Podcasts about highlands

The Scottish Wildlife Trust has just acquired a piece of land which will double the size of one of its wildlife reserves. Rachel joins Reserves Manager Rab Potter at Gight Wood near Methlick to discover why the site is so significant.A new survey has revealed that the number of peregrine pairs in the breeding season within Cairngorms National Park has declined by 56% since 2002. Mark meets Chief Executive Grant Moir near Grantown to discuss the pattern.Cattle droving was once commonplace in Scotland, moving animals on foot to market and to higher fields for grazing. Rachel meets farmer and ecologist Richard Lockett near Dingwall to discover how he led a modern-day cattle drove across the Highlands.The Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels team in the North East are working with specially trained dogs and their handlers to detect the last remaining grey squirrels in the city and surrounds. Mark visits a search and signal demonstration.Rachel heads to the open air swimming pool in Stonehaven, host of the International Ice Swimming Association GB Championships. She gets pool side with Stephen Gould from IIS GB and Gillian Wood from Aberdeenshire Council.Mark takes a wander in Aberdeenshire to consider the nuances in the colours of squirrels' fur.Mark and Rachel are joined by Joanna Peaker of Montrose Basin Visitor Centre to chat winter wildlife behaviour.Phil Sime and Morven Livingstone join Jonathan Caddy to discover how an extraordinary chain of events led to the founding of the world-renowned Findhorn Foundation.Forestry and Land Scotland's Newton Nursery near Elgin has recently opened a glasshouse which could more than double the number of trees they can grow. Mark explores with Glasshouse Team Leader Emma Ritchie.

Clive Anderson is joined in Glasgow by My Mad Fat Diary actor Sharon Rooney. In her latest thriller series The Revenge Club she joins Martin Compston and Meera Syal in a cast of motley divorcees who want to get back at their exes. Jonathan Watson is back on the telly this Christmas when Two Doors Down returns. The neighbours of Latimer Crescent reunite for a special episode, as Beth and Eric dare to put their tree up a bit earlier than usual.Interior Design Masters winner Banjo Beale has filled our screens with transformations across the country. Now Banjo and Ro's Grand Island Hotel takes him and his husband to the remote island of Ulva as they attempt their biggest design project to date. Flora Shedden first charmed the world when she appeared on The Great British Bake Off as a teenager in 2015. Now she keeps her community in Dunkeld supplied with baked goods and local produce, and in her new book Winter in the Highlands she shares some of those recipes with us.Plus music from Malin Lewis, and a track from new folk musical Ballad Lines. Presenter: Clive Anderson Producer: Caitlin Sneddon

The "Maltmigos" ride again! Jim and Todd welcome back recurring guests and fellow whiskey lovers, Amsey and Rob, for a long-awaited reunion show. Dubbed "The Revenge of the Maltmigos," this episode strays from the bourbon path to explore a diverse lineup of Irish whiskeys and Scotch whiskies, including a rare and experimental rye from a legendary Islay distillery. The tasting begins with a duo from Two Stacks Irish Whiskey. First up is The First Cut Complex Blend, a unique combination of grain, pot still, and malt whiskeys aged in virgin oak, ex-bourbon, and Oloroso sherry casks. At 86 proof, it surprises the group with a nose that Amsey likens to "freshly opened motor oil" (in a good way) alongside notes of peach, honey, and hay. Next, they sample the Two Stacks Double Barrel Single Grain, a 94% corn and 6% malted barley blend aged in ex-bourbon and finished in Oloroso sherry casks. This 92-proof pour delivers a richer, darker profile with notes of coffee, cold brew, and a savory "fudgy" finish that impresses the table. Moving to Scotland, the group travels to Campbeltown with the Glen Scotia 15-Year-Old. Matured in first-fill bourbon barrels, this 92-proof single malt brings the funk with a nose described as "rubber baby buggy bumpers," iodine, and band-aids—classic Campbeltown markers that evolve into notes of apricot, sea spray, and a buttery texture on the palate. Next is a trip to the Highlands with the Loch Lomond 18-Year-Old. Aged in three types of American oak, this expression offers a "bready" and "crusty" profile with hints of blackberry, peach, and a "whisper of smoke" akin to sweet barbecue or a Dutch oven cobbler cooked over an oak fire. The final pour is a true curiosity: Bruichladdich "The Laddie" Rye. This experimental 7-year-old release from Islay is made with 55% rye and 45% malted barley. Bottled at 100 proof, it defies expectations with a nose of "corn pops" cereal and a palate that balances the spicy kick of rye with the creamy texture of a pot still whiskey. The hosts debate whether it leans more toward a Kentucky rye or something entirely new, picking up notes of clove, leather, and honey. The episode wraps up with the "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner" segment, where the four "Migos" struggle to rank such a varied lineup. Opinions are split, with the Glen Scotia and the Bruichladdich Rye battling for the top spot, proving that there's plenty of room for debate when good friends and great whiskey come together. Be sure to check out our private Facebook group, "The Bourbon Roadies" for a great group of bourbon loving people. You will be welcomed with open arms!

The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us.WhoLonie Glieberman, Founder, Owner, & President of Mount Bohemia, MichiganRecorded onNovember 19, 2025About Mount BohemiaClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Lonie GliebermanLocated in: Lac La Belle, MichiganYear founded: 2000, by LoniePass affiliations: NoneReciprocal partners: Boho has developed one of the strongest reciprocal pass programs in the nation, with lift tickets to 34 partner mountains. To protect the mountain's more distant partners from local ticket-hackers, those ski areas typically exclude in-state and border-state residents from the freebies. Here's the map:And here's the Big Dumb Storm Chart detailing each mountain and its Boho access:Closest neighboring ski areas: Mont Ripley (:50)Base elevation: 624 feetSummit elevation: 1,522 feetVertical drop: 898 feetSkiable acres: 585Average annual snowfall: 273 inchesTrail count: It's hard to say exactly, as Boho adds new trails every year, and its map is one of the more confusing ones in American skiing, both as you try analyzing it on this screen, and as you're actually navigating the mountain. My advice is to not try too hard to make the trailmap make sense. Everything is skiable with enough snow, and no matter what, you're going to end up back at one of the two chairlifts or the road, where a shuttlebus will come along within a few minutes.Lift count: 2 (1 triple, 1 double)Why I interviewed himFor those of us who lived through a certain version of America, Mount Bohemia is a fever dream, an impossible thing, a bantered-about-with-friends-in-a-basement-rec-room-idea that could never possibly be. This is because we grew up in a world in which such niche-cool things never happened. Before the internet spilled from the academic-military fringe into the mainstream around 1996, We The Commoners fed our brains with a subsistence diet of information meted out by institutional media gatekeepers. What I mean by “gatekeepers” is the limited number of enterprises who could afford the broadcast licenses, printing presses, editorial staffs, and building and technology infrastructure that for decades tethered news and information to costly distribution mechanisms.In some ways this was a better and more reliable world: vetted, edited, fact-checked. Even ostensibly niche media – the Electronic Gaming Monthly and Nintendo Power magazines that I devoured monthly – emerged from this cubicle-in-an-office-tower Process that guaranteed a sober, reality-based information exchange.But this professionalized, high-cost-of-entry, let's-get-Bob's-sign-off-before-we-run-this, don't-piss-off-the-advertisers world limited options, which in turn limited imaginations – or at least limited the real-world risks anyone with money was willing to take to create something different. We had four national television networks and a couple dozen cable channels and one or two local newspapers and three or four national magazines devoted to niche pursuits like skiing. We had bookstores and libraries and the strange, ephemeral world of radio. We had titanic, impossible-to-imagine-now big-box chain stores ordering the world's music and movies into labelled bins, from which shoppers could hope – by properly interpreting content from box-design flare or maybe just by luck – to pluck some soul-altering novelty.There was little novelty. Or at least, not much that didn't feel like a slightly different version of something you'd already consumed. Everything, no matter how subversive its skin, had to appeal to the masses, whose money was required to support the enterprise of content creation. Pseudo-rebel networks such as ESPN and MTV quickly built global brands by applying the established institutional framework of network television to the mainstream-but-information-poor cultural centerpieces of sports and music.This cultural sameness expressed itself not just in media, but in every part of life: America's brand-name sprawl-ture (sprawl culture) of restaurants and clothing stores and home décor emporia; its stuff-freeways-through-downtown ruining of our great cities; its three car companies stamping out nondescript sedans by the millions.Skiing has long acted as a rebel's escape from staid American culture, but it has also been hemmed in by it. Yes, said Skiing Incorporated circa 1992, we can allow a photo of some fellow jumping off a cliff if it helps convince Nabisco Bob fly his family out to Colorado for New Year's, so long as his family is at no risk of actually locating any cliffs to jump off of upon arrival. After all, 1992 Bob has no meaningful outlet through which to highlight this advertising-experience disconnect. The internet broke this whole system. Everywhere, for everything. If I wanted, say, a Detroit Pistons hoodie in 1995, I had to drive to a dozen stores and choose the least-bad version from the three places that stocked them. Today I have far more choice at far less hassle: I can browse hundreds of designs online without leaving the house. Same for office furniture or shoes or litterboxes or laundry baskets or cars. And especially for media and information. Consumer choice is greater not only because the internet eliminated distance, but also because it largely eliminated the enormous costs required to actualize a tangible thing from the imagination.There were trade-offs, of course. Our current version of reality has too many options, too many poorly made products, too much bad information. But the internet did a really good job of democratizing preferences and uniting dispersed communities around niche interests. Yes, this means that a global community of morons can assemble over their shared belief that the planet is flat, but it also means that legions of Star Wars or Marvel Comics or football obsessives can unite to demand more of these specific things. I don't think it's a coincidence that the dormant Star Wars and Marvel franchises rebooted in spectacular, omnipresent fashion within a decade of the .com era's dawn.The trajectory was slightly different in skiing. The big-name ski areas today are largely the same set of big-name ski areas that we had 30 years ago, at least in America (Canada is a very different story). But what the internet helped bring to skiing was an awareness that the desire for turns outside of groomed runs was not the hyper-specific desire of the most dedicated, living-in-a-campervan-with-their-dog skiers, but a relatively mainstream preference. Established ski areas adapted, adding glades and terrain parks and ungroomed zones. The major ski areas of 2025 are far more interesting versions of the ski areas that existed under the same names in 1995.Dramatic and welcome as these additions were, they were just additions. No ski area completely reversed itself and shut out the mainstream skier. No one stopped grooming or eliminated their ski school or stopped renting gear. But they did act as something of a proof-of-concept for minimalist ski areas that would come online later, including avy-gear-required, no-grooming Silverton, Colorado in 2001, and, at the tip-top of the American Midwest, in a place too remote for anyone other than industrial mining interests to bother with, the ungroomed, snowmaking-free Mount Bohemia.I can't draw a direct line between the advent of the commercial internet and the rise of Mount Bohemia as a successful niche business within a niche industry. But I find it hard to imagine one without the other. The pre-internet world, the one that gave us shopping malls and laugh-track sitcoms and standard manual transmissions, lacked the institutional imagination to actualize skiing's most dynamic elements in the form of a wild and remote pilgrimage site. Once the internet ordered fringe freeskiing sentiments into a mainstream coalition, the notion of an extreme ski area seemed inevitable. And Bohemia, without a basically free global megaphone to spread word of its improbable existence, would struggle to establish itself in a ski industry that dismissed the concept as idiotic and with a national ski media that considered the Midwest irrelevant.Even with the internet, Boho took a while to catch on, as Lonie detailed in his first podcast appearance three years ago. It probably took the mainstreaming of social media, starting around 2008, to really amp up the online echo-sphere and help skiers understand this gladed, lake-effect-bombed kingdom at the end of the world.Whatever drove Boho's success, that success happened. This is a good, stable business that proved that ski areas do not have to cater to all skiers to be viable. But those of us who wanted Bohemia before it existed still have a hard time believing that it does. Like superhero movies or video-calls or energy drinks that aren't coffee, Boho is a thing we could, in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, easily imagine but just as easily dismiss as fantasy.Fortunately, our modern age of invention and experimentation includes plenty of people who dismiss the dismissers, who see things that don't exist yet and bring them into our world. And one of the best contributions to skiing to emerge from this age is Mount Bohemia.What we talked aboutSeason pass price and access changes; lifetime and two-year season passes; a Disney-ski comparison that isn't negative; when your day ticket costs as much as your season pass; Lonie's dog makes a cameo; not selling lift tickets on Saturdays; “too many companies are busy building a brand that no one will hate, versus a brand that someone will love”; why it's OK to have some people be angry with you; UP skiing's existential challenge; skiing's vibe shift from competition to complementary culture; the Midwest's advanced-skier problem; Boho's season pass reciprocal program; why ski areas survive; the Keweenaw snow stake and Boho's snowfall history; recent triple chair improvements and why Boho didn't fully replace the chair – “it's basically a brand-new chairlift”; a novel idea for Boho's next new chairlift; the Nordic spa; proposed rezoning drama; housing at the end of the world; could Mount Bohemia have a Mad River Glen co-op-style future?; why the pass deadline really is the pass deadline; and Mount Bohemia TV.What I got wrong* I said that Boho's one-day lift ticket was “$89 or $92” last time Lonie joined me on the pod, in fall, 2022. The one-day cost for the 2022-23 ski season was $87.* I said that Powder Mountain, Utah, may extend their no-lift-ticket-sales-on-Saturdays-and-Sundays-in-February policy, which the mountain rolled out last year, to other dates, but their sales calendar shows just eight restricted dates (one of which is Sunday, March 1), which is the same number as last winter.Why you should ski Mount BohemiaI can't add anything useful to this bit that I wrote a few months back:Or didn't say three years ago, around my first Boho pod:Podcast NotesOn Boho's season passOn Lonie's LibraryA Boho podcast will always come loaded with some Lonie Library recommendations. In this episode, we get The Power of Cult Branding by Mattew W. Ragas and Bolivar J. Bueno and The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al Ries and Laura Ries.On Raising Cane'sLonie tells us about a restaurant called Raising Cane's that sells nothing but chicken fingers. Because I have this weird way of sometimes not noticing super-obvious things, I'd never heard of the place. But apparently they have 900-ish locations, including several here in NYC. I'm sure you already know this.On Jimmy BuffettThen again I'm sometimes overly attuned to things that I think everyone knows about, like Jimmy Buffett. Probably most people are aware of his Margaritaville-headlined music catalog, but perhaps not the Boomers-Gone-Wild Parrothead energy of his concerts, which were mass demonstrations of a uniquely American weirdness that's impossible to believe in unless you see it:I don't know if I'd classify this spectacle as sports for people who don't like sports or anthropological proof that mass coordinated niche crowd-dancing predates the advent of TikTok, but I hope this video reaches the aliens first and they decide not to bother.On “when we spoke in Milwaukee”This was the second time I've interviewed Lonie recently. The first was in front of an audience at the Snowvana ski show in Milwaukee last month. We did record that session, and it was different enough from this pod to justify releasing – I just don't have a timeline on when I'll do that yet. Here's the preview article that outlined the event:On Lonie operating the Porcupine Mountains ski areaI guess you can make anything look rad. Porcupine Mountains ski area, as presented today under management of the State of Michigan's Department of Natural Resources:The same ski area under Lonie's management, circa 2011:On the owner of Song and Labrador, New York buying and closing nearby Toggenburg ski areaOn Indy's fight with Ski CooperI wrote two stories on this, each of which subtracted five years from my life. The first:The follow-up:On Snow Snake, Apple Mountain, and Mott Mountain ski areasThese three Mid-Michigan ski areas were so similar it was frightening – the only thing I can conclude from the fact that Snow Snake is the only one left is that management trumps pretty much everything when it comes to which ski areas survive:On Crystal Mountain, Michigan versus Sugar Loaf, MichiganI noted that 1995 Stu viewed Sugar Loaf as a “more interesting” ski area than contemporary Crystal. It's important to note that this was pre-expansion Crystal, before the ski area doubled in size with backside terrain. Here are the Crystal versus Sugar Loaf trailmaps of that era:I discussed all of this with Crystal CEO John Melcher last year:On Thunder Mountain and Walloon HillsLonie mentions two additional lost Michigan ski areas: Thunder Mountain and Walloon Hills. The latter, while stripped of its chairlifts, still operates as a nonprofit called Challenge Mountain. Here's what it looked like just before shuttering as a public ski area in 1978:The responsible party here was nearby Boyne, which bought both Walloon and Thunder in 1967. They closed the latter in 1984:The company now known as Boyne Resorts purchased a total of four Michigan ski areas after Everett Kircher founded Boyne Mountain in 1948, starting with The Highlands in 1963. That ski area remains open, but Boyne also owned the 436-vertical foot ski area alternately known as “Barn Mountain” and “Avalanche Peak” from 1972 to '77. I can't find a trailmap of this one, but here's Boyne's consolidation history:On Nub's Nob and The HighlandsWhen I say that Nub's Nob and Boyne's Highlands ski area are right across the street from each other, I mean they really are:Both are excellent ski areas - two of the best in the entire Midwest.On Granite Peak's evolution under Midwest Family Ski ResortsI've written about this a lot, but check out Granite Peak AKA “Rib Mountain” before the company now known as Midwest Family Ski Resorts purchased it in 2000:And today:And it's just like “what you're allowed to do that?”On up-and-over chairliftsBohemia may replace its double chair with a rare up-and-over machine, which would extend along the current line to the summit, and then continue to the bottom of Haunted Valley, effectively functioning as two chairlifts. Lonie explains the logic in the podcast, but if he succeeds here, this would be the first new up-and-over lift built in the United States since Stevens Pass' Double Diamond-Southern Cross machine in 1987. I'm only aware of four other such machines in America, all of them in the Midwest:Little Switzerland recently revealed plans to replace the machine that makes up the 1 and 2 chairlifts with two separate quads next year.On Boho's Nordic SpaI never thought hot tubs and parties and happiness were controversial. Then along came social media. And it turns out that when a ski area that primarily markets itself as a refuge for hardcore skiers also builds a base-area zone for these skiers to sink into another sort of indulgence at day's end and then promotes these features, it make Angry Ski Bro VERY ANGRY.For most of human existence we had incentives to prevent ostentatious attention-seeking whining about peripheral things that had no actual impact on your life, and that incentive was Not Wanting To Get Your Ass Kicked. But some people interpreted the distance and anonymity of the internet as a permission slip to become the worst versions of themselves. And so we have a dedicated corps of morons trolling Boho's socials with chest-thumping proclamations of #RealSkierness that rage against the $18 Nordic Spa fee taped onto each Boho $99 or $112 season pass.But when you go to Boho, what you see is this:And these people do not look angry. Because they are doing something fun and cool. Which is one more reason that I stopped reading social media comments several years ago and decided to base reality on living in it rather than observing it through my Pet Rectangle.On the Mad River Glen Co-Op and Betsy PrattSo far, the only successful U.S. ski area co-op is Mad River Glen, Vermont. Longtime owner Betsy Pratt orchestrated the transformation in 1995. She passed away in 2023 at age 95, giving her lots of years to watch the model endure. Black Mountain, New Hampshire, is in the midst of a similar transformation. On Mount Bohemia TVBoho is a strange, strange universe. Nothing better distills the mountain's essence than Mount Bohemia TV – I mean that in the literal sense, in that each episode immerses you in this peculiar world, but also in an accidental quirk of its execution. Because the video staff keeps, in Lonie's words, “losing the password,” Mount Bohemia has at least four official YouTube channels, each of which hosts different episodes of Mount Bohemia TV.Here's episodes 1, 2, and 3:4 through 15:16 through 20:And 21 and 22:If anyone knows how to sort this out, I'm sure they'd appreciate the assist. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

