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Wild Tales | Nature Podcast

Wild Tales | Nature Podcast

Written by: National Trust
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About this listen

 Delve into intriguing stories from our weird, wonderful and utterly wild world.

You'll experience nature in a whole new way, from untangling the strange world of spider sex and digging up the greatest fossil finds, to meeting mysterious ocean giants and finding out why there’s no such thing as a seagull.

Join experts Rosie Holdsworth, Ajay Tegala and Heather Birkett on adventures in the UK’s diverse habitats and uncover fascinating tales that connect us with wildlife.

New Wild Tales are released twice a month.

Follow us on your favourite podcast app and never miss an episode.

Get in touch with feedback and your favourite topics on instagram www.instagram.com/wildtalesnt or by emailing podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk

Discover more from National Trust podcasts

This podcast is made by the National Trust, Europe’s biggest conservation charity. Looking after history, nature and beauty for everyone to enjoy.

Listen to Back When history podcast, taking you inside stories of our past: podfollow.com/back-when

Discover Ranger Rae and the Wildlifers, perfect for kids aged 5-8:
podfollow.com/national-trust-kids-podcast

Follow National Trust podcasts on Youtube:
www.youtube.com/@nationaltrustcharity/podcasts National Trust Biological Sciences Science Social Sciences Travel Writing & Commentary
Episodes
  • Arctic Terns | Globetrotting Dive-bombers

    Arctic Terns | Globetrotting Dive-bombers
    Jan 21 2026

    The Farne Islands in the North Sea, off the coast of Northumberland, have a very special species of seabird during the summer that fiercely protects its young with its dive-bombing technique.

    However, it’s the Arctic Terns’ ability to fly thousands of miles during their migration from the Arctic Circle to the Antarctic Circle that really sets them apart.

    Join Rosie and Rangers Dan Iceton and Tom Hendry on Inner Farne as they spend time with the Arctic Terns and experience their dive-bombing tactics first-hand.


    [Ad] Wild Tales is sponsored by Cotswold Outdoor, your outside retailer and epic guides to adventure.
    Quick breathers, calming walks or heart-pounding hikes. We feel better when we get out more.
    Find quality kit and 50 years of outdoor wisdom. Plus, supporters save 15% in-store and online. Feel in your element, in the elements, at Cotswold Outdoor.
    www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/
    Watch a video of this podcast on the National Trust’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@nationaltrustcharity/podcasts
    Production:
    Hosts: Rosie Holdsworth and Dan Iceton
    Producer: Katy Kelly
    Sound Editor: Jesus Gomez
    Contributor: Tom Hendry
    Discover More:
    Find out more about The Farne Islands:
    Our work at Farne Islands | Northumberland | National Trust
    Follow us @wildtales Instagram account
    If you’d like to get in touch with feedback or a story idea you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk
    Show More Show Less
    13 mins
  • The Man, The Book and The Mountains

    The Man, The Book and The Mountains
    Jan 7 2026

    Just outside Belfast, lie the Mourne Mountains - a land of granite peaks and wide skies, but also a place of witches, fawns and lions. Protected as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, an Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a UNESCO Global Geopark, this remarkable landscape is also a doorway to imagination.

    Join National Trust ranger Kate Martin as she journeys from the streets of Belfast to the Mourne Mountains, exploring the places that shaped C.S. Lewis’s childhood and inspired his creation of Narnia. Discover how city, story and landscape came together to form one of the most beloved worlds in children’s literature.

    (AD) Wild Tales is sponsored by Cotswold Outdoor, your outside retailer and epic guides to adventure.
    Quick breathers, calming walks or heart-pounding hikes. We feel better when we get out more.
    Find quality kit and 50 years of outdoor wisdom. Plus, supporters save 15% in-store and online. Feel in your element in the elements, at Cotswold Outdoor. www.cotswoldoutdoor.com

    Watch a video of this podcast on the National Trust’s YouTube channel:
    https://youtu.be/_Smzdtsh_tM

    Production
    Presenter: Kate Martin
    Producer: Pippa Tilbury-Harris
    Sound Designer: Jesus Gomez
    Contributors: Dr Sarah Waters, Director of the Sterling College C.S. Lewis Center
    Lolly Spence, Blue Badge Tourist Guide and historian
    James Fisher, Lead Ranger NI Castle Ward
    Actor: Ethan Hughes courtesy of Prime Theatre

    Thank you to The CS Lewis Company Ltd for permissions to use quotes from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis © copyright CS Lewis Pte Ltd 1950, in this episode.

    Discover More
    If you’d like to know more about visiting The Mournes, please visit https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/northern-ireland/the-mournes

    You can listen to more of Kate’s Northern Ireland adventures here: Northern Ireland Adventure | Beyond the Bridge - Wild Tales | Nature Podcast | Podcast on Spotify Northern Ireland Adventure | Sea Safari at Rathlin Island - Wild Tales | Nature Podcast | Podcast on Spotify

    If you’d like to read Dr Sarah Waters’ work on C.S. Lewis, you can do so here: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9681-3361
    And you can learn more about the Sterling College C.S. Lewis Center here: https://www.sterling.edu/academics/cs-lewis-center

    If you’d like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected with the National Trust, you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk

    Show More Show Less
    19 mins
  • The Climbers of Eryri | A Story of Ice and Flowers

    The Climbers of Eryri | A Story of Ice and Flowers
    Dec 24 2025
    The rock faces of Cwm Idwal are cold, dark and uninhabitable; unless what you love is to dangle off the frozen cliffs. Ice climbing takes you into a winter playground, but as the climate crisis thins the ice, how can climbers and conservationists work together to save one of the UK’s rarest flowers?

    Join ecologist and botanist Barbara Jones and ice climber Tom Carrick to scale one of Wales' most dramatic mountains and discover how the precious Lili'r Wyddfa (Snowdon Lily) can survive in this isolated location.
    For the Welsh transcript of this episode please click here

    Or copy this link: https://audioboom.com/posts/8820822-dringwyr-eryri-stori-am-ia-a-blodau/transcript

    [Ad] Wild Tales is sponsored by Cotswold Outdoor, your outside retailer and epic guides to adventure.
    Quick breathers, calming walks or heart-pounding hikes. We feel better when we get out more.
    Find quality kit and 50 years of outdoor wisdom. Plus, supporters save 15% in-store and online. Feel in your element, in the elements, at Cotswold Outdoor.
    www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/

    Production
    Presenter: Rosie Holdsworth
    Producer: Marnie Woodmeade
    Sound Designer: Jesus Gomez
    Contributors
    Barbara Jones
    Tom Carrick
    Image credit: ©National Trust Images/John Millar

    Discover more
    If you want to visit Cwm Idwal you can find out more at the National Trusts website: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wales/carneddau-and-glyderau/cwm-idwal-walk
    To see the temperature sensors, you can find them at the BMC website https://www.thebmc.co.uk/en/cwm-idwal-welsh-winter-monitoring-system-live-and-upgraded
    You can also find the white guide and more winter mountaineering information here: https://www.thebmc.co.uk/en/mountaineering-resources

    For more on arctic alpines, here are some resources:
    Plants on the Edge: Arctic Alpines in Wales / Ar y dibyn: Planhigion Arctig Alpaidd yng Ngymru
    https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/mountain_plants_in_the_uk__undervalued_and_under_threat-13605


    Follow us @wildtalesnt Instagram account
    If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected with the National Trust, you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk
    Show More Show Less
    20 mins
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