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BBC Open Country @BBCOpenCountry

BBC Radio 4's countryside programme featuring the people wildlife that shape the landscape of the British Isles, presented by @Marthakearney

Joined June 2015
  • Tweets 1,560
  • Following 596
  • Followers 1,405
300 Photos and videos
For this week's broadcast, @Marthakearney is next to the A21 dual carriageway. (All the glam locations). Find out why... Thurs 3pm, Sat 6am or @bbcsounds whenever you like. bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002vml…
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BBC Open Country retweeted
Emma Campbell@ginger_journo
Mar 23
It was overgrown and neglected for decades, but the Stroudwater canal is now home to otters! Check out these beauties...
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BBC Open Country@BBCOpenCountry
Mar 23
Searching for the missing mile (and getting up close with the weeping willow!) @Marthakearney explores the Stroudwater canal. @CotswoldCanals @gloswildlife bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002sr4…
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Searching for the missing mile (and getting up close with the weeping willow!) @Marthakearney explores the Stroudwater canal. @CotswoldCanals @gloswildlife bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002sr4…
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Weather so bad you need subtitles! See how @Marthakearney got on when she visited the Menai Strait with its historic bridges, wonderful wildlife and treacherous tides. bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002j75…
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Anyone not standing by their radios who therefore missed it can catch it here: bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002hb9…

BBC Radio 4 - Open Country, Aeolian harps on Wicken Fen

Martha Kearney learns to make an aeolian harp on Wicken Fen

bbc.co.uk
Martha Oakes PR@marthaoakespr
21 Aug 2025
Stand by your radios! At 3pm brilliant artist #KathyHinde @birdtwitchr will be talking to @Marthakearney on @BBCOpenCountry about #ListenToTheVoicesOfTheFen, her sound installation at @nationaltrust #WickenFen Aeolian harps may be being built!
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Hear what they talked about here: bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002b71…

BBC Radio 4 - Open Country, The People's Forest

How Epping Forest was fought for, and saved by, the people of East London.

bbc.co.uk
City of London
@cityoflondon
24 Apr 2025
📻 @BBCRadio4's Helen Mark speaks with our Head of Conservation and Forest Keeper at #EppingForest to learn more about the history of this ancient landscape and how we protect it today 🌿 bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002b7… @CoLEppingForest @BBCOpenCountry @HelenMark01
BBC Radio 4's Helen Mark speaking to Forest Keeper, Martin Whitfield, in Epping Forest.

ALT BBC Radio 4's Helen Mark speaking to Forest Keeper, Martin Whitfield, in Epping Forest.

BBC Radio 4's Helen Mark speaking to Forest Keeper, Martin Whitfield, in Epping Forest.

ALT BBC Radio 4's Helen Mark speaking to Forest Keeper, Martin Whitfield, in Epping Forest.

BBC Radio 4's Helen Mark speaking to Head of Conservation for Epping Forest, Tanith Cook, in Epping Forest.

ALT BBC Radio 4's Helen Mark speaking to Head of Conservation for Epping Forest, Tanith Cook, in Epping Forest.

BBC Radio 4's Helen Mark speaking to Forest Keeper, Martin Whitfield, in Epping Forest.

ALT BBC Radio 4's Helen Mark speaking to Forest Keeper, Martin Whitfield, in Epping Forest.
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Big thank you to Bree, Justin and Harriet from @NTFormby for taking us on a sand dune safari!
Martha Kearney
@Marthakearney
10 Apr 2025
One of the country’s rarest lizards… more ⁦@BBCOpenCountry⁩ ⁦@BBCRadio4⁩ @bbcsounds Great camera work by ⁦@ginger_journo⁩
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Hear how Martha met a lizard on @BBCSounds bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0029qh…

BBC Radio 4 - Open Country, Shifting Sands of Sefton

An exploration of the Sefton coastline between Liverpool and Southport.