Getting an update on the Highlands Community Charter School situation. California decides to scrap its new 911 system after major issues. Finally, state regulators are set to vote on a rule about undergrounding power lines.

This week, we learnt that there was no black hole in the UK finances all along. We discuss Rachel Reeves and her doom and gloom pre-budget speech, the controversies that have followed and the stoochie caused by the Office for Budget Responsibility having already told the chancellor that she had some money in the kitty after all. The resignation of the head bummer of the OBR and calls for the resignation of the Chancellor.We discuss all things Saint Andrew's Day, planning nightmares in the Highlands over wind farm expansion.That and Barclays Hamden Stadium, whether anybody will ever call it that, and does it matter?LinksFind out more about the Birthplace of the Saltire and the new Saltire Monumenthttps://saltire.scot/ ★ Support this podcast ★

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of. The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are: Icelandic Made A Must For Hospital StaffAll staff at Landspítali are expected to be able to speak Icelandic according to the hospital's newly approved language policy. These requirements will first be applied to nurses, nursing assistants, and medical residents. Better Icelandic proficiency means higher pay.New Hospital Being Built, But Will There Be A Helipad?The most expensive building in Iceland's history, a new hospital in Reykjavík, will be opened in 2030 according to plans. However, issues remained unsolved regarding a helipad for said hospital. In an interview this weekend, minister of Health Alma Möller told RÚV that the plan is either to build a helipad on top of one of the buildings of the new hospital, or to acquire a plot of land near by the hospital, probably near the BSÍ Bus Terminal, for that purpose. Two Tourists Rescued  North Of Torfajökull On Saturday night two tourists, driving god-knows-how  north of Torfajökull in the Icelandic highlands, got their Suzuki Jimny stuck in the river Dalakvísl. The two SARS teams sent to rescue them took eight hours to do so.40 Years Of TV News On Weekends OverSýn, which used to be known as Stöð 2 until recently, announced Friday, that the TV news on their station would be no more. The network, founded in 1986 as the first non-state owned TV station, has been facing financial troubles recently, as have many media companies. The announcement , that also brought with it news of layoffs, added to an ongoing discussion about the dire financial straits media companies in Iceland find themselves in.Thanksgiving Is Becoming Popular In IcelandRÚV reported that more turkey is being sold at this time of year than before and that celebrating Thanksgiving seems like it is becoming something Icelanders do, along with celebrating Halloween. Dorrit Moussaief Mugged In LondonFormer First Lady of Iceland, Dorrit Moussaief, was, according to her own instagram #mugged in #London, this weekend, calling the incident, appropriately, a #crime. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SHOW SUPPORTSupport the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://steadyhq.com/en/rvkgrapevine/You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store: https://shop.grapevine.is------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast.The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine's goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland's most read English-language publication. You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it's not sponsored content.www.grapevine.is

Sam is back from an unforgettable journey through Scotland and she's telling all in this week's episode!  From historic cobblestone streets and medieval castles to sweeping Highlands scenery, cozy pubs, Sam shares every highlight of her incredible adventure. She breaks down where she stayed, what she loved, what surprised her, and all the little moments that made this trip pure magic. Whether Scotland is already on your bucket list or you're dreaming up a new destination for your next getaway, this episode is full of inspiration, tips, and candid travel insight straight from the source.

Join us as we listen to the latest message featuring Pastor Doug Cameron!Our heart at Highlands is to lead you into a growing relationship with Jesus, so you can have a life full of purpose as you grow in your faith and lead others to Jesus.Connect with us here:Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HighlandschurchHome⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FacebookHighlands Church⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠InstagramLogin • Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠

