Episodes

  • Bioluminescent Bay Watch | Strange Things Light Up the Ocean

    Bioluminescent Bay Watch | Strange Things Light Up the Ocean
    Jul 2 2025
    Bioluminescent tides are often described as the northern nights of the ocean.
    Marine biologist, Dr Yasmin Meeda, has only witnessed this natural phenomenon once. She says seeing bioluminescence is one of the most magical things she’s ever experienced.

    Yaz takes us into the strange world of bioluminescent life to meet the species whose bodies light up from the inside, due to a chemical reaction.

    From bioluminescent tides caused by microscopic dinoflagellates to angler fish and glow worms, uncover nature's light displays in the dark.

    [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.
    https://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/

    Production:
    Host: Rosie Holdsworth
    Producer: Michelle Douglass
    Sound Editor: Jesus Gomez

    Special thanks to Dr Yasmin Meeda @marinebiologywithyaz for exploring the weird world of bioluminescence with Wild Tales.

    Follow Yaz @marinebiologywithyaz on instagram

    Image (c) Kezan24 | iStock

    Discover more:

    Find out about the UK Glow Worm Survey and look for organised walks:
    https://glowworms.org.uk/

    Follow Wild Tales on your favourite podcast app or on Instagram @wildtalesnt

    If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a wild tale you’re like to hear, you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk

    Show more Show less
    14 mins
  • The Queer Life of a Cockchafer

    The Queer Life of a Cockchafer
    Jun 18 2025
    How did two beetles cause a gay panic? There's much more to a cockchafer or ‘maybug’ than meets the eye. Join ecologist, Connor Butler, to find out more about what these charismatic creatures can teach us about science, humanity and the fluidity of the natural world.
    Discover more:

    You can find out more about Connor’s work and the queer ecology walks here: https://www.connorbutler.co.uk/

    To visit Osterley Park and House and gardens, or to find out more about its spectacular grounds, find out more here: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/london/osterley-park-and-house
    Further reading:
    This is a HUGE topic of which we’ve only scratched the surface. As part of our research and if you wanted to dig a little deeper, we read:
    Of Maybugs and Men: A History and Philosophy of the Sciences of Homosexuality by Pieter R. Adriaens and Andreas De Block
    and
    Biological Exuberance by Bruce Baghemil
    Special thanks to Laine Kaplan-Levenson from A Field Guide to Gay Animals for taking the time to speak with us while we developed the episode.
    [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.
    https://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/

    Production:
    Host: Rosie Holdsworth
    Producer: Marnie Woodmeade
    Sound Designer: Jesus Gomez

    Follow Wild Tales on your favourite podcast app or on Instagram @wildtalesnt. If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected to our wild world, you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk
    Show more Show less
    15 mins
  • Chris Packham | Spring, Birding and Pied Flycatchers

    Chris Packham | Spring, Birding and Pied Flycatchers
    Jun 13 2025
    Wild Talk: In this bonus episode Ajay chats with wildlife legend Chris Packham about their shared love of birds. After 3 weeks of filming Springwatch at the Longshaw Estate, Ajay wants to hear more about the stunning cast of characters on this year's show.

    In particular, the black and white birds that choose to spend their summer here: the migrant pied flycatchers.

    Ajay meets Chris for a walk on the Springwatch set where they share their passion for birds, birding and what we must do to help wildlife.

    Production:
    Host: Ajay Tegala
    Producer: Marnie Woodmeade
    Sound Designer: Jesus Gomez

    Special thanks to Chris Packham for recording with us and the Springwatch TV team for being so welcoming!

    Discover more:

    Find out more about Chris Packham’s work and what’s coming up: https://www.chrispackham.co.uk/

    Learn more about pied flycatchers from the British Trust for Ornithology website: https://www.bto.org/learn/about-birds/birdfacts/pied-flycatcher

    Follow Wild Tales on your favourite podcast app or on Instagram @wildtalesnt

    If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a wild tale you’re like to hear, you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk

    Show more Show less
    13 mins
  • Green Therapy | The Healing Power of Gardens

    Green Therapy | The Healing Power of Gardens
    Jun 4 2025
    There’s not a lot better than getting out in nature and it’s something Linda Stuart realised 40 years ago.
    She visits Packwood House and Garden almost daily to get a nature fix, and credits it with getting her through some really challenging times.
    Join Linda as she shares her story with Heather Birkett.
    [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: Heather Birkett
    Producer: Claire Hickinbotham
    Sound Designer: Jesus Gomez
    Contributors
    With thanks to Linda for sharing her story
    And to Robyn Booth for being so open about her mental health
    And to Liz Ware, Founder of Silent Space.
    Discover More
    Walking in nature for wellbeing | National Trust
    Silent Space | Peaceful time in green places
    GROW: Fill your world with plants by Robyn Booth – Collins
    Show more Show less
    23 mins
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pet Craze

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pet Craze
    May 21 2025
    It’s the 1980s and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has burst onto the scene, scoring millions of young fans.
    Half-human, half-turtle fighters Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo originated as comic book characters before spawning phenomenally popular films and cartoons.
    But “turtlemania” also inadvertently sparked a pet craze that ultimately led to an invasive species problem.
    Red-eared terrapins were a particularly popular pet. But many people didn’t realise they would grow from a matchbox-sized hatchling to a dinner-plate sized adult that lives for more than 40 years.

