meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Scotland Outdoors

Water of Leith Otters, Salmon Fishing on the River Tweed and a Famous North East Cow

Scotland Outdoors

BBC

Nature, Society & Culture, Science

4.7 • 709 Ratings

🗓️ 8 February 2025

⏱️ 84 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The National Farmers Union of Scotland Conference has been underway this week, and Kevin Keane is there, joined by Professor Colin Campbell from the James Hutton Institute, to hear his advice on how farms can become more resilient in the face of climate change.

Muiravonside, Falkirk’s only country park, features several attractions, from a sculpture and poetry trail to the Avon aqueduct. Rachel catches up with the park’s ranger, Claire Martin, to hear about the history and appeal of the estate.

Otters have been making a comeback along the Water of Leith, deep in the heart of Edinburgh. Rachel meets with Helen Brown from the Water of Leith Conservation Trust to hear about the lives of these metropolitan mammals.

Sunset Song was written by Lewis Grassic Gibbon in 1932, and in 1971 was brought to TV screens across the UK by the BBC, in what is still claimed as one of the finest BBC dramas ever made. Mark learns about the history of the novel, and how the landscape of East Coast of Scotland, ahead of the re-release of the drama for the 90th Anniversary of the author’s death.

Phil heads out with the Highland VIP group in Inverness, who work to increase the mobility of visually impaired people by bringing them together with sighted volunteers to take part in walks and other outdoor activities.

And the Turra Coo, the infamous symbol of a dispute between Turriff townspeople and the government over national insurance and rising taxes, received a shout out from the newly crowned BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year, Ellie Beaton, at the competition’s final last Sunday. Rachel heads to Turriff to hear all about the cow and her role in the protests.

The River Tweed’s salmon fishing has begun once again, and Mark heads down to see how the fish are faring at the beginning of this year’s season.

We also hear from Anne Woodcock about how important fishing is for the local communities on the banks of the Tweed, and the positive impact it can have on your mental and physical health.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hello, you're about to listen to a BBC podcast, so I'd like to tell you where you'll find more just like it.

0:05.5

I'm Izzy Lee Poulton, an assistant commissioner for BBC Sounds, which means I'm involved in the whole podcast making process.

0:12.0

Whether that's developing fresh formats or facilitating eye-catching artwork, I helped project manage all the details that make our podcast stand out.

0:19.0

At the BBC, we've got access to storytellers

0:22.0

and experts across a huge range of subjects. It could be psychologists, comedians, celebrities or

0:27.7

journalists. No podcasts or day looks the same here. So no matter what you like, check out BBC

0:33.4

Sounds. There's probably another podcast on there that you're absolutely love.

0:38.1

This Scotland Outdoors podcast with Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart from BBC Radio Scotland.

0:48.0

Hello and thanks very much for choosing to listen to this. As you probably know, we do a couple of Scotland

0:52.9

Outdoors podcasts every week, one of which is built on the know, we do a couple of Scotland outdoors podcasts every week,

0:54.9

one of which is built on the live programme we do for BBC Radio Scotland, which is called Out of

0:59.5

Doors. And this week we go to the river Tweed to discuss the king of fish.

1:07.2

Ordinarily, I start the programme standing just away from the other side of the fire, dancing around arthritically, but not this morning, because the wind is coming from the east and it's raining and we're desperately trying to find a small, a small soapson of shelter at the front of the building here and it's not working. I'm Mark Stephen sitting closer to the rain. Rachel Stewart.

1:28.8

Yeah, I'm strategically positioned

1:31.0

to get the full force of it, I would say.

1:33.2

It's actually a bit sleety. I think it's

1:35.3

quite cold. In fact, a few minutes ago, I thought it was

1:37.5

a hailstone that was winging its way towards

1:39.5

my face. Dinging off your nose.

1:41.7

Yeah, yeah. And it's a shame because we've actually

1:43.3

had some nice weather the last few days.

1:45.9

Just going all to pot just now.

...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in -48 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.