Dive into the inspiring story of Hall Farm Estate in Devon, a fairytale land once owned by Trust founder Ken Watkins. We meet current custodian, tenant farmer Seb, to discover how crucial conservation work is continuing here as the 300-acre farm integrates more trees into a regenerative farming system. As we walk through picturesque heathland and wood pasture on the edge of Dartmoor, Seb tells us of the ambitious plan to get an astonishing 20,000 new trees in the ground and how they'll benefit his cows and the local landscape. Full of enthusiasm and love for the land, he hopes the project will encourage more landowners to adopt tree‑rich, nature‑friendly approaches.   Don't forget to rate us and subscribe! Learn more about the Woodland Trust at woodlandtrust.org.uk We're supporting the sharing of farming activity at Hall Farm thanks to funding from Dartmoor's Dynamic Landscape, made possible with the National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery players.  Transcript You are listening to Woodland Walks, a podcast for the Woodland Trust, presented by Adam Shaw. We protect and plant trees for people to enjoy, to fight climate change and to help wildlife thrive.  Adam: Well, for this podcast we're going to Hall Farm Estate in Devon, which is very special. It once belonged to the Woodland Trust founder, Ken Watkins, and it's where he brought to life his vision to protect and restore nature, which is continuing today. Five decades later, that vision is still at the heart, really, of what the Woodland Trust does. Now, the farm I'm going to sits on the fringe of Dartmoor at Harford. It's made up of Gorage Waste, Hall Plantation, Kingswood, and Hall Farm. And there's a rich mix of habitats, it includes ancient and veteran trees, mature hedgerows, ancient woodland, and even, so unusual, not just in the UK, but of course in the world, it also includes temperate rainforest species. And what's going on at Hall Farm is particularly exciting, and I think it's fair to say ambitious as well, because in addition to continuing the conservation work that Ken Watkins started, it integrates woods and trees within regenerative farming. And so it's bringing together a proper commercial farm and a sense of looking after the land and the environment around you in a very particular way. I'm going to find out how that works and to meet the people doing it. If you want to know where Hall Farm Estate is, if you know what you're doing with maps, it is grid reference SX632592, map reference explorer 28, OS Land Ranger 202. Or you can just go to the Woodland Trust website and look up Hall Farm Estate. That's woodlandtrust.org.uk. Enough from me. Let's go to the farm.  Seb: Good morning. I'm Seb Powell and me and my partner Freya have just, well, six months ago taken on Hall Farm, the tenancy at Hall Farm. And we're going to show you around.  Adam: Brilliant. And we're starting at the, his is really lovely. There's old farm buildings over there. It's all super picturesque, much more picturesque than many of the farms I've been on.  Seb: Yeah, it's definitely a special place. I think, I mean, the first time I came here, I fell in love with it pretty much instantly. And I think it has that effect on most people. It's described as a fairytale land, I think, in a sort of historic book about Hall Farm. And why is that? I suppose it's just rich in natural character. There's these old walls, there's a beautiful lea, I think we'll walk past in a minute, so you've got this trickling sound of water in a lot of the parts of the farm. Lots of trees, obviously. And we're on the edge of the moor.  Adam: We're going to go for a walk, but we're starting with a map to explain where on earth we are, the sort of... the journey we're about to go on. So just talk me through what we're going to see here.  Seb: The map shows us, obviously, the farm, it's 300 acres of which about 80 acres are woodland and the rest is pasture. So it's an upland farm. And then we've just thought, well, how can we integrate all sorts of different types of tree planting? So on this map, we have an idea here, which is in one field called the dehesa, which is based on a Portuguese, Spanish, like cork oak, not plantation, but where livestock would basically live in amongst the woodland. So we're going to try and do that here. Not with cork oak, but with native oaks, but also walnut trees, for example.  Adam: Oh, look, is that a neighbour passing through?  Seb: That is actually, we've got an event here today, they're demonstrating the use of no fence collars. So yeah, part of the farm actually is we have quite a lot of sort of outreach stuff going on and it's great, it gets us involved with all the neighbours.  Adam: Brilliant. Okay, so that noise of that Land Rover is a bit of the outreach. Very good. Okay, so you've got... That's about, okay, that's a great place to start. I want to talk to you about that. So lead on to wherever we should go first.  Seb: Well, let's go, we're going to go down the hill a little bit. We're going to go to a place where trees have already been planted about 40 years ago. So when we were coming up with this map and the ideas of what we're going to do, we looked at what was here already and trees have already been incorporated here and we thought, well, we can learn from this. That's what we're going to do.  Adam: Lead on. So one of the special things about this farm is its use of something called silvopasture. So what is that?  Seb: Silvopasture, in essence, is integrating trees and livestock. So it's sort of bringing woodlands, where woodlands meet pasture, I suppose, and trying to integrate the two, merge the edges of where those blurred lines of woodland in theory can come into field and think of all sorts of ways how we can sort of recreate that.  Adam: Okay, so I'll hold on. So, okay, so what is the purpose of silvopasture? Is it just a charitable thing to get trees into the ground or is it a different type of farming? I don't quite understand the benefit.  Seb: Yeah, it really is a different type of farming where you incorporate trees into the farming system and then the trees will have benefit to the farming system or the livestock in the system. So in our case, we've got cattle and they will benefit in a dry, hot year from the shelter of the trees. And in the winter, if the cattle are outdoors, they will benefit from the, as you know, the trees acting as a windbreak.  Adam: Which sounds sort of obvious and easy. So why doesn't everyone do that? I mean, just a tree providing free shelter rather than having to take the cows into barns or something. It sounds like a cheap way of doing it. Why isn't everyone doing this if it's so straightforward?  Seb: Well, I think it's an old practice and most people know that, you know, we're in a modern time where we don't always use old practices anymore. So there's a bit of a revival of what in Devon used to be called the Devon Barn, which is basically just cattle up against the hedge. And we're just trying to revive that really and use it with a modern twist, incorporating trials of how trees could, you know new tree planting, not just traditional hedges, could be incorporated into fields in trees.  Adam: And how complex is it? I mean, the way you describe it sounds very simple. Look, we need some shelter. We'll chuck some trees in the ground and wait a few years and then there'll be shelter. Is it that simple or is there something more complex going on?  Seb: I think in essence, yeah, it is really simple. I mean, decide where you want the trees and plant them. The only complexity probably comes in is how long is it going to take for those trees to grow? Did you decide that where you planted them was actually the place you wanted them or are you going to go in five years and decide that you want them over there? And are they going to be eaten by anything? Are they going to survive? Is there going to be a drought? So there's challenges, but I think that's part of our sort of journey in a way, is also to learn from the process.  Adam: I want to ask you some more of that, but we've come to, not a puddle, I'd say this is a minor lake we've got to cross here! Okay, so there's a fence. So we're going to open the fence. Oh, are we going to climb across that?  Seb: Yeah there's a very cleverly perched...  Adam: Okay, right, we're crossing. Sorry, I'm just concentrating so I'm not talking or holding the microphone. We're crossing a sort of little stone bridge, which is very nice. I thought I was going to have to try and leap across that. Okay, so yes, we're talking about planting trees and everything. Is there any downside to it at all?  Seb: I think in the short term, if you look at it, you look at tree planting with like a conventional farmer's hat on, you're losing potentially productive land. So you've got to wait, you've got to offset that, you know, for maybe five or ten years, there's going to be less, this land is going to have less pasture. And we're going to accept that and realise that, but in 10 years' time, there's going to be these trees and they're going to offer all these benefits. Does that make sense?  Adam: Yeah, it does. Very good. Okay, we're through the... wettest part without opening to a much broader field. Is this one of your fields?  Seb: This is, yeah, this is Welsh Hill, and this is actually one of the first fields, or the first field, where we put the cattle into when we moved here, because there was some grass here. And the cattle, the first thing they did was, in fact, we let them into those woods, which are about 40 years old. And they went in for the shelter, because there was a howling easterly wind, and they started calving in there.  Adam: Wow, that's so the cows here are living outside all the time. Is that the idea?  Seb: Yeah, try and keep the cattle out for the whole year.  Adam: And the advantage of that is what?  Seb: Well, so having the cattle out all year, the main benefit to us is it simplifies the system. In a traditional farming system, you'd make hay or silage or whatever to feed the cattle when they're in the barns in the winter. You'd also have to bed them. And there's a whole process there involved that you're making hay and then you bring it in, then you're feeding it every day in winter, then you're mucking out the sheds, then you're spreading the muck. We've kind of turned it a little bit on its head, and this isn't a new practice, it's just a practice that's being revived. You could call it regenerative agriculture if you want. You could call it traditional farming, you could call it organic farming. But basically it's just a very low input approach which simplifies our life and means that the cattle actually also have a simplified life as well. They're outdoors doing what they want to be doing.  Adam: That sounds amazing. It just sounds so obvious to me. I'm just thinking it can't be that obvious because otherwise everyone would be doing that. And it sounds like your response to that is, well, people are just stuck in their ways. That's not how a lot of farmers behave because that's not how they behave, is it?  Seb: Yeah, very good question and possibly one I can't answer. All I know is that it's working for us and that we try and upsell our end product as best we can, so we're getting the most value we can for our milk and our beef, and reduced as much as we can the costs involved in producing those products. So outwintering the cattle, having the cattle grazing, having, you know, I quite often think of myself as a human muck spreader, but I'm not muck spreading, I'm just moving the cattle, if that make sense. Is it replicable? I don't see why it isn't. And there's more and more farms now that are realising that they could actually adapt this system with whatever numbers of cattle you have. And actually, weirdly, works better with higher stock numbers, believe it or not. So the concept of mob grazing, which you might have heard of, which is something we're using to graze our cattle, which is basically move them around in little mobs so that they put fertility into the soil in concentrated doses, and then they have the soil and the grassland has maximum rest period. It's basically replicating what happens in like the Savannah where like herds are, will they be wildebeest?  Adam: Yeah. Wildebeest in the Savannah, yeah, not in Devon, but in the Savannah, yeah.  Seb: That's what they're doing. And they are like having that sort of almost like slash and burn effect like happens in the Amazon of rejuvenating the soil and then giving it a rest. So we're just duplicating something that is a natural process.  Adam: Great. So, but you've not got any trees in this field. I can see a couple over there.  Seb: Yeah, interesting. So there's existing tree planting that's happened before us. So 200 years ago, maybe plus, where the temperate rainforest down in the valley along the River Erme has been buffered with trees. And we're going to basically do another tranche of buffering that woodland again, so doing our little bit to extend existing woodland around this farm.  Adam: And it's interesting, you said that the trees over there were pre-existing, but you said how long ago?  Seb: I think only 40 years ago.  Adam: Yeah, that's what I thought you said. I mean, I think often we think about forests and trees, I'll plant them now and it's always that old phrase, you know, you plant it there for your children, not you will never benefit from the shade. But these aren't small trees, these are huge trees. And that's grown in a few decades. That's surprising, isn't it?  Seb: Yeah, it's surprising and it's also quite topical in that I think the person who had the foresight to get those trees planted was Ken Watkins, who's founder of the Woodland Trust. So we can learn from what his vision was on this farm. He was like, I think trees might fit in the corner of this field. Little did he know that 40 years later, a farmer comes along and he's like, they're really useful and we're going to put our cattle in there. In the summer, I think it was August, the cattle were here and I actually came to check them and I couldn't see them anywhere. And initially they were all in the bottom of that barn. And the reason they were in the bottom of that barn was because it was a cool place. They'd all crammed into the bottom of the stone barn. But then I thought, well, why don't we let them into the trees? They don't have to be jammed in the bottom of a barn. So we cut open the fence of this 40-year-old tree planting and they went in.  Adam: And they don't damage the trees?  Seb: I mean, these are now established trees. You know, they're, what are we talking, they're like 12, 15, 20 metres high. If anything, they have, like the trampling effect they have in there is almost having a positive effect. The hooves will clear a bit of ground. In theory, then if we close that off, there would be some natural regeneration would happen. You know seeds could take in the areas that the cattle had disrupted the surface of the ground.  Adam: Okay, where to?  Seb: I think where we're going to go next is into a place called Blacklands Corner, which is at the bottom of a really beautiful bit of heathland. Quite wet.  Adam: Okay, I'm prepared for wet. Off we go. Okay, so we've come into what we were talking about, the wood pasture, which is lots of trees and some grass. So the cows come in here and graze amongst the trees. All very picturesque, isn't it? It's a beautiful part, I wish I had a proper, we were just saying, I wish I had a camera crew here, we could have made a beautiful video, so maybe next time. But it's a nice place to pause for a moment, just as the cows find it nice, I too find it nice to stop here. I'm just interested in how, your journey here. So were you always a farmer or were you always interested in this area? What brought you to this farm in Devon?  Seb: Good question. I was brought up on a farm. My dad was a farmer and then we left the farm. I loved everything about the farm and I followed my dad like, you know, like he was just everything he did was gold. And we left the farm when I was about 10 and I just always knew I wanted to farm. Skip forward 20 years, I did all sorts of other things, driving buses around Scotland and tourists around South America and having a great time and avoiding real life. And then I met my partner Freya and someone inadvertently said, you don't fancy milking cows? And I said, yes, that's the ticket. And then it all began eight years ago and we bought some cows and away we went.  Adam: That's a huge change from driving tourists around the Highlands of Scotland and Latin America to farming in Devon. What is the appeal of this lifestyle then for you?  Seb: I think, I mean, I've got a lot of nostalgic memories, I suppose, of growing up on a farm. I love the outdoors. I've always loved the outdoors. I like good food. Farming combines a lot of those things. It's loving the outdoors, like you're basically just, you're in the outdoors, so you're doing something really nice, feels wholesome. It's quite direct, what you're doing, you know, producing food whilst looking after a beautiful place. It just ticks a lot of boxes of things that I'm interested in, really.  Adam: One always hears it's a hard life being a farmer, is it?  Seb: Depends which day you ask a farmer on, I suppose. I think you can sometimes find yourself being a bit of a jack of all trades. So, one day you might be trying to work out your invoices or, the price of your yoghurt and the next day you're trying to work out where you're going to plant however many trees. I think yes and no. There's lots of amazing moments of beauty and then there's bits where you're like, God, what am I doing? Normally I start off at get the kids off, they're off at 7.30 to school, and I go off and get the cows and milk the cows. We only milk the cows once a day, so in theory, when you milk them, could be midday, could be six in the evening. So kind of the system we're designing is also one that's sustainable for our life, if that makes sense.  Adam: Okay, that also surprises me. You see, I'm a city boy, I used to present breakfast news and we had to start at 3.30 in the morning. And I always thought, me and the milk farmers, we're up at 3.30 in the morning, but that's not true. It's just breakfast news presenters who are starting that shift. So that's really interesting. So this farm is different and special because of its connection to the Woodland Trust. How did you get involved in the Woodland Trust and, not your farming journey, but what made you interested in the importance of trees?  Seb: I think I've always known that trees are important. They're a good thing. I was actually born in Finland and Finland is covered in trees. So whether it's like in my genetics, I don't know. But as we started farming, we soon started integrating trees as part of our farming. And now, being tenants of the Woodland Trust, we've got the full backing of all their, I suppose, knowledge and know-how and passion to support us in integrating more trees.  Adam: I mean, we never want to be too political, but we happen to be talking on the day that I hear the Conservative Party is perhaps thinking of dropping net zero targets for lots of reasons that they feel will be popular amongst a lot of people that are worried about cost of energy and the competitiveness of British industry. But I think it'd be worrying to a lot of the environmental movement. So I'm just interested in your view, not on that policy, but generally on how tuned in the nation is to the environmental message, do you think everyone's on board, there's still people to be brought over, or that it is a live debate? And you know, well, maybe planting trees everywhere isn't the right thing. I don't know. What's your view about this debate in the nation and what people feel about it?  Seb: Interesting. Definitely a political question, which I don't feel I'm very connected to, living out here in like a bit of a rural idyll. I'm also conscious that some of our customers are, it's quite a niche custom, you know, if you decide you want to eat good food and you're willing to pay a little bit more for it, that's already a decision or almost a liberty that you're able to do. Actually, just driving back to the farm yesterday, I was thinking that we're still reliant on fossil fuels, like we still use, you know, we've got our car we use to take the kids to school and we've got the pickup we use to take the cattle to slaughter. So there's always more we can do. I think we need to keep focused on those targets and maybe we need to raise the profile of what's currently going on to reach those targets. For example, what we're trying to do here, which is low input farming and tree planting.  Adam: Talking of which, whilst we're paused here, we've been talking a lot about planting trees and the importance of trees on farms like this. What's the scale of the plan here? I mean, how many trees are we talking about you planning on planting and the sort of timescale we're talking about?  Seb: So the plan we've got is take our 300 acre farm, I think a third of it will have trees, new trees on, in various different densities. So some will be really low density, like, you know, 25 trees in a small field. Others will be 1,000 stems per hectare, which is, if you're in old money per acre, that's like 2,500 trees per acre. It's quite a lot of trees. In total, I think it's 20,000 trees we're going to plant, is the plan, all going well over the next two years. So 10,000 trees a year.   Adam: Wow. That's not just you and Freya planting those, are you?  Seb: No, I'm hoping that all the Woodland Trust volunteers are going to come along and have a day out and anyone else who's interested.  Adam: I was going to say, because you should be busy planting, you shouldn't be talking to me, go get a shovel! Okay, that's a lot of trees. And the sorts of trees going into the ground here are what?  Seb: It's predominantly native trees. So we're wanting to recreate the trees that fit into this landscape, like, we're in the national park, so there's also like a visual, it's got to look aesthetically okay, but we can also play within that little bit with, I mean, something really interesting we've been looking at actually with the Woodland Trust is climate projections for 2080 and what temperature are we going to potentially be dealing with and what tree species might like it here. So we spoke earlier about this idea of the Spanish dehesa, which we've called now the Devon dehesa, which is, in theory could have a few cork oaks in there and in 2080 they might be doing just fine.  Adam: So actually you're planting trees really to anticipate climate change and which might do well in half a century's time or so. So that's really interesting. So sort of the Spanish cork oaks might go in here. And predominantly you've talked about native trees. What sort of trees are we talking about?  Seb: Yeah, so there'll be, I mean, we're looking here at oaks, hazels, what else have we got? There's a lot of beeches here, but I don't think we're planting too many beeches. Yeah, rowan, willow, wlder, alder.  Adam: Right. All of them. Rowan, my favourite, I think. Rowan, my favourite. Okay, very good. Where are we off to next?  Seb: I think we're going to go through this little heathland, which is again one of my, one of my favourite bits of the farm. We're going to pop out and we should see the cows, which...  Adam: Cows, of course. We've been talking about cows and I've not seen any. It could all be an elaborate con, that he hasn't got any cows, so we will have a look *laughs* I spy cows in a field. They're all sitting down. How long would they be in this field for before you rotate them?  Seb: This field, they'll probably be in, they went in Tuesday morning. Where are we, Thursday? I'll probably move them this afternoon or tomorrow morning.  Adam: So they're only two or three days in a field?  Seb: Yeah, and the rotation speeds up at different times of the year. So now the grass growth is slowing down. So the rotation will either, like, we either start excluding fields or we'll go faster and then totally stop. And then you'll see as we go into the next field, you'll see bits that we've made for hay and where we're going to graze in the winter, which will be rolling out bales of hay called bale grazing. A bit of a revolutionary practice.  Adam: Tell me about that, but I tell you what, strikes me is I know nothing about cows. Could you give me a one-minute primer? You're just closing the gate, hold on. Now, yes, what do I need to know about cows in a minute or so?  Seb: I can tell you about our cows?  Adam: Yes, yeah, your cows.  Seb: So we've got, what breed have we got? We've got Jersey crosses, which are like a New Zealand cross. So they did originally come from Jersey.  Adam: Jersey crosses?  Seb: Yeah.  Adam: I think they said Jersey clotted, like that's where clotted cream comes from, straight out the cow. Okay, Jersey crosses.  Seb: Kiwi crosses, you can call them as well. So they're bred predominantly in New Zealand on a place which is very wet and grows lots of grass. And that's all they do. So we've got Jerseys, we've got a Beef Shorthorn bull, which is a British breed. And so then we have these crosses, which we get a Jersey and a Beef Shorthorn cross, which is the little calf you're looking at here.  Adam: Right, so are there bulls as well? No, there won't be bulls in this.  Seb: The bull is with the milking herd, which is the other gang we'll go up and see in a minute. These are all the young stock, so these are all sort of 15 months old. There's younger calves, the smaller ones, which some of them have just been weaned. And there's a few beef suckler cows in here. So the big shorthorns, the big red cows in there, they've got their calves on them all the time.  Adam: And that's also different here, isn't it? Because often in large scale dairy farming, the calves get taken away from the mothers very early on. But you don't do that, do you?  Seb: Yeah, so that is a practice that actually Freya has like basically insisted we start with because she's a mother. We thought that it would have, yeah, it would go down well with some of our customers and it has done. We try and keep the calves on their mums. So we're basically sharing the milk up to three or four months. At three and a half months old, the calves are basically drinking all the milk. So then we go, all right, we're going to now sell some of that milk. But it's definitely better than, or we feel it's better than, weaning them at, you know, a day old and then having a whole other process of having to rear those calves on milk, which is a process. You need someone to do that. Whereas the cows are just producing milk anyway.  Adam: Interesting. And so again, ignorant question, but these are not bulls, they're cows, but they've got horns.  Seb: Yeah.  Adam: So it's not just bulls that have horns, cows have horns?  Seb: Cows can have horns, yeah. Again, another practice that we've thought we don't really feel we believe in or fits with what we're doing, de-horning cattle, we think they've got horns for a reason, like they grow, let's let them have them. We don't, we're not pushing our cattle in any way that they're stressed, so they're not coming to basically jab us with their horns. Touch wood!  Adam: I was going to say, it's interesting because I think quite recently I've started reading about how dangerous cows are and how people don't, they wander across fields and don't realise these are big animals and they can squash you and stuff. Is that something you have to be aware of when you're dealing with them?  Seb: I mean, I'm totally at one with these guys and they know me and I know them and yeah, I never had any issues. If you have to get them all into a little pen for some reason, like the one day the vet's here to do the TB test or something, that's a bit of an unusual situation. You're getting them in and it's not their normal sitting out in the field. They could be a bit edgy and you might not want to be in amongst them. So yeah, I think it's just, yeah, I mean, footpaths, that's quite often what comes up, isn't it that people are walking through fields of cows and the cows, if anything, are just curious, they're coming over and it's probably just daunting to have 10 big cows come to you. Your instinct is to run away. But more often than not, I think, cattle are pretty friendly, and if anything, they're scared of humans.  Adam: Well, personally, I think it's always better to be safe than sorry, and I'd advise people to be careful of cows. They are large animals, after all, but I know I'm a bit of a townie, so it's not my natural environment. Anyway, that all aside, what is happening here isn't just important in its own right, but as a sort of model for what others can do. So for those with land, those farmers interested in this kind of approach, what are the lessons that have been learned here that could apply elsewhere?  Seb: I suppose really just to be open-minded to some small changes, or big changes. I don't think there's any prescriptive size of change that counts as a valid change, you could plant an acre of trees and that's brilliant. You could plant 300 acres of trees and that's amazing. So, I mean, do whatever feels right for your farm or for your circumstance. Yeah, so the Woodland Trust are obviously our landlords here, so we have them on speed dial, but any farmer can go to the Woodland Trust for advice on tree planting. And it's great advice, I mean, I'd say hand on heart, even though you don't always speak totally openly about your landlords, like the advice they're giving us, you know, as outreach advisors is amazing and has given us basically the confidence to go and plant the 20,000 trees we've just basically signed up to plant and the what and the how and the where of how to do it.  Adam: Which is a lovely way of ending. And of course, the Woodland Trust website has tons of information you may find useful and it's a great organisation to be part of anyway. So, until next time, wherever you are, whatever you're doing, happy wandering.  Thank you for listening to the Woodland Trust Woodland Walks. Join us next month when Adam will be taking another walk in the company of Woodland Trust staff, partners and volunteers. And don't forget to subscribe to the series on iTunes or wherever you are listening. And do give us a review and a rating. If you want to find out more about our woods and those that are close to you, check out the Woodland Trust website. Just head to the Visiting Woods pages. Thank you. 

