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SideCountry Podcast

SideCountry Podcast

Written by: SideCountry Network
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A podcast about the people, places and ideas shaping the British countryside.

Featuring voices from across the SideCountry network, each episode brings informed conversation, candid opinion and occasional disagreement to rural life in all its forms. Expect interviews and round-table discussions spanning conservation, farming, forestry, food, field sports, outdoor life, land management, culture and countryside policy.Serious when it needs to be, irreverent when it doesn’t, SideCountry looks beyond the familiar divides to explore how the countryside works, who it belongs to and what its future might hold.

SideCountry: https://sidecountry.co.uk/shows/sidecountry/

ABOUT THE SIDECOUNTRY NETWORK

SideCountry is an independent multimedia network for everyone who works in, on, lives in or simply loves the British countryside.Through podcasts, films, writing and more, it brings together people, stories, practical knowledge and informed opinion from across rural and outdoor life.

SideCountry covers everything from land management, conservation and countryside policy to food, farming, forestry, field sports, outdoor pursuits and rural culture.

Discover SideCountry:
https://sidecountry.co.uk/

Explore all shows:
https://sidecountry.co.uk/shows/

Support SideCountry:
https://www.patreon.com/SideCountryNetworkSideCountry Network Biological Sciences Science
Episodes
  • Social Media and the Mountains

    Social Media and the Mountains
    Oct 8 2026
    What happens when going outdoors becomes content?Social media has encouraged huge numbers of people to walk, camp and spend time in the mountains. But it has also created an industry of outdoor influencers, brand deals and increasingly dramatic content, where looking adventurous can sometimes matter more than knowing what you're doing.Richard Prideaux is joined by Scotty, better known as Scotty on the Summit, a former Royal Navy aeronautical engineer with years spent working alongside commando units and a lifelong background in the outdoors.Scotty began posting online to share what he had learned, but quickly found himself frustrated by the images and narrative circulating through hiking social media. They discuss how misinformation gets repeated, why risky-looking content performs so well, and the role outdoor brands and marketing agencies can play when free kit and social reach become more valuable than experience.But where does encouraging people outside end and responsibility begin? Richard and Scotty look at the accusation of gatekeeping, why qualifications and professional instruction still matter, and what can happen when somebody sees an experienced-looking person doing something risky online and assumes they can safely do the same.The conversation also gets into navigation, weather, route planning, GPS, map and compass skills, clothing, mountain rescue and the satisfaction that comes from learning the craft rather than simply completing the route.Because perhaps the answer isn't to stop listening to people on the internet or stop encouraging people into the hills. It is to make competence something worth aspiring to.Competence is cool.In this episode:How outdoor social media became dominated by influencers and brand contentWhy bad advice spreads so easily onlineFree kit, sponsorship and the pressure to make things look extremeWhen adventurous content starts influencing real-world riskIs talking about experience and training really gatekeeping?The difference between encouraging people outdoors and preparing them properlyWhy professional guides, instructors and qualifications still matterLearning navigation rather than simply following a GPS routeMap, compass, weather and route-planning skillsThe value of self-reliance in the mountainsWhy outdoor brands need to think about who represents their productsVisibility, clothing choices and being found if something goes wrongTaking pride in learning a craft properlyWhy competence is coolUseful links:Scotty on the Summit on InstagramMountain Training: Hill SkillsSupport the SideCountry NetworkMountain Training: Mountain SkillsAdventureSmart UKMountain Rescue England and Wales: Stay SafeSideCountry NetworkOrdnance Survey: Map SkillsDISCLAIMERViews are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.
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    45 mins
  • The Future of British Forestry - Recorded at APF 2026

    The Future of British Forestry - Recorded at APF 2026
    Oct 1 2026
    What is a forest actually for?

    Richard Prideaux is joined by Nick Adams, forestry contractor, SideCountry writer and a man whose family has been following each other into the woods for generations. This episode was recorded at the 50th anniversary APF show at Ragley Estate on 24th September 2026.

    Surrounded by chainsaws, woodchippers and some extremely expensive machinery, they start with the less visible side of forestry: the people who actually plant, manage and harvest Britain's woods, and the strange disconnect between our enthusiasm for trees and our understanding of timber as something we use every day.

    They discuss the competing demands placed on modern woodland, from producing timber and storing carbon to supporting wildlife and providing somewhere for people to walk, ride and spend time outdoors. Can a forest really do all of those things at once, and should it have to?

    Richard and Nick then sit down with Andrew Sowerby, President of the Institute of Chartered Foresters, to look at the bigger picture.

    The conversation ranges from Britain's reliance on imported timber and the very long timescales of forestry to labour shortages, apprenticeships, woodland management, public procurement and the challenge of attracting people into careers that might shape landscapes they will never live long enough to see mature.

    And with technology changing work across almost every industry, there is one fairly reassuring conclusion: however clever AI becomes, somebody is still going to have to go outside and plant the trees.

    In this Episode:
    • What the APF show tells us about modern British forestry
    • The people behind the machinery
    • Why timber is an everyday resource we rarely notice
    • Balancing timber production, wildlife, carbon and recreation
    • Why productive forestry and biodiversity do not have to be opposites
    • Public perceptions of felling and woodland management
    • What makes a Chartered Forester
    • Britain's reliance on imported timber
    • Forestry, resilience and national security
    • Planning woodland on timescales measured in decades
    • The forestry labour shortage
    • Apprenticeships and bringing new people into the industry
    • The challenges facing contractors and small forestry businesses
    • Why forestry could offer opportunities in a changing jobs market
    • What AI cannot replace in the relationship between people and trees


    Links:
    - RFS Branching out film
    - APF Exhibition
    - Forestry Contracting Association
    - Institute of Chartered Foresters
    - Royal Forestry Society
    - Support SideCountry


    Part of the SideCountry Network.

    DISCLAIMER

    Views are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.
    Show More Show Less
    38 mins
  • Gold Fever in Wales?

    Gold Fever in Wales?
    Sep 24 2026
    Should you be allowed to head into a Welsh river and pan for gold?

    After a repeat offender was convicted of illegally gold panning at Coed y Brenin, George Browne, Richard Prideaux and Amy Green look at what seems like a fairly harmless countryside hobby and the much bigger questions sitting underneath it.

    They discuss Welsh gold, who owns it, why disturbing river gravel can matter for spawning fish, and whether prosecuting one gold panner is really an effective use of environmental enforcement.

    From there, the conversation broadens into access versus impact. What happens when a quiet activity becomes popular? Can education and self-policing work better than simply banning things? And does social media inevitably turn good countryside spots into honeypots?

    That leads from mountain biking and bothies to commercial mushroom picking, foraging pressure and the strange reality of people fighting over valuable fungi in Welsh forests.

    In this episode:
    • Geology, rock hounding and reading the landscape
    • Welsh gold and the history of gold mining
    • The Coed y Brenin gold-panning prosecution
    • Who owns gold and silver found in Britain
    • Gold panning and salmon spawning habitat
    • Access versus environmental impact
    • The tragedy of the commons
    • Mountain biking, bothies and countryside honeypots
    • Social media and the pressure on popular places
    • Commercial mushroom picking and wild food
    • Education, self-policing and responsible access
    Links:
    Natural Resources Wales: Repeat offender convicted for illegal gold panning
    The Crown Estate: Commercial exploration of Mines Royal
    Natural Resources Wales: Coed y Brenin
    Natural Resources Wales: Welsh salmon remain in crisis
    Mountain Bothies Association
    Support SideCountry

    DISCLAIMER

    Views are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.
    Show More Show Less
    36 mins
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