Mountain Hares, Northern Lights and Fruncie Markis
Join Mark Stephen and Euan McIlwraith for the latest outdoor activities from Shetland to the Borders, plus the key stories for those who live and work in the countryside.
Our midweek Scotland Outdoors podcast this week features former paratrooper Chris Lewis who is walking the coastline of the UK for charity. However, lockdown has meant he鈥檚 been stuck in Aberdeenshire since December. Mark caught up with him to find out what life has been like camping throughout winter.
Earlier this week laws were passed in Scotland to prevent mountain hares from being culled without a licence. We are joined live by wildlife photographer Karen Miller to chat about what makes the mountain hare so special.
And Mark is back on the road or rather, path, as he continues his journey along the Formartine and Buchan way. This week he cycles from Strichen to Fraserburgh.
Euan saw some interesting lights in the sky but was it the Northern Lights? We try to find out.
Our lockdown exercise pack this week comes from Claire Taylor, political editor at the Scottish Farmer and columnist with The Herald. She shows us round her family farm in Ayrshire.
Euan has been finding out about the interesting tale of Francis Jamieson. Better known as Fruncie Markis, Francis was a musician and athlete who lived a rather eventful life in Aberdeenshire in the 1800s.
This week鈥檚 mystery bird isn鈥檛 really known for being overly vocal. Euan explains all.
And in the month that the Isle of May National Nature Reserve begins to welcome back puffins, our archive piece comes from a trip Mark made there in June 2018.