Rewilding Affric Highlands has won the Nature and Climate Action Award at RSPB Scotland's prestigious Nature of Scotland Awards 2025. The charity received the accolade at a ceremony held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) on 20 November, where 53 award finalists from all over Scotland gathered to celebrate with hosts BBC Springwatch presenter Iolo Williams and BBC Scotland Landward presenter Arlene Stuart. Nature of Scotland Awards, Rewilding Affric Highlands The Nature of Scotland Awards recognise individuals and organisations making a difference across local communities, schools, and businesses to support Scotland's wildlife and natural environment. Affric Highlands brings together landowners, local communities, businesses, and partner organisations with the aim of restoring nature across more than 200,000 hectares of the central Highlands. Coordinated by charity Rewilding Affric Highlands, the landscape-scale rewilding initiative stretches from Loch Ness to Kintail, including Glens Affric, Cannich, Moriston, Shiel and Urquhart. "We're deeply honoured to receive this award. It recognises the extraordinary commitment of our partners, landowners, and the local communities who have embraced this vision for a healthier, more connected landscape,"said Stephanie Kiel, Rewilding Affric Highlands executive director. "Restoring nature at this scale is a long-term endeavour, and this acknowledgment strengthens our resolve to keep pushing forward. We hope our work shows that collaboration is not only possible but powerful, and that large-scale restoration can deliver real benefits for wildlife, climate, and rural livelihoods across the Highlands." Through peatland restoration, native woodland expansion, nature-friendly land management, and reconnection of ecological corridors, Affric Highlands is boosting biodiversity, tackling climate change, and creating long-term benefits for people who live and work in the area. The collaborative approach is helping secure the future of one of Scotland's most iconic landscapes, while demonstrating what is possible when local people come together behind a shared vision for nature, says Rewilding Affric Highlands. It was announced last week that both the world-famous Glen Affric National Nature Reserve managed by Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) and the Barrisdale Estate had joined Affric Highlands, bringing the landscape's growing partnership to 21 landowners, covering a combined total of more than 81,000 hectares. The separate landholdings forming the partnership have all signed a memorandum of understanding and are making their own decisions on what nature restoration activities are right for them, with the Rewilding Affric Highlands team offering advice and support. The Affric Highlands landscape, which aims to cover over 700 square miles, is mostly owned by 56 large estates, and Rewilding Affric Highlands is encouraging more landowners to join. The Nature of Scotland Awards, delivered by RSPB Scotland and Headline sponsor NatureScot, have now been running for over a decade. Anne McCall, director of RSPB Scotland, said: "What a joy to see the Nature of Scotland Awards shining a light on the growing number of passionate and hardworking people doing so much for nature and climate. A massive congratulations to our inspirational winners. It is incredibly heartening to see the terrific conservation work happening in every corner of the country. Thank you for everything you do." Professor Colin Galbraith, chair of awards headline sponsor NatureScot, said: "This year's Nature of Scotland award winners show the power of people's connections with nature, and how this can inspire innovative conservation action. When we care passionately for our environment great things can be achieved for us all in our daily lives. Congratulations to these nature heroes for their creativity, commitment and achievements that are helping nature and everyone across Scotland." Affric Highlands is a memb...

Holly Laskey shares her story of changing her life and following her dream. She takes us to 11,000 feet elevation in the Andes mountains of Peru. Twelve years ago she and Peruvian sound healer Tito la Rosa combed the hillsides, seeking the ideal spot to build a retreat and ceremonial center. Holly describes this journey and the experiences she encountered on the way to building Ancestral Highlands -- working with architects to recreate buildings of the ancient Peruvian time, including the Espejo de Agua reflecting pool for ceremonies led by gifted shamans. Now 75, Holly has completed the magnificent retreat center, where people enjoy magical ceremonies and tranquil hotel lodging amid beautiful mountain views.CONTACT HOLLY LASKEYCellular USA # 209 210 7201WhatsAppFOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/ASMALPodcastVISIT OUR WEBSITE: http://www.asmallmediumatlarge.coEMAIL: asmallmediumatlargepodcast @gmail.com Show Produced by Green Valley Production StudioMusic by DJ Booda: http://www.djbooda.com

In 1993 Whiteheart stepped up once more to new creative and spiritual HIGHLANDS, and we have been so blessed to have gone on that journey with them. Lindsay and Dave discuss what may be the bands most underrated album.

