Out of Doors

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BBC Radio Scotland Extra

Factual: Science & Nature

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Out of Doors: Alexander Kellas, Hostelling and The Fachan

Alexander Kellas, Hostelling and The Fachan

BBC Radio Scotland - Out of Doors, Alexander Kellas, Hostelling and The Fachan

Mark Stephen and Euan McIlwraith with stories from the great outdoors.

As Orkney begins to welcome tourists back for the summer season, we delve into our archive and remember a trip we made to the island of Papa Westray or Papay as it’s known locally, in 2018.  We visited one of the oldest stone houses in Europe at the Knap of Howar along with Jonathan, the Papay Ranger.
		
Mark takes an early morning wander round Ganavan Sands near Oban to take in all the different birdsong. 

Earlier this week it was announced that 18 million trees will be planted in the Glasgow area over the next ten years.  The Clyde Climate Forest project has come out of the Glasgow & Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership. We find out more about how the project will work from its incoming director.

And the swallow has been Euan’s muse this week as he put pen to paper to write a poem about the graceful bird. 

Alexander Kellas was an Aberdeen chemist and mountaineer who was part of the 1921 British Mount Everest Expedition.  Despite this role and his impressive mountaineering credentials, Kellas has been largely forgotten.  Author Ian R Mitchell tells Mark more about Kellas’s life and legacy.

The Fachan is a terrifying mythical creature that resides in Glen Etive.  Euan tells us more about this “half man” with one eye, one arm and one leg.
			
As restrictions ease across much of the country, Hostelling Scotland is reopening some of its sites.  We hear live from its CEO about the history of hostelling and what the future holds for the organisation that marks its 90th birthday this year. We have another mystery bird with a unique call for you to try and identify.

And in our most recent midweek podcast, Mark spent some time with author and conservationist Polly Pullar who tells him all about the art of raising squirrels.

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