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PODCAST

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts

Nature, Wildlife and Countryside Living with Chris Skinner from High Ash FarmChris Skinner, a Norfolk farmer, takes a unique approach to farming, prioritizing biodiversity and wildlife conservation in every practice.Tune in every Sunday morning as Chris, alongside broadcaster Matthew Gudgin, explores topics on nature, wildlife, and rural life.Join them for strolls through High Ash Farm and beyond, spotting wildlife and addressing your queries about the natural world.Email questions for Chris to

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All Episodes

38:17

Episode 2.51 - Solar Shadows and Solstice Songs

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts ·

2025/12/21

Send us a text In a festive yet contemplative midwinter visit to High Ash Farm, Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin mark the approach of the shortest day with reflections on renewable energy's double-edged sword. Amid the bustling farmyard, tales of a bygone wind pump—installed in the 1930s to harness gusts for electricity and water—spark a journey into modern dilemmas, as they venture to the proposed East Pie Solar Farm in South Norfolk's undulating clay lands. There, amid ancient hedgerows tee...

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45:10

Episode 2.50 - Cannon-Seeded Conifers and Winter Warmth

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts ·

2025/12/14

Send us a text In the mild glow of a mid-December morning at High Ash Farm, Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin bask in unseasonably warm skies, where a jay's loping flight heralds a day of countryside revelations. Amidst the lingering half-moon and sun-kissed fields, they explore the enigmatic European larch—a deciduous conifer that defies tradition by shedding its needles, introduced from southern Europe in the 1620s for its graceful form and later prized for its resilient, resin-rich timber. ...

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56:01

Episode 2.49 - Inside the Hornet Cathedral & the...

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts ·

2025/12/07

Send us a text Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a frosty early-December morning as they squeeze inside a 350-year-old hollow oak to stand beneath Britain’s largest wasp species’ abandoned hornet palace – a two-foot-tall paper cathedral of perfect hexagonal brood cells and ventilation chimneys, built by a single overwintering queen who turned a rotten heart into a palace of exquisite engineering. Discover the deadly beauty of the English yew – the churchyard tree whose blood-red arils ...

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43:55

Episode 2.48 - Bombs, Bootlaces and Winter Orchids

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts ·

2025/11/30

Send us a text Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a crisp, overcast late-November morning in Fox’s Grove as the last leaves carpet the woodland floor and light floods in for the first time since spring. Stand beside the old ash tree that still bears the carved letters “UXB” from 1942, hold the jagged 3 kg lump of bomb shrapnel that tore through the farmhouse wall while Chris’s pregnant mother sheltered inside, and feel the weight of history on a quiet Norfolk morning. Discover the invis...

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39:11

Episode 2.47 - Sluice Secrets and Jelly Jiggles

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts ·

2025/11/23

Send us a text Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a crisp November morning venturing to Lakenham Mill on Norwich's outskirts, exploring the historic River Yare's controlled sluices, ancient mill wheels, and granaries that once ground local grains, amid discussions on recent torrential rains unleashing 220 tonnes of water per acre and innovative flood management through managed retreat and river re-wiggling. Return to High Ash Farm to witness the aftermath of storm surges transforming st...

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45:21

Episode 2.46 - Pathways to the Past and Countryside...

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts ·

2025/11/16

Send us a text Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a breezy mid-November morning at High Ash Farm, strolling along Boudica Way—a historic public footpath turned wide, welcoming trail—amid discussions on evolving access to the countryside, from ancient worker routes to modern stewardship schemes that transformed contentious paths into assets for health, education, and wildlife. Explore permissive walks offering panoramic views of rolling hills, self-seeded woodlands, and therapeutic spots...

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41:29

Episode 2.45 - Teasel Treasures and Skylark Symphonies

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts ·

2025/11/09

Send us a text Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a mild mid-November morning at High Ash Farm, where autumn's unsettled chill stirs flocks of goldfinches into a dazzling display amid teasel heads and thistle margins, their yellow wing bars flashing as they feast on seeds in a biennial bounty perfect for butterflies and overwintering cover. Venture to the ancient Roman capital of eastern Britain on the farm's edge, pondering monumental shifts in agriculture—from wartime ploughing with h...

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54:55

Episode 2.44 - Nocturnal Newts and Hare Havens

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts ·

2025/11/02

Send us a text Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a damp November evening at High Ash Farm for a nocturnal safari, starting in the bustling farmyard where torchlight reveals smooth newts feasting on wriggling worms amid leaf litter, their amphibian lives split between aquatic springs and terrestrial nights, alongside dusky slugs grazing on fungi and leaving slimy trails up mossy walls. Venture into pitch-black fields to spotlight hares congregating in open grasslands, leverets born furr...

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48:03

Episode 2.43 - Stormy Sheds and Soil Secrets

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts ·

2025/10/25

Send us a text Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a blustery, rain-lashed Thursday morning at High Ash Farm amid Storm Benjamin's gales, retreating into the vast farm workshop where gleaming tractors, mowers, sprayers, and cultivators—worth fortunes in investment—await winter storage and servicing. Delve into the challenges facing young farmers, from soaring land prices and machinery costs to the need for diversification into school visits, livery yards, and public access, all while pon...

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48:03

Episode 2.42 - Mousy Mysteries and Nesting Wonders

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts ·

2025/10/18

Send us a text Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a crisp mid-October morning at High Ash Farm, where autumn's gentle bite scatters colourful leaves across the woodland floor and Rat the terrier digs with unbridled enthusiasm. Venture into the bustling sparrow hide, alive with house mice thriving in a commensal harmony amid spilled grain and sparrow chatter, their musty scent and rapid breeding a testament to nature's opportunism. Explore the lush field margins teeming with harvest mous...