This episode is made possible by the generous support of our subscribers on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠. Join us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/leviathanchronicles⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to hear episodes ad free and unlock exclusive content. The Rogue Plague takes us back to 16th Century in Scotland. An ancient evil is spreading over the Highlands, infecting its victims and driving them to madness. To discover more podcasts set in The Leviathan Universe go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠leviathanaudioproductions.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠follow us social on media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Written by Christof Laputka and Mur Lafferty Produced by Robin Shore Directed by Nobi Nakanishi Executive Produced by Amish Jani Original Music by Luke Allen Sound Design & Editing by Luke Allen and Robin Shore Starring Laura Post as Evangeline Leifreik William TN Hall as Father Harlequinn Max Vogler as Bennu Todd Butera as Angus McKay Michelle Ann Dunphy as Kathryn McGregor Dan Powell as Eric McGregor Robin Shore as Vordock Samantha Parker as The Narrator Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In UFO Case Files of Scotland Volume 3, UFO and paranormal researcher Malcolm Robinson, continues his long-standing investigation into reported UFO encounters across Scotland. The book compiles witness testimony from the Scottish Borders to the far northwest Highlands, focusing on cases of close-proximity sightings that left a significant impression on those who observed them. Notably, Robinson revisits the well-documented Dechmont Woods Incident, supplementing it with new witness accounts that reinforce the original witness claims, including the testimony of a young observer who alleges to have witnessed the event firsthand!Robinson, a leading figure in British UFO and paranormal research, situates these cases within a broader history of unexplained phenomena in Scotland. His work underscores the enduring fascination with UFOs and contributes to ongoing debates about the reliability of eyewitness testimony, the cultural resonance of UFO encounters, and the persistence of the mystery in modern society. A must read.BioMalcolm has given lectures to clubs and societies in the UK, Ireland, Holland and France. He is the author of 10 books on UFOs and the paranormal. He went down to the depths of Loch Ness in a submarine in 1994. He has assisted Television and Radio stations all over the world with info on UFOs and the Paranormal. He is the assistant editor of the British Outer Limits Magazine. He founded the group Strange Phenomena Investigations  in Scotland in 1979 making it Scotland's oldest and still going UFO/Paranormal society with members all over the world.https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DYX3RR68https://www.facebook.com/malcolm.robinson2 https://www.pastliveshypnosis.co.uk/https://www.patreon.com/alienufopodcastMy book 'Verified Near Death Exeriences' https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DXKRGDFP Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

L'info du matin Ce matin, Grégory Ascher et Erika Moulet ont parlé du "divorce à l'aéroport", une nouvelle astuce pour voyager sans s'énerver. Le winner du jour - Dans les Highlands écossais, des touristes détruisent un mur vieux de 500 ans. - Un automobiliste percute un pont de plein fouet puis s'enfuit avec la voiture de son "sauveur". Le flashback du jour Avril 1992 : sortie du film de Steven Spielberg "Hook ou la revanche du Capitaine Crochet", avec Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman et Julia Roberts. Et événement majeur pour les gamers : l'arrivée de la Super Nintendo en Europe. Les savoirs inutiles Un tidsoptimist est une personne persuadée qu'elle a largement le temps... et qui finit toujours en retard. La chanson du jour Ed Sheeran "Sing" 3 choses à savoir sur Bruce Lee Qu'est-ce qu'on demande ? Janis, l'IA Pop Rock du Double Expresso RTL2, a imaginé les métiers étonnants du futur sans remplacer personne, dont un ingénieur en ADN musical capable de coder une mélodie dans l'ADN d'un animal ou d'une plante. Le jeu surprise (C'est qui le plus fort) Marilyn de Savigneux (vers Villefranche-sur-Saône) gagne un séjour 2 jours / 1 nuit en famille au Parc Astérix. La Banque RTL2 Rachel de Montpellier gagne 450 €. Karine de Civaux (vers Poitiers) remporte un bon d'achat de 2000 € à valoir chez Belambra Clubs. Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

In UFO Case Files of Scotland Volume 3, UFO and paranormal researcher Malcolm Robinson, continues his long-standing investigation into reported UFO encounters across Scotland. The book compiles witness testimony from the Scottish Borders to the far northwest Highlands, focusing on cases of close-proximity sightings that left a significant impression on those who observed them. Notably, Robinson revisits the well-documented Dechmont Woods Incident, supplementing it with new witness accounts that reinforce the original witness claims, including the testimony of a young observer who alleges to have witnessed the event firsthand!Robinson, a leading figure in British UFO and paranormal research, situates these cases within a broader history of unexplained phenomena in Scotland. His work underscores the enduring fascination with UFOs and contributes to ongoing debates about the reliability of eyewitness testimony, the cultural resonance of UFO encounters, and the persistence of the mystery in modern society. A must read.BioMalcolm has given lectures to clubs and societies in the UK, Ireland, Holland and France. He is the author of 10 books on UFOs and the paranormal. He went down to the depths of Loch Ness in a submarine in 1994. He has assisted Television and Radio stations all over the world with info on UFOs and the Paranormal. He is the assistant editor of the British Outer Limits Magazine. He founded the group Strange Phenomena Investigations  in Scotland in 1979 making it Scotland's oldest and still going UFO/Paranormal society with members all over the world. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DYX3RR68https://www.facebook.com/malcolm.robinson2 https://www.pastliveshypnosis.co.uk/https://www.patreon.com/alienufopodcastMy book 'Verified Near Death Exeriences' https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DXKRGDFP Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Artist, writer and thinker Gael Hillyard joins me to talk about her creative life, from painting, writing and photography, to the deep-winter months she spent as artist-in-residence on Fair Isle, to the ten silent days she lived inside a retreat with no conversation at all. We explore how her work has been shaped by a childhood spent in a Victorian atelier, the two studios she now keeps in the Highlands, and the weather-beaten coastlines she keeps returning to as both muse and anchor. And in the mailbag this week, Spike Boydell, our man from the canoe down under, has been thinking about slowing down, and I mean really slowing down. Comedy-writer-in-chief Hegaard the Dane sends word about solitude and the small matter of spending a night or three in jail! John Kenny writes about trees and the Sycamore Gap, which has an unexpected local relevance for me this weekend, and Bill Frische has been photographing a 'monster'. I'll also share a little more about the craft of photogravure that we'll be exploring on the new Scottish retreat in June. There's a reminder of this month's assignment, the last one of the year, before we shift our focus to THE ONE in December. Links to all guests and features will be on the show page, my sincere thanks to our Extra Milers, without whom we wouldn't be walking each week and Arthelper.ai, giving photographers smart tools to plan, promote, and manage your creative projects more easily. WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

Trees for Life is to launch a pioneering Missing Species Programme to bring back four of Scotland's lost keystone animals - lynx, beavers, red squirrels, and modern-day aurochs - to the Scottish Highlands. The plans aim to tackle the nature and climate emergencies while generating significant benefits for communities, including through nature tourism, says the rewilding charity. This ambitious programme will require £3.6m to fund its first five years and achieve its aims, including for detailed habitat assessments and community engagement to meet Scotland's strict licensing requirements. Aurochs will benefit landscapes Alongside a supporter appeal launched this month to raise an initial £25,000 to kickstart the initiative, Trees for Life is reaching out to major funders - including individuals, businesses, foundations and grant-making bodies - to help resource the ambitious new programme. Keystone species play a vital role in healthy living ecosystems. Many such species are now fully or mostly missing from Scotland, one of the world's most nature-depleted countries, where centuries of persecution and habitat destruction have caused localised extinctions or serious declines. "By bringing back the forest-planting red squirrel, flood-preventing beaver, deer-managing lynx, and landscape-shaping aurochs through their modern-day descendant the tauros, we can restore nature at scale and breathe new life into the Highlands, so people and wildlife can thrive together," said Trees for Life's chief executive Steve Micklewright. "Returning these four important, carefully-chosen architects of the wild is about restarting the natural engines of Scotland's ecosystems - boosting biodiversity, climate action and local economies, and giving people the chance to discover the wonder of a wilder landscape. The Highlands can become a beacon of hope in the fight against extinction and wildlife loss." Ensuring successful coexistence between wildlife and people is crucial, says Trees for Life. This includes thorough community discussions, management measures, and ensuring local people can enjoy the social and economic benefits. Successful species reintroductions in Scotland require extensive technical work, including habitat assessments and engagement with stakeholders, meeting the standards set by NatureScot, Scotland's nature agency. This allows nature to recover, while promoting coexistence between people and wildlife, and ensuring each species finds its rightful place. Beavers create wetlands that support wildlife, purify water, and reduce flooding. Sometimes the species can cause issues for farmland, although these can usually be managed. Officially reintroduced to Scotland in 2009 after being hunted to extinction 400 years ago, beavers have only been restored to a few sites, and are missing from much suitable habitat. A Trees for Life and Forestry and Land Scotland partnership project led to the historic reintroduction of beavers to Glen Affric in October. A community discussion by Trees for Life and Beaver Trust is looking at the potential for returning beavers to the Loch Ness area. Elusive and no threat to humans, the forest-dwelling Eurasian lynx preys on deer, complementing other methods of managing deer numbers - enabling more young trees to survive and woodlands to regenerate. Scotland - where lynx were made extinct in the Middle Ages - is one of a few countries of the species' range from which it remains missing. Research shows the Highlands has the habitat to support a breeding population of 250 lynx. Through the Lynx to Scotland partnership, Trees for Life has worked for five years with diverse stakeholders to assess what an official reintroduction might involve, from sheep predation to eco-tourism benefits, and is preparing for further local discussions in 2026. Tauros are classified as domestic cattle, but have no equivalent breed. They have been 'back-bred' by scientists in the Netherlands to be as similar as possible to the anci...

This episode is made possible by the generous support of our subscribers on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠. Join us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/leviathanchronicles⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to hear episodes ad free and unlock exclusive content. The Rogue Plague takes us back to 16th Century in Scotland. An ancient evil is spreading over the Highlands, infecting its victims and driving them to madness. To discover more podcasts set in The Leviathan Universe go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠leviathanaudioproductions.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠follow us social on media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Written by Christof Laputka and Mur Lafferty Produced by Robin Shore Directed by Nobi Nakanishi Executive Produced by Amish Jani Original Music by Luke Allen Sound Design & Editing by Luke Allen and Robin Shore Starring Laura Post as Evangeline Leifreik William TN Hall as Father Harlequinn Max Vogler as Bennu Dawn Hyde as Sister Mary-Louise Luke Allen as Jacob Scott Samantha Parker as The Narrator Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we're taking the week off from the Great 48 Tour and giving some much needed time to Scotch whisky and history. Join me as I chat with Stewart Walker, longtime Distillery Manager of Fettercairn in the Highlands of Scotland. We're going to dive back into the the origins of the distillery, the Prime Minister whose family owned Fettercairn at one time and his impact on Scotch whisky, the distillery's distinctive flavor profile, and how to make a 40 to 46 year old whisky wake up before it's bottled. Enjoy this commercial-free version on both Patreon and the regular Whiskey Lore podcast feed. I'm celebrating, as I close in on the completion of my next book Whiskey Lore's Travel Guide to Experiencing American Whiskey. We'll get back to whiskey travel next week and I may even have the book ready for pre-orders. Cheers and slainte mhath, Drew

We chat about a few new restaurants to check out around town, plus a few high-profile closures on this week's Access Louisville podcast. To start off the show, we discuss the long-rumored return of Papalinos, a Highlands pizza joint that closed more than a decade ago but everyone remembers fondly. As of Nov. 10, it's back, this time at 1022 Clarks Lane, explains LBF Restaurant Reporter Michael L. Jones. Original chef Allan Rosenberg along with notable restaurant owner Fred Pizzonia are behind the revival, which replaces The Dirty Bird, a chicken and bluegrass restaurant also co-owned by the pair as well. This is actually one of a few moves the pair are making with their restaurants, which Jones goes over on the show (you can also read more in the link above.)After that, Digital Editor Zak Owens is on the show to talk about the demise of Against the Grain's flagship restaurant at Louisville Slugger Field. Founders Jerry Gnagy and Sam Cruz said the decision was driven by the end of the lease term and a desire to focus more fully on the company's beverage manufacturing operations. “The last 14 years have been a blast-and-a-half with so many great people … It's all been a heckuva ride,” Gnagy and Cruz wrote on Facebook. “There are no heavy hearts or regrets, only a million great memories.”Jones also tells us about Adrienne and Kris Cole, the husband-and-wife team behind The House of Marigold, which is opening a second location at 624 E. Market St. in the NuLu neighborhood in spring 2026. This will be the second House of Marigold restaurant to open in less than four years. The Coles launched their flagship Middletown restaurant at 10310 Shelbyville Road in 2023 and quickly earned accolades, including Southern Living's “Best New Restaurant in Kentucky.”We also chat about Pasta Garage Café & Market, an Italian restaurant based in Lexington, opening a Louisville location this week at 552 E. Market St. in the Gateway to NuLu building. We go over the recent closure of The Silver Dollar — a celebrated bourbon bar. The bar had been open since 2011 and made the announcement earlier this week.And we chat about Serai, a new Malaysian restaurant coming to 2311 Frankfort Avenue in early 2026. Louisville Business First previously reported that the restaurant in that space now, DiFabio's, owned by husband-and-wife duo Caitland DiFabio and Jon Riley, will close at the end of December.After that we have a brief discussion on Kentucky's role in the hemp industry and how that may change due to federal legislation which passed alongside the bill to reopen the government.Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can follow it on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Episode 508 ~ November 13, 2025 Podcast Info / Topics Sean went for a day paddling in his new SP3 Nova Craft Prospector 16 in the Kawartha Highlands If you are looking for something new in the off season, head to Quebec and try Ice Canoeing Boundary Waters’ wilderness protection may be facing another threat

Episode 508 ~ November 13, 2025 Podcast Info / Topics Sean went for a day paddling in his new SP3 Nova Craft Prospector 16 in the Kawartha Highlands If you are looking for something new in the off season, head to Quebec and try Ice Canoeing Boundary Waters’ wilderness protection may be facing another threat

'A win for people-led rewilding' - new hutting law to unlock public land to connect people and nature. Last night (4 November) MSPs in the Scottish Parliament voted to create a new hutting law compelling the Scottish Government to publish a model lease for hutting on public land. The change to the law will make it easier for people across Scotland to access public land for low-impact, sustainable hutting in future. New hutting law to unlock public land to connect people and nature Huts are simple homes where people can reconnect with nature and experience the land off-grid. Reforesting Scotland's 1000 Huts Campaign says that a culture of recreational hut use would benefit people greatly, including by bringing people close to nature, cultivating practical skills in low-carbon living, fostering community, and offering benefits for health and wellbeing. With hutting depending on access to land for huts, campaigners from Reforesting Scotland and the Scottish Rewilding Alliance had called on the Scottish Government to publish a draft lease for hutters on public land. The successful campaign for a legal change was inspired by a pilot project at Carnock in southwest Fife, which has seen a pioneering lease enable a group of hutters to build 12 huts on the national forest estate. Al Whitworth, Director of Reforesting Scotland, said: "This is another success for our ongoing 1000 Huts Campaign, and we're delighted that the Scottish Government has again recognised the benefits of making a model lease available for hutting on public land. We hope this will help unlock more sites where hutters can enjoy nature protected by a strong legal agreement." Steve Micklewright, co-convenor of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance and chief executive of Trees for Life, said: "It's great to see the Scottish Government supporting the need for a model lease for hutting in the new Land Reform Bill. As well as restoring nature in a big way, rewilding is about people and restoring our relationship with the land. Hutting offers a fantastic way for more people to share in, and care for, Scotland's landscapes. This is a win for people-led rewilding." The successful changes to the bill were proposed in Parliament by Ariane Burgess, Scottish Greens MSP for the Highlands and Islands. "Opening up more public land for hutting will in turn create all sorts of opportunities for people to get closer to nature and develop practical skills, and will foster community and co-operation. I'm really pleased to see the Scottish Government recognising the importance of hutting in the new Land Reform Bill by supporting my proposed amendment. This positive result should benefit people for years to come," said Ariane Burgess. The hutting win represents a double success for the Scottish Rewilding Alliance's recommendations on the Land Reform Bill. MSPs voted on 28 October to create a law obliging the owners of large landholdings over 1,000 hectares to publish plans on how they will increase biodiversity - which the Alliance says represents a 'big step towards a Rewilding Nation'. While celebrating the two new laws, the Alliance says that with Scotland one of the world's most nature-depleted countries, the Scottish Government needs to be more ambitious going forwards. Although the Scottish government is committed to protect at least 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030, just 2.5% of Scotland's land is currently rewilding - with current rates of increase meaning it will take 65 years before major nature restoration is underway across 30% of the country. Rewilding is the large-scale restoration of nature to a state where it can look after itself, focusing on restoring natural processes and, where appropriate, reintroducing missing species. The Scottish Rewilding Alliance is calling on the Scottish Government to declare Scotland the world's first Rewilding Nation, bringing in bold legislation to support rewilding. Polling has shown this is supported by over 80% of the Scottish public....

