Out of Doors

Original version

BBC Radio Scotland Extra

Factual: Science & Nature

BBC Radio Scotland FM

BBC Radio Orkney

BBC Radio Shetland

Out of Doors: Lighthouses, Tin Boats and Missing Birdsong

Lighthouses, Tin Boats and Missing Birdsong

BBC Radio Scotland - Out of Doors, Lighthouses, Tin Boats and Missing Birdsong

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

Mark takes a stroll along Troon beach with driftwood artist Kenny Martin to hear how he’s transforming old pieces of wood into stunning pieces of artwork.

Over the last year or so, Euan’s been delving into some of the strange tales and creatures of Scottish prehistory. Euan took himself on his boat this week to contemplate life after a significant birthday and recounts a story that remains one of the strangest in the “modern” Scottish countryside.

There’s been an upsurge in interest in the Doric language over the last while, so Mark headed along the A96 to Huntley Castle where he met up with Doric book publishers Jackie Ross and Arran Gale to find out where this new interest is coming from.

Lighthouses have been springing up all over the north east of Scotland in recent weeks as part of the ‘Light the North’ campaign. Euan took himself along to Aberdeen’s Beach Boulevard to get a closer look at one of the impressive 2.5m sculptures.

Mark and Euan are also joined by Lynda McGuigan, manager of the Lighthouse Museum in Fraserburgh to hear more about the crucial role lighthouses have played in Scotland’s history over the last 200 years.

Eighty-year-old retired Scots Dragoon Guards Major Mick Stanley, better known as Major Mick, is taking his homemade tin can boat called the ‘Tintanic’ on a tour of UK waterways. Mark joined Major Mick as he was launching the boat to find out more about this very strange looking vessel.

Have you taken an early walk round the garden recently and wondered where all the bird chorus has gone? Jen Smart, head of Conservation Science for RSPB joins Mark and Euan to tell them why the birds are so quiet at this time of year.

A few weeks ago, producer Phil took a walk through Culloden Woods to hear about the fascinating story of the ‘Prisoner Stone’. But you don’t have to go for a walk in the woods to find evidence of the horrific aftermath of the battle at Culloden, as Phil found out this week when he met up with Highland historian Andrew Grant in a city centre graveyard in Inverness.

BBC Radio Scotland

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Out of Doors

Lighthouses, Tin Boats and Missing Birdsong

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio Scotland Extra

About BBC Radio Scotland