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51:02

Episode 2.41 - Colourful Canopies and Shaggy Surprises

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts ·

2025/10/11

Send us a text Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a mild mid-October morning at High Ash Farm, where Rat scampers ahead amid grey skies and the vibrant blaze of autumn foliage—Norway maples glowing with reds and oranges from flavonoids and carotenoids, while elms, oaks, and beeches shed leaves in a seasonal symphony shaped by abscission layers and wind. Delve into the farm's fungal treasures in Foxes Grove, from dripping shaggy ink caps (lawyer's wigs) auto-digesting in real time to bir...

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40:55

Episode 2.40 - Meandering Meadows and Goldcrest Glimpses

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts ·

2025/10/04

Send us a text Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a crisp October morning for an away day to the serene Forncett St Peter Low Meadows, an SSSI beside the River Tas, where frost lingers and fog clears to reveal plans for re-wiggling the river—restoring ancient meanders to slow flows, curb flooding, and revive oxbow lakes. Explore this unimproved grassland's biodiversity, from four orchid species and quaking grass to barn owls, kestrels, and otters, amid discussions on historical straight...

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43:36

Episode 2.39 - Foxtail Surprises and Kestrel Chases

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts ·

2025/09/27

Send us a text Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a changeable September morning at High Ash Farm, where Rat eagerly explores hedgerows amid fleeting showers and sunshine. Discover the unexpected dominance of yellow foxtail in the overwinter wild bird seed mix, its delayed dormancy creating a seed bonanza for linnets, yellowhammers, and goldfinches, while swallows skim the crops on their southward journey. Witness dramatic aerial pursuits as kestrels hover and hunt along field margins, ...

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52:38

Episode 2.38 - Nocturnal Flights and Honeyed Hives

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts ·

2025/09/20

Send us a text Join Chris Skinner for a twilight woodland wander at High Ash Farm, where the evening air hums with pipistrelle bats darting acrobatically overhead, serotines weaving through the canopy, and noctules launching into the dusk—accompanied by the rustle of roosting jackdaws, rooks, and the earthy scents of fox and fungi. Shift to a rainy morning in the farmyard, celebrating a bountiful mast year with thousands of acorns carpeting the ground beneath ancient oaks, as jays cache their...

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44:15

Episode 2.37 - Sulphur Glows and Swallow Farewells

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts ·

2025/09/13

Send us a text Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a crisp September morning at High Ash Farm, where the farmyard's ancient oak hosts a luminous display of sulphur polypore—known as chicken of the woods—its vibrant, edible brackets spilling like molten gold. Bid a heartfelt farewell to the swallows in the stables, with over 100 fledglings reared amid a frenzy of aerial feeds. Wade into sun-kissed fields of sunflowers and wild bird seed mixes, uncovering whorled wonders like aromatic fiel...

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42:00

Episode 2.36 - Hawkbit Bites and Tree Tombs

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts ·

2025/09/06

Send us a text In this captivating episode of the Countryside Podcasts, Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin wander through High Ash Farm’s breezy late August pastures, where September’s dawn heralds autumn’s subtle arrival. Autumn hawkbit carpets the hillside with dazzling yellow blooms, its serrated leaves hiding antioxidants and vitamin C, a medicinal marvel for eyesight once mistaken for hawk bites, thriving in close-grazed grass amid drought. The month’s changeling nature unfolds with Norway...

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52:56

Episode 2.35 - Lakeside Moults and Orchard Opulence

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts ·

2025/08/30

Send us a text Join Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin on a sun-drenched late August morning at High Ash Farm in the Norfolk countryside. This episode explores the serene beauty of the farm’s lake, where a majestic young mute swan is moulting amid darting swallows, vibrant kingfishers, and upending mallards. Discover the perils of lead poisoning for swans and the thriving aquatic plants like gipsy wort and flag iris. Venture to bountiful hedgerows laden with hawthorn berries, blackthorn sloes, ...

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45:08

Episode 2.34 - Grey Ghosts and Autumn Winds

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts ·

2025/08/24

Send us a text In this breezy episode of the Countryside Podcasts, Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin confront August’s slate-grey skies at High Ash Farm, where autumn’s approach stirs poignant reflections. The grey partridge, a red-listed farmland icon, haunts Chris’s memories—once shot in coveys of 50, now vanishing due to habitat loss, early harvests, and predator control, despite biodiversity plans. Chris’s experiment with bird scarers mimics shooting’s toll, revealing an 80% drop in bird n...

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39:56

Episode 2.33 - Finch Flocks and Clouded Wings

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts ·

2025/08/16

Send us a text In this breezy episode of the Countryside Podcasts, Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin witness High Ash Farm’s summer crescendo, where flocks take flight. Mixed groups of goldfinches and linnets—up to 250 strong—swarm over chicory fields, their silvery undersides gleaming as they devour seeds, evading kestrels and peregrines in a dazzling display of survival. Clouded yellow butterflies, migrants from southern Europe, flutter over lucerne, their orange wings a rare treat in this d...

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47:18

Episode 2.32 - Sloes and Stings A Wild Farewell

Chris Skinner"s Countryside Podcasts ·

2025/08/09

Send us a text In this gusty episode of the Countryside Podcasts, Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin embrace August’s wild turn at High Ash Farm, where autumn whispers through the breeze. Rowan trees (mountain ash) dazzle with orange-red berries, a thrush feast and historical charm against witches, while blackthorn hedges yield a bumper sloe crop, ripe for Chris’s granny’s sloe gin recipe. A thriving wasp nest nestled in railway sleepers showcases nature’s paper artistry, balancing pollination ...

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117 results

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