This episode is made possible by the generous support of our subscribers on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠. Join us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/leviathanchronicles⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to hear episodes ad free and unlock exclusive content. The Rogue Plague takes us back to 16th Century in Scotland. An ancient evil is spreading over the Highlands, infecting its victims and driving them to madness. To discover more podcasts set in The Leviathan Universe go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠leviathanaudioproductions.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠follow us social on media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Written by Christof Laputka and Mur Lafferty Produced by Robin Shore Directed by Nobi Nakanishi Executive Produced by Amish Jani Original Music by Luke Allen Sound Design & Editing by Luke Allen and Robin Shore Starring Laura Post as Evangeline Leifreik William TN Hall as Father Harlequinn Max Vogler as Bennu Todd Butera as Angus McKay David Ault as Priest Christof Laputka as Jonathan Greta Laputka as Peasant Woman Luke Allen as Matthew Samantha Parker as The Narrator Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, I chat with Patricia Doe from The Wilderness Group about the beauty of soft adventure travel — those immersive, outdoor experiences that blend nature, culture, and connection in the most meaningful way.Patricia shares her story (including what it was like growing up in a castle-turned-hotel!) and how The Wilderness Group designs soft adventure experiences across the British Isles — from the rugged Highlands of Scotland to the serene landscapes of Ireland, England, and Wales. I also share that I'm collaborating with The Wilderness Group (and why) to create the upcoming 2026 Wander Your Way Adventures to Scotland. And that I'll  be working with them again on future small group tours launching in 2027. Patricia and I dive into how soft adventure in Europe opens doors to local culture through gentle hikes, village walks, and authentic encounters that reveal the heart of a place. We also highlight hidden gems, underrated destinations, and easy ways to get outdoors that make travel both enriching and approachable.Hint: You don't have to be an über fit under 30!If you've ever wanted to experience Europe beyond the main tourist trail and embrace the outdoors, this episode is packed with inspiration and ideas for your next journey.Want to chat more about soft adventure travel?Email lynne at Lynne@WanderYourWay.comIn this episode:1:03: Intro and Introducing Patricia Doe4:27: Patricia's background7:01: The Wilderness Group10:54: Special place for Patricia14:06: Patricia's picks19:05: Trip expectations28:10: Cities vs Nature35:30: More of Patricia's favorite places39:13: Fitness level49:00: Final thoughts54:58: Soft adventures and Wander Your Way1:02:47: Wrapping it upImportant links:Wilderness ScotlandWilderness IrelandWilderness EnglandWander Your Way AdventuresSolo Traveler Tracey's ListWhy Europe Is an Amazing Destination for Nature LoversOutdoors Europe with Jackie NourseWander Your Way ResourcesWander Your Way ★ Support this podcast ★

If you have ancestors who came to North America before the 20th century, there's a strong possibility that part of your family story began in Scotland. From the rugged Highlands to the fertile Lowlands, from fishing villages on the coast to industrial Glasgow, Scotland has been sending its sons and daughters abroad for centuries. Scottish emigrants left behind misty glens, clan lands, and centuries of tradition — but they carried with them an education system admired throughout Europe, a fierce sense of independence, and a reputation for honesty, perseverance, and wit. Their descendants helped shape North America's politics, religion, art, and even its landscapes. Finding Scottish roots isn't just about identifying surnames. It's about tracing the movement of a people who valued both family and freedom — a balance that defined their identity wherever they went... Podcast notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/do-you-have-scottish-ancestry/ Ancestral Findings Podcast: https://ancestralfindings.com/podcast This Week's Free Genealogy Lookups: https://ancestralfindings.com/lookups Genealogy Giveaway: https://ancestralfindings.com/giveaway Genealogy eBooks: https://ancestralfindings.com/ebooks Follow Along: https://www.facebook.com/AncestralFindings https://www.instagram.com/ancestralfindings https://www.youtube.com/ancestralfindings Support Ancestral Findings: https://ancestralfindings.com/support https://ancestralfindings.com/paypal  #Genealogy #AncestralFindings #GenealogyClips

When people talk about the Gaelic clans of Scotland, they usually picture the Highlands and the Isles. But what about Galloway? In this episode, I dive into the rich, overlooked story of the Gaelic clans of Galloway — a region whose people shared the same ethnic and cultural roots as the clans of the Hebrides.We'll explore their origins, language, and leadership structures, and highlight some of the key families that played vital roles in medieval Scotland — clans too often forgotten in popular retellings of Scottish history.If you want to understand how the Galloway clans fit into the broader story of Gaelic Scotland, this episode is for you.Explore More:

For his new film, The North, Dutch filmmaker Bart Schrijver and his small crew actually hiked through Scotland's Highlands. 

The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time. Topics covered this week include: Christine Grahame To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government regarding the implementation of the proposed scheme for the renovation of military homes in Scotland. Douglas Lumsden To ask the First Minister when the Scottish Government will announce a timetable for improvement works on the A96 north of Inverurie, following the publication of its corridor review consultation report. Michael Marra To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the Auditor General's report, 2024/25 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts, which indicates a £1 billion underspend by the Scottish Government. Beatrice Wishart To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the recent news that Eastern Airways, which runs lifeline regional services in the Highlands and Islands, has entered administration. A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report

Join me for a conversation with podcast producer Will Sadler about his work on the "Highlands Reimagined" series. Will explains his process of making a show about life in the Highlands and how his work was inspired by the young people featured on the show.We are joined by Fiona Mackenzie, manager of the Strathnaver Museum in Bettyhill, who commissioned the podcast series through their artist residency programme. Fiona shares her insight as a local Highlander, and even answers the age-old question I get asked all the time, when I'm on tour: what do people in the Highlands do for work?This conversation is inspired by the 3-part "Highlands Reimagined" series, which we featured on Wild for Scotland in September 2025. If you haven't done so yet, it makes sense to scroll back and listen to the series first, before returning to my chat with Will and Fiona.Visit our website to find the full show notes, incl. a transcript of our conversation.Help us spread the word about Wild for Scotland! If you hear something you like in this episode, take a screenshot and share what you like about it on your Instagram stories. And tag us @wildforscotland so we can say thank you! Let me help you plan your DREAM TRIP to Scotland! Book a free enquiry call to find out more. Coming to Scotland? Start planning your trip to Scotland with my FREE Trip Planning Checklist. Get it here! Browse my Scotland itineraries for your next trip.Connect with me on Instagram @wildforscotland!Join our email list to never miss an episode.Planning a trip to Scotland? Check out my Scotland blog Watch Me See!

This week, Joe is joined by two ICONS... Amanda & Nessie from Series 1 of Real Housewives of London!

A family of five beavers and a beaver pair have been released at two sites on Loch Beinn a Mheadhoin in the Glen Affric National Nature Reserve in the northwest Highlands. The beavers were relocated under licence from agricultural land in Tayside to an area where their natural behaviours are expected to positively benefit the landscape and biodiversity. New Beavers to be released Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), which manages the 17,604-hectare NNR, has been working in partnership with Trees for Life on the initiative since 2022, supported by Beaver Trust. The project has included three phases of extensive consultations with local communities and land managers. FLS North Region Manager, Alex Mcleod, said: "Beavers being translocated to Glen Affric is the culmination of a long, exacting and thorough process for FLS and Trees for Life. Fully engaging with the local Affric communities, including through a detailed consultation process, has been crucial in making sure that all voices were heard. "This high degree of local consultation has helped put in place processes to discuss any necessary mitigation, and to address concerns raised by those not in favour of beaver introductions. We are establishing a group to oversee ongoing monitoring to inform management decisions in the months and years to come, and I would hope that the beavers eventually become an integral and unremarked part of Glen Affric." Steve Micklewright, Trees for Life's Chief Executive, said: "As we saw the beavers released into the loch, we were watching a moment of wildlife history - offering hope for tackling the nature and climate emergencies, and a better future for biodiversity and people. "We're proud to have worked with FLS on this community-focused initiative. FLS has undertaken vital habitat restoration work in Glen Affric over many years and shown real leadership in nature restoration by reintroducing this important habitat-creating, biodiversity-boosting, flood-preventing animal." NatureScot granted a licence in August for the release of four family groups of beavers to the waters above Beinn a Mheadhoin dam, following an application by FLS last December. The first two releases, of the beaver pair followed by the family of five, took place on 24 October. Beavers create wetlands that benefit other wildlife, purify water and reduce flooding. The animals can bring economic benefits to communities through eco-tourism. Sometimes the species can also create localised problems. The Glen Affric project partners have put in place measures to address these quickly should they emerge. FLS is establishing a Beaver Community Mitigation and Monitoring Group as a community and visitor liaison focal point, where developments can be monitored, aired and addressed. The Group, which also involves NatureScot, will also look at developing educational opportunities with local schools, the wider community and visitors to the area. Trees for Life's dedicated Beaver Management Officer, Tobias Leask, will be engaging with the whole community, offering practical support to ensure local people can enjoy and benefit from the return of the beavers through a well-managed process. The translocation to Glen Affric was carried out by Dr Roisin Campbell-Palmer, Head of Restoration at Beaver Trust, who said: "Beavers are a powerful ally in turning the biodiversity crisis around, and we're delighted to have carried out this important reintroduction to one of Scotland's most famous glens. "Each new catchment we restore beavers to brings Scotland closer to its 2045 goal of a nature-rich, resilient future. Responsible, well-considered translocations like this are helping re-establish a healthy, connected beaver population across the country." Prior to their release in Glen Affric, the beavers were housed at a specialised beaver holding and quarantine facility at Five Sisters Zoo for health checks. Local resident Malcolm Wield said: "Beavers benefit a wide range of different species inclu...

Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped began life serialised in a children's magazine, but its sophistication and depth won the lifelong admiration of Henry James. Set in the aftermath of the 1745 Jacobite rising, Kidnapped follows young lowlander David Balfour's flight across the Highlands with the rebel Alan Breck Stewart. In Stevenson's hands, a straightforward adventure story becomes a vivid exploration of friendship, the body, and social and political division. In this episode of Novel Approaches, Clare Bucknell is joined by Stevenson fans Andrew O'Hagan and Tom Crewe. They explore Stevenson's startlingly modern handling of perspective and pacing, his approach to the art of fiction, and the value of being ‘betwixt and between'. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, sign up: Directly in Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/applecrna⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ In other podcast apps: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/closereadingsna Further reading in the LRB: Andrew O'Hagan on Stevenson's life:⁠https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v27/n04/andrew-o-hagan/in-his-hot-head⁠ ...his circle:⁠https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/n10/andrew-o-hagan/bournemouth⁠ ...and his home in Edinburgh:⁠https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n01/andrew-o-hagan/diary⁠ P.N. Furbank on R.L.S.'s letters:⁠https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v16/n16/p.n.-furbank/what-sort-of-man⁠ Matthew Bevis on Treasure Island:⁠https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v34/n20/matthew-bevis/kids-gone-rotten⁠ Next episode: The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy.