bbc.co.uk
Martha Kearney
@Marthakearney
10 Apr 2025
One of the country’s rarest lizards… more ⁦@BBCOpenCountry⁩ ⁦@BBCRadio4⁩ @bbcsounds Great camera work by ⁦@ginger_journo⁩
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BBC Open Country retweeted
Martha Kearney
@Marthakearney
22 Mar 2025
Saving a bumble bee on #ThisNaturalLife bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m0025… ⁦@BBCRadio4⁩ ⁦@BBCSounds⁩
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Lots of research and boot leather went into this book! You can hear @thelonningsguy talking about how he explored Britain's postal paths in this episode of Open Country with @HelenMark01 bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001y8g…

BBC Radio 4 - Open Country, Postal Paths and Corpse Roads

Helen Mark is in Cumbria, finding out about some of the county's historic fell routes.

bbc.co.uk
Mike Lambert | Farmhand | Letter writer |
@1610captain
3 Jan 2025
Replying to @thelonningsguy
@thelonningsguy has a new book coming out it April. If you fancy a free copy, like or retweet this. In 48 hours, I'll select a random winner and send you the book.
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BBC Open Country retweeted
Martha Kearney
@Marthakearney
28 Nov 2024
bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0025d7… #thisnaturallife starts today ⁦@BBCRadio4⁩
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BBC Open Country retweeted
BSBI: Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland@BSBIbotany
3 Oct 2024
Great to hear Chris Miles, one of our #BSBICountyRecorders, on @BBCOpenCountry just now talking about wild plants of the "Debatable Lands" between Scotland & England. Missed it? Don't worry, you can catch it here: bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0023gm… More from Chris: bsbi.org/dumfriesshire

BBC Radio 4 - Open Country, These Debatable Lands

Helen Mark explores 50 square miles that were neither England nor Scotland.

bbc.co.uk
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Glad you enjoyed it Declan! Now available on @BBCSounds
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A night under the stars! On this week's programme @HelenMark01 joins a group of young carers as they experience the wilds of Dartmoor. Thurs 19th 3pm, Sat 21st 6am, any time you like on @BBCSounds bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0022z9…
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In all my years making this programme….this is probably the most aquatic Open Country I’ve ever made …and I loved every moment of it …even the 5.00am swim. ⁦@HelenMark01⁩ bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0022c…

Open Country - Battery Rocks - BBC Sounds

Helen Mark discovers a wilderness in the heart of Penzance.

bbc.co.uk
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Today @HelenMark01 heads to the Shropshire hills to learn about the art of nature-writing. She visits the @arvonfoundation and joins budding writers drawing inspiration from the landscape. Today 3pm on Radio 4, any time you like on @BBCSounds bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0021xs…

BBC Radio 4 - Open Country, Writing Wildness

Helen Mark heads to the Shropshire hills to discover how to write about nature.

bbc.co.uk
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We're back! NEW SERIES starts today, when @Marthakearney listens to the sound of the Fens. How has the changing landscape changed what we hear in the countryside? 3pm Radio 4 or any time you like on @BBCSounds bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0021qp…

BBC Radio 4 - Open Country, The Sound of the Fens

Martha Kearney is on Fen Edge in Cambridgeshire listening to the sound of the countryside.

bbc.co.uk
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BBC Open Country retweeted
BBC Rare Earth@BBCRareEarth
25 Jul 2024
This week we explore life beneath the waves. @helenczerski and @tomheapmedia find out what goes on in the seabed, and ask why it matters. Fri 12 noon, or any time on @BBCSounds bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0021bg…
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BBC Open Country retweeted
Dimitri Houtart@DimitriHoutart
24 Jul 2024
Really excited to be back at a buzzing @royalwelshshow ! You can join us for the BBC Radio 4 Farming Today debate at 3pm in the geo dome. @charlottebsmith will debate the future of Welsh farming and countryside with minister @huw4ogmore farmer @AbiReader and Rachel Sharp.
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Don't miss it! bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00202m…

BBC Radio 4 - Open Country, Anneka Rice and Maggi Hambling in Suffolk

The landscapes and seascapes that have inspired the artist Maggi Hambling.

bbc.co.uk
Anneka Rice@AnnekaRice
13 Jun 2024
If you want a lovely gentle half-hour at 3pm tune into ⁦@BBCRadio4⁩ for a journey round the Suffolk countryside with my mentor Maggi Hambling. We start in a ditch and end up at The Scallop. Maggi isn’t as fierce as she looks here… you’ll be very surprised. 💙
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