Findhorn Water Taxi, Roundabout Gardens and Elie Sand Portraits
Scotland Outdoors
BBC
4.7 • 756 Ratings
🗓️ 20 August 2025
⏱️ 83 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Rachel catches up with Nick Ray who previously kayaked around the coast of Scotland, sharing his journey and mental health challenges on social media throughout that year. He’s just completed another journey but walking this time, from far north to south via east and west. Rachel finds out why he decided to hang up his kayak for this challenge.
Mark’s in Aberdeenshire and hears from Jim Wilson from Soil Essentials .who tells him how a spot sprayer is going to change the world!
Bobby Motherwell, the poet in residence at RSPB Lochwinnoch has been keeping a close eye on the wildlife there. He shares a poem, inspired by his surroundings.
The Mounthooly Roundabout in Aberdeen is one of the city’s busiest roundabouts and it’s a spot where hundreds, if not thousands of people pass by every day – But this is no ordinary green oasis! Recently a community group have been transforming the roundabout into a food forest – Last week, I took a wander down to Mounthooly to meet up with Graham Donald, community development officer along with some of the other folk involved in the project to see their progress.
Mark and Rachel chat with Richard Reynolds, who, 21 years ago, was one of the UK’s first modern guerrilla gardeners, and ask how attitudes have changed over the years.
Tucked away on the Moray Coast lies Culbin Sands, a remote stretch of fragile shoreline where the golden sands meet the crystal clear waters of Findhorn bay. It's not the easiest place to reach, unless you're up for a three-hour hike through the Culbin Forest, or you could go for the slightly less strenuous option which is to go by water taxi. Morven Livingstone and Phil Sime, along with guide dog Striker met up with Jane Campbell Morrison from Findhorn Water-Sports who gave them a tour around the bay.
Sand in Your Eye are a sand sculpture group who depending on the tide are creating a sand sculpture of Beethoven on Elie Beach. Rachel pops along hoping to see the end result.
Scotland’s last remaining Timeball has just been restored and is back in place at the top of Edinburgh’s iconic Nelson Monument. Once a vital tool for sailors navigating the Firth of Forth and Port of Leith, this Timeball helped ships set their clocks precisely to 1pm Greenwich Mean Time 365 days of the year. Earlier this week, Mark caught up with Karl Chapman, Head of Heritage at Cultural Venues, Museums and Galleries, to learn all about the fascinating restoration project and why this historic timekeeper still matters today.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This Scotland Outdoors podcast from BBC Radio Scotland. |
| 0:10.3 | Hello and thanks very much for choosing to listen to this. |
| 0:13.0 | As you know, we do a couple of Scotland outdoors podcasts every week, |
| 0:16.9 | one of which is built from the live programme we do for BBC Radio Scotland, |
| 0:22.2 | which is called Out of Doors. |
| 0:27.3 | And this week, I hope you're feeling a bit green-fingered because we've got a gardening theme going on. |
| 0:33.1 | Now, you know me, never grumble, never complain. |
| 0:36.9 | Last night it was up cutting the grass and it was quite warm last night. |
| 0:54.1 | And I took my baseball cap off and I hung out on the pole for the washing line And forgot about it and it's rained overnight And I picked up the hat this morning And it's a bit like having a used nappy on your head I'm telling you, it's not a good feeling This is the authentic camping feeling standing here in the car park I'm Mark Stephen, she's Rachel Stewart Wereart are you laughing at i'm just thinking it's going to ruin your hair both of them both of them both of them |
| 0:59.4 | it's going to be a real trauma for you terrible just terrible it's pretty dreak this morning but it was |
| 1:04.4 | lashing when i was straightening out these false eyelashes too all the lovely images for you this morning |
| 1:10.7 | some contrast to yesterday it was glorious yesterday i was uh too. All the lovely images for you this morning. |
| 1:12.4 | Some contrast to yesterday. |
| 1:13.9 | It was glorious yesterday. |
| 1:16.5 | I was in Fife, driving around, |
| 1:18.9 | passing through one of the lovely little villages, |
| 1:22.7 | the red sandstone cottages and climbing roses, you know, |
| 1:24.8 | near the door, just absolutely gorgeous. And it looked like a perfect summer's day. |
| 1:27.2 | This morning got up lashing rain. Yeah, not ideal. Lashing rain. I can't be where I walked past the other day. It was it. I walked past summer and it wasn't the sight of the roses. It was the scent of the roses. Nice. Yeah. So lovely. Get in touch and let us know what you're up to today. if you're going to venture outdoors and face the rain or if you're going to go see inside. Get in touch out of doors at BBC.co.com. UK. You can text us 80295 or you can give us a ring. 08085-925-O. But first of all, it is that time again, mystery sound. |
| 2:10.5 | It's a very soggy loaf. |
| 2:12.6 | I think it sounds like somebody beaten eggs. |
| 2:15.4 | Maybe. |
... |
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