WhoBarry Owens, General Manager of Treetops, MichiganRecorded onJune 13, 2025About TreetopsClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Treetops Acquisition Company LLCLocated in: Gaylord, MichiganYear founded: 1954Pass affiliations: Indy Pass, Indy+ Pass – 2 daysClosest neighboring ski areas: Otsego (:07), Boyne Mountain (:34), Hanson Hills (:39), Shanty Creek (:51), The Highlands (:58), Nub's Nob (1:00)Base elevation: 1,110 feetSummit elevation: 1,333 feetVertical drop: 223 feetSkiable acres: 80Average annual snowfall: 140 inchesTrail count: 25 (30% beginner, 40% intermediate, 30% advanced)Lift count: 5 (3 triples, 2 carpets – view Lift Blog's inventory of Treetops' lift fleet)Why I interviewed himThe first 10 ski areas I ever skied, in order, were:* Mott Mountain, Michigan* Apple Mountain, Michigan* Snow Snake, Michigan* Caberfae, Michigan* Crystal Mountain, Michigan* Nub's Nob, Michigan* Skyline, Michigan* Treetops, Michigan* Sugar Loaf, Michigan* Shanty Creek – Schuss Mountain, MichiganAnd here are the first 10 ski areas I ever skied that are still open, with anything that didn't make it crossed out:* Mott Mountain, Michigan* Apple Mountain, Michigan* Snow Snake, Michigan* Caberfae, Michigan* Crystal Mountain, Michigan* Nub's Nob, Michigan* Skyline, Michigan* Treetops, Michigan* Sugar Loaf, Michigan* Shanty Creek – Schuss Mountain, Michigan* Shanty Creek – Summit, Michigan* Boyne Mountain, Michigan* Searchmont, Ontario* Nebraski, Nebraska* Copper Mountain, Colorado* Keystone, ColoradoSix of my first 16. Poof. That's a failure rate of 37.5 percent. I'm no statistician, but I'd categorize that as “not good.”Now, there's some nuance to this list. I skied all of these between 1992 and 1995. Most had faded officially or functionally by 2000, around the time that America's Great Ski Area Die-Off concluded (Summit lasted until around Covid, and could still re-open, resort officials tell me). Their causes of death are varied, some combination, usually, of incompetence, indifference, and failure to adapt. To climate change, yes, but more of the cultural kind of adaptation than the environmental sort.The first dozen ski areas on this list are tightly bunched, geographically, in the upper half of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. They draw from the same general population centers and suffer from the same stunted Midwest verticals. None are naturally or automatically great ski areas. None are or were particularly remote or tricky to access, and most sit alongside or near a major state or federal highway. And they (mostly) all benefit from the same Lake Michigan lake-effect snow machine, the output of which appears to be increasing as the Great Lakes freeze more slowly and less often (cold air flowing over warm water = lake-effect snow).Had you presented this list of a dozen Michigan ski areas to me in 1995 and said, “five of these will drop dead in the next 30 years,” I would not have chosen those five, necessarily, to fail. These weren't ropetow backwaters. All but Apple had chairlifts (and they soon installed one), and most sat close to cities or were attached to a larger resort. Sugar Loaf, in particular, was one of Michigan's better ski areas, with five chairlifts and the largest in-state vertical drop on this list.My guess for most-likely-to-die probably would have been Treetops, especially if you'd told me that then-private Otsego ski area, right next door and with twice its neighbor's skiable acreage, vertical drop, and number of chairlifts, would eventually open to the public. Especially if you'd told me that Boyne Mountain, the monster down the road, would continue to expand its lodging and village, and would add a Treetops-sized cluster of greens to its ferocious ridge of blacks. Especially if you'd told me that Treetops' trail footprint, never substantial, would remain more or less the same size 30 years later. In fact, just about every surviving Michigan ski area on that list - Crystal, Nub's, Caberfae, Shanty Schuss - greatly expanded its terrain footprint. Except Treetops.But here we are, in the future, and I just skied Treetops 10 months ago with my 8-year-old son. It was, in some ways, more or less as I'd left it on my last visit, in 1995: small vert, small trail network, a slightly confusing parking situation, no chairlift restraint bars. A few improvements were obvious: the beginner ropetows had made way for a carpet, the last double chair had been upgraded to a triple, terrain park features dotted the east side, and a dozen or so glades and short steep shots had been hacked from the woods of the legacy trail footprint.That's all nice. But what was not obvious to me was this: why, and how, does Treetops the ski area still exist? Sugar Loaf was a better ski area. Apple Mountain was closer to large population centers. Summit was attached to ski-in-ski-out accommodations and shared a lift ticket with the larger Schuss mountain a couple miles away. Was modern Treetops some sort of money-losing ski area hobby horse for whomever owned the larger resort, which is better known for its five golf courses? Was it just an amenity to keep the second homeowners who mostly lived in Southeast Michigan invested year-round? Had the ski area cemented itself as the kind of high-volume schoolkids training ground that explained the resilience of ski areas in metro Detroit, Minneapolis, and Milwaukee?There is never, or rarely, one easy or obvious explanation for why similar businesses thrive or fail. This is why I resist pinning the numerical decline in America's ski area inventory solely to climate change. We may have fewer ski areas in America than we had in 1995, but we have a lot more good ski areas now than we did 30 years ago (and, as I wrote in March, a lot more overall ski terrain). Yes, Skyline, 40 minutes south of Treetops, failed because it never installed snowmaking, but that is only part of the sentence. Skyline failed because it never installed snowmaking while its competitors aggressively expanded and continually updated their snowmaking systems, raising the floor on the minimal ski experience acceptable to consumers. That takes us back to culture. What do you reckon has changed more over the past 30 to 40 years: America's weather patterns, or its culture? For anyone who remembers ashtrays at McDonald's or who rode in the bed of a pickup truck from Michigan to Illinois or who ran feral and unsupervised outdoors from toddlerhood or who somehow fumbled through this vast world without the internet or a Pet Rectangle or their evil offspring social media, the answer seems obvious. The weather feels a little different. Our culture feels airlifted from another planet. Americans accepted things 30 years ago that would seem outrageous today – like smoking adjacent to a children's play area ornamented with a demented smiling clown. But this applies to skiing as well. My Treetops day in 1995 was memorably horrible, the snow groomed but fossilized, unturnable. A few weeks earlier, I'd skied Skyline on perhaps a three-inch base, grass poking through the trails. Modern skiers, armed with the internet and its Hubble connection to every ski area on the planet, would not accept either set of conditions today. But one of those ski areas adapted and the other did not. That's the “why” of Treetops survival. It was the “how” that I needed Barry Owens to help me understand.What we talked aboutLast winter's ice storm – “it provides great insight into human character when you go through that stuff”; record snowfall (204 inches!) to chase the worst winter ever; the Lake Michigan snowbelt; a golf resort with a ski area attached; building a ski culture when “we didn't have enough people dedicated to ski… and it showed”; competing with nearby ski areas many times Treetops' size “we don't shy away from… who we are and what we are”; what happened when next-door-neighbor Otsego Resort switched from a private to a public model in 2017 – “neither one of us is going to get rich seeing who can get the most $15 lift tickets on a Wednesday”; I attempt to talk about golf and why Michigan is a golf mecca; moving on from something you've spent decades building; Treetops' rough financial period and why Owens initially turned down the GM job; how Owens convinced ownership not to close the ski area; fixing a “can't-do staff” by “doing things that created the freedom to be able to act”; Treetops' strange 2014 bankruptcy and rebuilding from there; “right now we're happy” with the lift fleet; how much it would cost to retrofit Treetops' lifts with restraint bars; timeline for potential ski expansion at Treetops; bargain season passes (as low as $125); and Indy Pass' network power.What I got wrong* I said “Gaylord County,” but the city of Gaylord is in Otsego County.* I said that Boyne Resorts, operator of 11 ski areas, also runs “10 or 11 golf resorts.” The company operates 14 golf courses.* I said that Michigan had a “very good” road network and that there was “not a lot of traffic,” and if you live there, you're reaction is probably, “you're dumb.” What I meant by “very good road network” is this: compared to most ski regions, which have, um, mountains, Michigan's bumplets sit more or less directly alongside the state's straight, flat, almost perfectly gridded highway network. Also, the “not a lot of traffic” thing does not apply to special situations like, say, northbound I-75 on a July Friday evening.* I said that Crystal, Nub's, Caberfae, and Shanty Creek were “close” – while they're not necessarily all close to one another, they are all roughly equidistant for folks coming to them from downstate.* I said that Treetops was “the fifth or sixth place I ever skied at,” but upon further review, it was number eight (which is reflected in the list above).Podcast NotesOn the ice stormAn ice storm hammered Northern Michigan in late March of this year:On the lightning strike on Treetops' golf courseOn the Midwest's terrible 2023-24 ski seasonSkier visits cratered in the Midwest during the 2023-24 ski season, the region's worst on record from a snowfall point of view. Weather - and skier visits - settled back into normal ranges last winter:This is a bit hard to see with any sort of precision, but this 10-year chart gives a nice sense of just how abnormal 2023-24 was for the Midwest:On Michigan's ski areasMichigan is home to 44 active ski areas - more than any state other than New York. Many of them are quite small, operate sporadically, and run only surface lifts, but Treetops is close to a bunch of the better lift-served outfits, including Boyne Mountain, Nub's Nob, and The Highlands (the UP ski areas may as well be in another state). It helps Treetops that so many of the state's ski areas have also joined Indy Pass:On Otsego ResortFor decades - I'm not certain how long, exactly - Otsego Resort, right next door to Treetops and with roughly double the vertical drop and skiable acreage, was private. In 2017, the bump opened to the public, considerably amping up competition. Complicating the matter further, Otsego sits a bit closer to Michigan's Main Street - I-75 - than Treetops.On Snow OperatingOwens mentioned working with “TBL” – he was referring to Terrain Based Learning, Snow Partners' learn-to-ski program. That company also runs the Snow Cloud operating system that Owens refers to at the end.On Treetops' rough period I quoted this Detroit Business News article at length in the interview. It goes deep on Treetops' precarious early 2000s history and the resort's broken employee culture at the time.On people being nice at ski areasYeah I'm super into this:On the hedgehog conceptOwens mentions “the hedgehog concept,” which I wasn't familiar with. It sounded like a business-book thing, and it is, adapted by author Jim Collins for his book Good to Great and described in this way on his website:The Hedgehog Concept is developed in the book Good to Great. A simple, crystalline concept that flows from deep understanding about the intersection of three circles: 1) what you are deeply passionate about, 2) what you can be the best in the world at, and 3) what best drives your economic or resource engine. Transformations from good to great come about by a series of good decisions made consistently with a Hedgehog Concept, supremely well executed, accumulating one upon another, over a long period of time.More:On safety-bar requirements in New York and New EnglandThis is kind of funny…That's my 8-year-old son, who's skied in a dozen states, taking his first ride on a lift with no safety bar, at Treetops last December. Why such machines still exist in 2025, I have no idea - this lift rises about 30 feet off the ground. In the East, all chairlifts are equipped with bars, and state law mandates their use in New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont (and perhaps elsewhere). I don't advocate for rider mandates, but I do think all chairlifts ought to have bars available for those who want them. Owens and I discuss the resort's plans to retrofit Treetops' three chairlifts - CTEC machines installed between 1984 and 1995 - with bars. The cost would be roughly $250,000. That's a significant number, but probably a lot less than the figure if, say, someone has a heart attack or seizure on the lift, falls off, then sues the resort. Besides, as Owens points out, chairlifts must be equipped with restraint bars for summer use, which would open new revenue streams. Why are bars required for summer activities, but not winter? It's a strange anachronism, unique among the ski world to America.On “Joe from SMI”I mentioned “Joe from SMI” offhand. I was referring to SMI Snowmakers President Joe VanderKelen, who appeared on the podcast back in 2022:On potential expansion Owens discusses a potential expansion looker's left of Chair 1, which would restore lost terrain and built upon that. This 1988 trailmap shows a couple of the trails that Treetops eliminated to make way for its current top-to-bottom access road (trails 1 through 4):The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

A man murdered in his workshop in Yorkshire. A woman murdered in the Highlands. And the same suspect was befriending and stealing from a variety of people staying in guesthouses in England and Scotland. Detectives knew they were in a race against time before this man struck again....Find out more about me and the UK True Crime Podcasthttps://uktruecrime.comEpisode Sourceshttps://uktruecrime.comSupport me at Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/c/UKTrueCrimePlease review the podcast at Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/uk-true-crime-podcast/id1182818802 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Planning a trip to the UK and want to make the most of every moment? In this episode, Laura shares how she celebrated her 60th birthday with a 15-day journey across England and Scotland, combining solo adventure, accessible travel planning, and plenty of unforgettable experiences.You'll learn how to: ✅ Plan a realistic itinerary that balances sightseeing and rest ✅ Navigate London during busy times like Tube strikes ✅ Make the most of flex tickets, early entry tours and coach trips ✅ Travel confidently with mobility considerations ✅ Turn detours into highlights with the right mindsetFrom London's iconic attractions and afternoon tea favourites to the dramatic Highlands and windswept beauty of Orkney, Laura's story is packed with practical tips, inspiration, and confidence-boosting advice for travellers of all ages and abilities.Perfect for: solo travellers, over-50s adventurers, and anyone planning a UK or Scotland itinerary.

Here we are. Episode 500. We celebrated the only way that makes sense. With a few hundred listeners packed into a theater in Jersey and a caller whose story pretty much sums up what this show is all about. Our 500th caller is one year out from a stay in a mental hospital. She opens up about what it was like to lose her grip on reality in a pretty intense way and shares how far she's come with self-awareness, perspective, and so much humor. She and Gethard also get deep into some classic Jersey debates with our audience (porkroll vs Taylor ham? Does Central Jersey exist?), who share some of their best roadside emergency rest stop stories and try to convince our caller to divulge her government secrets Five hundred episodes. Wild. Thanks to everyone who's listened, called, and shared a piece of themselves with this show. Here's to the next 500. Sign up for Beautiful/Anonymous+ to get ad free episodes and access to exclusive audio including 5 Random Questions with this week's caller.  Leave us a voicemail at (973) 306-4676 500 Episodes of Beautiful Anonymous T-Shirt: chrisgethard.bigcartel.com Visit Upwork.com right now to post your job for free and connect with top talent ready to help your business grow. Layer up this fall with pieces that feel as good as they look. Go to Quince.com/beautiful for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Text BEAUTIFUL to 64000 to get twenty percent off all IQBAR products, plus FREE shipping. Message and data rates may apply. Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/ BEAUTIFUL and use promo code BEAUTIFUL at checkout.