    As a result a significant number of freshwater turtles were illegally released in the late 80 and 90s.
    Rosie joins Turtle Tally UK’s Suzie Simpson to uncover the wild origin story of how invasive freshwater turtles became a familiar sight in our waterways.

    [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.
    https://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/

    Production:
    Host: Rosie Holdsworth
    Producer: Michelle Douglass
    Sound Editor: Jesus Gomez
    Contributor:
    Suzie Simpson, Turtle Tally UK

    Image:
    (c) Suzie Simpson / Turtle Tally UK

    Discover More:
    Head to Turtle Tally UK citizen science project to discover more about freshwater turtles in the UK and submit your sightings
    https://www.turtletally.co.uk/

    Find out about the National Trust’s work protecting our waterways and how you can help
    https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/our-cause/nature-climate/climate-change-sustainability/protecting-coasts-and-rivers

    The National Trust cares for places so people and nature can thrive. Everyone can get involved, everyone can make a difference. Nature, beauty, history. For everyone, for ever. You can donate to us at https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/donate
    Follow Wild Tales nature podcast on your favourite podcast app or Youtube @nationaltrustcharity. And join us on Instagram @wildtalesnt.

    If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story idea you’d love to hear, contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk
    Show more Show less
    14 mins
  • Remembering Sycamore Gap

    Remembering Sycamore Gap
    May 14 2025
    On September 27th 2023, the famous Sycamore Gap tree in Northumberland was felled overnight in an act of vandalism, triggering a far-reaching wave of shock and sorrow. Join Heather Birkett, as she goes behind the scenes to explore the enduring impact of this beloved landmark, the aftermath of its loss, and the community’s efforts to preserve its memory.

    This episode has been updated from an previous release; National Trust Podcast - Sycamore Gap |One Year on

    [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
    Host: Heather Birkett
    Producer: Nikki Ruck, Katy Kelly, Pippa Tilbury-Harris
    Sound Design: Nikki Ruck

    Discover more
    To find out the latest information surrounding The Sycamore Gap Tree including The Trees of Hope campaign
    www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sycamore-gap

    Find out what’s on in Northumberland Park and The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre
    https://www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk/whats-on/

    Follow Wild Tales on your favourite podcast app or on Instagram @wildtalesnt. If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected to our wild world, you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk
    Show more Show less
    29 mins
  • Bird Accents | Saving Urban Birdsong

    Bird Accents | Saving Urban Birdsong
    May 7 2025
    When Ajay Tegala discovers that chaffinches, a small songbird, have a different accent every 30 miles, he’s intrigued. However, under threat from disease these birds are dying out in urban areas, and their unique urban songs may be lost for ever. But all is not lost. There's a way to find out how this disease is spreading...by recording their song.

    Follow Ajay and ecologist and UKYouth4Nature advocate Şeniz Mustafa as they search for this disappearing birdsong.
    To send Joe a chaffinch recording:
    • Identify a chaffinch. You can use apps like Merlin to help you make sure it’s the right bird.
    • Point your phone at the chaffinch. Be safe and don’t do anything you wouldn’t normally do!
    • Record for anywhere up to 5 minutes.
    • Send to joe.cooper@bto.org
    • Your recording will be added to the database!
    [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:
    Hosts: Ajay Tegala and Rosie Holdsworth
    Producer: Marnie Woodmeade
    Assistant Producer: Katy Kelly
    Sound Designer: Jesus Gomez
    Contributors:
    Şeniz Mustafa
    Joe Cooper
    Ian Johnson

    Discover more:
    Find out more about chaffinches and the British Trust for Ornithology here: https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/chaffinch
    Show more Show less
    21 mins
  • Pteridomania | When Fern Frenzy Swept the UK

    Pteridomania | When Fern Frenzy Swept the UK
    Apr 23 2025
    It’s the mid-1800s and pteridomania – or fern frenzy – is the new big craze. Across the UK, plant enthusiasts are heading into the countryside to pick all the prized specimens they can find.

    And fern fans far and wide are avidly creating collections and displays of the leafy green plants to show off.

    Uncover the truth about this Victorian phenomenon and how it influenced our love of house plants.

    But who were the pteridomaniacs? What did ferns secretly symbolise about young women and sex? And how can we learn from the conservation consequences of the craze?

    Join Presenter and Ranger Rosie Holdsworth and Curator Clara Woolford to unfurl the curious story of Victorian fern fever.

    [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.
    https://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/
    Discover more:
    Visit Cragside in Northumberland for a taste of fern fever. See the fernery, rockery and glass houses designed by Lady Armstrong in the 1800s, now cared for by the National Trust.
    https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/north-east/cragside
    Production:
    Host: Rosie Holdsworth
    Producer: Michelle Douglass
    Sound Editor: Jesus Gomez

    Follow Wild Tales nature podcast on your favourite podcast app or on Instagram @wildtalesnt. If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story idea you’d love to hear, contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk

    Show more Show less
    13 mins