Open Country

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Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of Britain

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

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Open Country: Husky Sledding in the Cairngorms

Husky Sledding in the Cairngorms

BBC Radio 4 - Open Country, Husky Sledding in the Cairngorms

Helen Mark explores the Aberdeenshire countryside - from the back of a husky-pulled sled!

Helen Mark explores the rolling hills of Aberdeenshire, home of the Cairngorms National Park, in a less traditional way - from the back of a husky-pulled sled!

Helen Mark travels to the rolling hills of Aberdeenshire, home of the Cairngorms National Park. Popular with walkers, hikers, nature-lovers and 'munro-baggers' alike, these hills are undoubtedly a beautiful place to visit. But you can ditch your hiking boots for this episode of Open Country, because Helen's exploring in a different way: from the back of a husky-pulled sled!

At the reins is Wattie McDonald, husky-lover, musher, and a veteran of the extraordinary 'Iditarod': the gruelling thousand-mile sled-race across the frozen wastes of Alaska. With his team of sixteen dogs, Wattie navigated treacherous frozen lakes, snow-covered forests, and his own exhaustion to make it across Alaska in one piece: one of very few Scots ever to do so. Back in his home country, the trails are a little shorter and a lot less snowy, but Wattie's up for the challenge nevertheless. As long as his dogs are happy, so is he.

But the real stars of the show are the dogs themselves: Siberian Huskies - a whole kennel-full of them. Krash, Krazy, sweet uncle Kaspar, the veteran one-eyed Keely, and the Pandemic Pups, Kovid and Korona. They're a cuddly bunch, always up for a head-scratch or a tummy-rub, but more than anything these working dogs simply love to run. With their help, Helen speeds through the landscape. Here's hoping the brakes work!

Produced by Emily Knight

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