ScotNatureCorr on Twitter
You can find out more about the Glencoe Mountain Resort here:
https://www.glencoemountain.co.uk/ (https://www.glencoemountain.co.uk/)
Lots more eps to come, and we'll be aiming to hit at least two Wednesdays a month...
Music created for this podcast by Nottingham's own Rob Baynes https://www.facebook.com/Beeeaaanz/ - hit him up if you want your own specially created music!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
25 May 2023
00: Welcome to Windswept and Interesting
Do you want to hear more from the folk in the know about Scotland's countryside? If so, this is the place to come!
In my work as a broadcast and print journalist specialising in Scotland's outdoors and environment, I meet lots of really interesting folk, but a four-line quote or a couple of 30-second radio clips rarely does them justice. This podcast aims to set that right, giving the people at the heart of Scotland's countryside, and the debates about it, a chance to tell us who they are, where they're coming from, and what they believe the future holds.
It'll be around once a fortnight, and you can subscribe, or give me feedback and suggestions on Twitter @ScotNatureCorr. It's all about you getting more from my work - so don't hold back. The first ep proper is coming in a couple of weeks...
Music specially created for this podcast by Nottingham's own Rob Baynes https://www.facebook.com/Beeeaaanz/
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Inside a recent episode
04: Love, lambs, and white-tailed eagles ...
Published 20 Jul 2023 · Transcript excerpt
[…] Also a carrion feeder it has to be said. So there are, yeah, springs and roundabouts and there are impacts. As somebody was involved in a reintroduction, I shouldn't be against reintroductions or rewilding. And we're already seeing lots of benefits of rewilding and improvements in biodiversity. […]
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