Open Country

Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of the British Isles

Radio 4,546 episodes

Episodes

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Saving the Rare Plants of Eryri
Martha Kearney finds out how rare arctic-alpine plants are being reintroduced in Eryri.
10 Sep 2026,24 mins
Bramble Bank Cricket Match
Alison Mitchell heads to Bramble Bank on the Solent for a famous annual cricket match.
03 Sep 2026,24 mins
River Pilgrimage
Martha Kearney joins a group of pilgrims following the route of the River Medway in Kent
27 Aug 2026,24 mins
Ancient Technology Centre
Martha Kearney tries her hand at ancient skills like forging a knife and flint knapping.
20 Aug 2026,24 mins
Bluebird returns to Coniston
Donald Campbell's restored Bluebird returns to Coniston Water in Cumbria.
14 May 2026,24 mins
Wildlife Artists on Massingham Heath
Martha Kearney meets the artists documenting the return of this ancient Norfolk grassland.
07 May 2026,24 mins
Roadside Verges
Martha Kearney explores the forgotten and neglected world of roadside verges.
30 Apr 2026,24 mins
Welsh Incident in Criccieth
Jon Gower is in Criccieth to explore the inspiration behind Robert Graves’s 1929 poem.
23 Apr 2026,24 mins
Deer Stalking in Essex
Mary-Ann Ochota finds out about deer culling.
16 Apr 2026,24 mins
Carrifran Wildwood
Martha Kearney visits an eco-restoration project in lowland Scotland.
09 Apr 2026,24 mins
In Celebration of the Daffodil
Martha Kearney is in Cambridgeshire to celebrate the humble daffodil.
02 Apr 2026,24 mins
Restoring Wallasea's Wild Coast
The island in Essex has been made into a magical landscape of marshland, lagoons and sea.
26 Mar 2026,24 mins
Stroudwater's missing mile
Martha Kearney finds out about ambitious restoration plans for the Stroudwater canal.
19 Mar 2026,24 mins
The Rock Houses of Staffordshire
Martha Kearney visits the cave dwellings at Kinver Edge that were lived in until the 1960s
12 Mar 2026,24 mins
Hedgerow havens
Martha Kearney finds out about hedgerows, learning about their history and their ecology.
05 Mar 2026,24 mins
Savernake Forest
Martha Kearney visits Savernake Forest in Wiltshire
26 Feb 2026,24 mins
The Mourne Mountain Fires
How this landscape, often shrouded in cloud and rain, is affected by recurrent fires.
19 Feb 2026,24 mins
Black Poplars: How to Save a Tree
Martha Kearney finds out about the black poplar, Britain's most endangered tree.
02 Oct 2025,24 mins
The Stones of Snuff Mills
Industrial centre turned nature reserve with stories of ghosts, fossils and an asylum.
25 Sep 2025,24 mins
Fair Isle
Martha Kearney is on one of Britain's most isolated islands, famous for knitting and birds
18 Sep 2025,24 mins
The Menai Strait
Martha Kearney visits the stretch of water which separates Anglesey from mainland Wales.
11 Sep 2025,24 mins
Pingos and Pool Frogs
Martha Kearney visits the Ice Age ponds called pingos which are being brought back to life
04 Sep 2025,24 mins
Exploring the Lakes by wheelchair
Caz Graham tries out a scheme which helps disabled people access the Lake District
28 Aug 2025,24 mins
Aeolian harps on Wicken Fen
Martha Kearney learns to make an aeolian harp on Wicken Fen
21 Aug 2025,24 mins
Flutterings on the Fleet
Martha Kearney meets little terns and swans by Dorset's unique and beautiful Fleet Lagoon.
15 May 2025,24 mins
Shipshape and Bristol Fashion
How the port of Bristol fundamentally changed the shape of the city and the land around it
08 May 2025,24 mins
Wild and Windy Fylde
Martha Kearney learns about the part wind has played in shaping the Lancashire landscape.
01 May 2025,24 mins
The People's Forest
How Epping Forest was fought for, and saved by, the people of East London.
24 Apr 2025,24 mins
Time travel on Orkney
Rose Ferraby journeys through the history of the Orkney coastline.
17 Apr 2025,24 mins
Shifting Sands of Sefton
An exploration of the Sefton coastline between Liverpool and Southport.
10 Apr 2025,24 mins