大象传媒

This weekend is traditionally the time when wassailing would occur in the apple orchards of England. Helen Needham finds out what鈥檚 involved in wassailing and why there鈥檚 a growing interest in it in Scotland.

Our midweek Scotland Outdoors podcast this week features ornithologist and naturalist Roy Dennis. Mark and Euan chat to him about his new book Cottongrass Summer as well as how he sees the state of nature here in Scotland.

Mark is back on the Formartine and Buchan Way, the walking route that follows the line of the old railway from Dyce to Fraserburgh. This week his journey takes him from Udny Station to Ellon, passing some interesting flora and fauna and through weather from all four seasons.

In the week that we heard traditional salt production was being restarted in Fife, Euan recalls a story about salt panning and its history on the East Coast of Scotland.

And with salt in mind, our archive comes from a visit Mark made back in 2019 to the 1722 Waggonway Project in Cockenzie. The project aims to preserve and enhance the route of Scotland's first railway, the 1722 Tranent to Cockenzie Waggonway that served the salt industry.

Ron Morris from the Fife Seal Group joins us live to tell us that Grey Seals now far outnumber Harbour Seals in the Firth of Forth.

Spending time in the outdoors, even during the dark, cold months of January can be a real boost both physically and mentally. We hear more from Helen Moncrieff, RSPB manager for Shetland, about how being outside has helped her through some challenging times.

And Euan brings us another mystery bird and this one comes with some poetic offerings.