How are you starting your morning? Are you beginning by talking to God and immersing yourself in His word? In this episode, Jeff, Jeff, and Fred discuss: Meeting God in the periods of darkness in your life.Seeing God's grace in life's serendipity.Surround yourself with great men and women of God.Healing for stronger relationships.Finding fulfillment at the intersection of passion, experience, and gifting.  Key Takeaways: You can give your life to Christ, but don't forget about also needing sanctification. Make sure to prioritize your life with the things that matter most.Remember the things that went well, but also remember what didn't work and strive not to do those things again.Give your kids responsibility. Learning to work is a valuable skill and a critical part of growing up.Start your day with God. It is easier to play the game when you know what the ultimate goal is.  "The number one thing we as leaders can do is start in the Word of God every morning." —  Fred Caldwell About Fred Caldwell: Fred Caldwell is the President and CEO of Caldwell Companies, a fully integrated residential and commercial real estate firm founded in 1990 and based in Cypress, TX.  Today, the firm serves as a holding company for a family of related companies that develop planned residential communities for sale and rental communities, along with associated commercial development. Caldwell Companies' focus is on living out its vision to create extraordinary communities that enrich lives. In short, the Caldwell team is about making life better for all residents of its communities. Caldwell's planned communities include Towne Lake, Willowcreek Ranch, The Highlands, Chambers Creek, and others. Rental brands include Asher, Mirela, and Cadence Communities. Fred serves on several charitable and ministry boards relating to JH Ranch and Texas A&M. Fred is a graduate of Texas A&M University, receiving a degree in accounting and a master's degree in finance while playing football.  He was recognized in 2018 as a Distinguished Alumni of Mays Business School.  Fred and his wife, Susan, have been married for over 40 years and have two married daughters and 3 grandchildren. Connect with Fred Caldwell:Website: https://caldwellcos.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fred-caldwell-35a9a712  Connect with Jeff Thomas: Website: https://www.arkosglobal.com/Podcast: https://www.generousbusinessowner.com/Book: https://www.arkosglobal.com/trading-upEmail: jeff.thomas@arkosglobal.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/ArkosGlobalAdvFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/arkosglobal/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arkosglobaladvisorsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/arkosglobaladvisors/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLUYpPwkHH7JrP6PrbHeBxw

In this week's Monday Mailtime, Producer Dom unpacks two unsettling listener stories from the Scottish countryside—where the landscapes are ancient, the ruins are haunted, and even the trains might have passengers you can't see.First, Mark recounts a terrifying moment during a summer hike near Inverness, where a ruined stone cottage became the stage for a ghostly presence—complete with freezing air, invisible footsteps, and the chilling scrape of unseen fingers across stone.Then, Sam shares a strange and quiet haunting aboard a train to Edinburgh, where an empty seat felt occupied and ghostly hands may have tried to leave a message on his notepad. Was it just the chill of a Scottish summer—or something left behind from the line's tragic past?Haunted cottages, spectral train companions, and the kind of silence that listens back—tune in as Dom dives into these atmospheric encounters that prove Scotland's ghosts travel just as far as its legends. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Emily.Emily is an author and mama of two under 2 from the Highlands of Scotland. She is known on social media as Prepping for Everything and has built an online following for sharing homesteading, prepping and motherhood.I started following Emily for her homesteading reels and Emily found The Natural Birth Podcast when she got pregnant with her first 3 years ago.And here we now are, full circle, as Emily comes to share her 2 birth stories.Her first being a planned home birth turning into a long prodromal affair ending in a non emergent hospital transfer where Emily's mama lioness was born. Her baby was born naturally, healthy, pink and screaming without the need of any interference from the hospital even though they tried their best.And her second redemptive, normal home birth with physiological plateaus that in hospital would have been classified as abnormal and a bigger postpartum bleed without the bells and whistles of the hospital. Curious about Emily? Find her on instagram as @preppingforeverythingWant to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?Find Anna's Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:⁠www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

There’s a divide between Scotland and Ireland as fierce as the Protestant/Catholic split during the Thirty Years’ War or the battles between Sunnis and Shias in the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. It’s the debate over who invented whisky. Both Ireland and Scotland claim to have originated the spirit. Ireland cites its early monastic traditions and the term "uisce beatha" (Gaelic for "water of life") as evidence of whisky production dating back to the 12th century. Scotland, however, argues that its distillation practices, documented in the 1494 Exchequer Rolls mentioning "aqua vitae," predate Ireland’s clear records and point to their refined techniques in the Highlands. Irish advocates emphasize that their missionaries spread distillation knowledge to Scotland, while Scots counter that their innovations in barrel aging and malting set whisky apart as a distinctly Scottish craft. The argument often hinges on differing definitions of what constitutes "whisky," with no definitive proof resolving the dispute, leaving both sides to proudly defend their heritage. Whisky stands out from other alcohols, like beer, due to its intricate production process, which relies on advanced distillation technology to create a high-potency spirit from fermented grains. The use of oak barrels for aging imparts complex flavors, such as vanilla, caramel, and smoky notes, giving whisky its distinctive depth and character. Today’s guest is Noah Rothbaum, a world-renowned drinks expert and author of The Whiskey Bible: A Complete Guide to the World’s Greatest Spirit. He reveals the history and lore of whisky. We discuss the possibly 5,000-year history of distillation and whisky, how phylloxera wiped out Europe’s vineyards and decimated the market for wine in the early 19th century but kickstarted interest in spirits, how Americans created a separate and distinct spirit, and the future of the drink.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we uncover a dramatic chapter in the history of Clan Cameron—a time when internal rivalries turned deadly. During the late sixteenth century, rising tensions between Allan Cameron of Lochiel and the powerful cadet branches of Glen Nevis and Erracht boiled over into open conflict. What began as disputes over loyalty and leadership soon escalated into a violent confrontation that would test the unity of one of the Highlands' most formidable clans.Clandanas and Battle Shirts!Become part of the team on Patreon!Scottish Clans Website!Sponsor - www.usakilts.com

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In this episode I chat with Monika Pronczuk, the adventurous traveler and creator of Plan Pack Explore, a go-to resource packed with Iceland travel tips and inspiration.Originally from Poland, Monika has found her true passion in Iceland — a place that captured her heart and changed her travels forever. She shares her top recommendations for first-time visitors, including the Snæfellsnes Peninsula and the Golden Circle, but also takes us off the beaten path to explore Iceland's remote Northeast and the wild Highlands.Expect stories, insider advice, and Monika's contagious enthusiasm for the landscapes, culture, and spirit of this stunning island. Whether you're planning your first Iceland adventure or dreaming of going back, this episode will inspire you to see the astonishing side of Iceland — beyond the usual routes.Want to chat more about Iceland, email Lynne at Lynne@WanderYourWay.com.In this episode:0:45: Intro2:17: Monika's bio5:40: Introducing Monika7:44: Placing Iceland on the map8:36: Falling in love with Iceland11:18: First visit recommendations22:21: Snæfellsjökull & Golden Circle27:00: A week trip33:15: Off the main tourist track41:17: Northeast section46:44: The Highlands55:09: Monika's favorites56:20: Logistics & tips1:06:06: Wrapping it upImportant links:Plan Pack Explore (you'll be able to find all the places Monika talk about using her Iceland guides)Visit IcelandWander Your Way ResourcesREIWander Your Way AdventuresWander Your Way ★ Support this podcast ★

WhoAlan Henceroth, President and Chief Operating Officer of Arapahoe Basin, Colorado – Al runs the best ski area-specific executive blog in America – check it out:Recorded onMay 19, 2025About Arapahoe BasinClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Alterra Mountain Company, which also owns:Pass access* Ikon Pass: unlimited* Ikon Base Pass: unlimited access from opening day to Friday, Dec. 19, then five total days with no blackouts from Dec. 20 until closing day 2026Base elevation* 10,520 feet at bottom of Steep Gullies* 10,780 feet at main baseSummit elevation* 13,204 feet at top of Lenawee Mountain on East Wall* 12,478 feet at top of Lazy J Tow (connector between Lenawee Express six-pack and Zuma quad)Vertical drop* 1,695 feet lift-served – top of Lazy J Tow to main base* 1,955 feet lift-served, with hike back up to lifts – top of Lazy J Tow to bottom of Steep Gullies* 2,424 feet hike-to – top of Lenawee Mountain to Main BaseSkiable Acres: 1,428Average annual snowfall:* Claimed: 350 inches* Bestsnow.net: 308 inchesTrail count: 147 – approximate terrain breakdown: 24% double-black, 49% black, 20% intermediate, 7% beginnerLift count: 9 (1 six-pack, 1 high-speed quad, 3 fixed-grip quads, 1 double, 2 carpets, 1 ropetow)Why I interviewed himWe can generally splice U.S. ski centers into two categories: ski resort and ski area. I'll often use these terms interchangeably to avoid repetition, but they describe two very different things. The main distinction: ski areas rise directly from parking lots edged by a handful of bunched utilitarian structures, while ski resorts push parking lots into the next zipcode to accommodate slopeside lodging and commerce.There are a lot more ski areas than ski resorts, and a handful of the latter present like the former, with accommodations slightly off-hill (Sun Valley) or anchored in a near-enough town (Bachelor). But mostly the distinction is clear, with the defining question being this: is this a mountain that people will travel around the world to ski, or one they won't travel more than an hour to ski?Arapahoe Basin occupies a strange middle. Nothing in the mountain's statistical profile suggests that it should be anything other than a Summit County locals hang. It is the 16th-largest ski area in Colorado by skiable acres, the 18th-tallest by lift-served vertical drop, and the eighth-snowiest by average annual snowfall. The mountain runs just six chairlifts and only two detachables. Beginner terrain is limited. A-Basin has no base area lodging, and in fact not much of a base area at all. Altitude, already an issue for the Colorado ski tourist, is amplified here, where the lifts spin from nearly 11,000 feet. A-Basin should, like Bridger Bowl in Montana (upstream from Big Sky) or Red River in New Mexico (across the mountain from Taos) or Sunlight in Colorado (parked between Aspen and I-70), be mostly unknown beside its heralded big-name neighbors (Keystone, Breck, Copper).And it sort of is, but also sort of isn't. Like tiny (826-acre) Aspen Mountain, A-Basin transcends its statistical profile. Skiers know it, seek it, travel for it, cross it off their lists like a snowy Eiffel Tower. Unlike Aspen, A-Basin has no posse of support mountains, no grided downtown spilling off the lifts, no Kleenex-level brand that stands in for skiing among non-skiers. And yet Vail tried buying the bump in 1997, and Alterra finally did in 2024. Meanwhile, nearby Loveland, bigger, taller, snowier, higher, easier to access with its trip-off-the-interstate parking lots, is still ignored by tourists and conglomerates alike.Weird. What explains A-Basin's pull? Onetime and future Storm guest Jackson Hogen offers, in his Snowbird Secrets book, an anthropomorphic explanation for that Utah powder dump's aura: As it turns out, everyone has a story for how they came to discover Snowbird, but no one knows the reason. Some have the vanity to think they picked the place, but the wisest know the place picked them.That is the secret that Snowbird has slipped into our subconscious; deep down, we know we were summoned here. We just have to be reminded of it to remember, an echo of the Platonic notion that all knowledge is remembrance. In the modern world we are so divorced from our natural selves that you would think we'd have lost the power to hear a mountain call us. And indeed we have, but such is the enormous reach of this place that it can still stir the last seed within us that connects us to the energy that surrounds us every day yet we do not see. The resonance of that tiny, vibrating seed is what brings us here, to this extraordinary place, to stand in the heart of the energy flow.Yeah I don't know, Man. We're drifting into horoscope territory here. But I also can't explain why we all like to do This Dumb Thing so much that we'll wrap our whole lives around it. So if there is some universe force, what Hogen calls “vibrations” from Hidden Peak's quartz, drawing skiers to Snowbird, could there also be some proton-kryptonite-laserbeam s**t sucking us all toward A-Basin? If there's a better explanation, I haven't found it.What we talked aboutThe Beach; keeping A-Basin's whole ski footprint open into May; Alterra buys the bump – “we really liked the way Alterra was doing things… and letting the resorts retain their identity”; the legacy of former owner Dream; how hardcore, no-frills ski area A-Basin fits into an Alterra portfolio that includes high-end resorts such as Deer Valley and Steamboat; “you'd be surprised how many people from out of state ski here too”; Ikon as Colorado sampler pack (or not); local reaction to Alterra's purchase – “I think it's fair that there was anxiety”; balancing the wild ski cycle of over-the-top peak days and soft periods; parking reservations; going unlimited on the full Ikon Pass and how parking reservations play in – “we spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about it”; the huge price difference between Epic and Ikon and how that factors into the access calculus; why A-Basin still sells a single-mountain season pass; whether reciprocal partnerships with Monarch and Silverton will remain in place; “I've been amazed at how few things I've been told to do” by Alterra; A-Basin's dirt-cheap early-season pass; why early season is “a more competitive time” than it used to be; why A-Basin left Mountain Collective; Justice Department anti-trust concerns around Alterra's A-Basin purchase – “it never was clear to me what the concerns were”; breaking down A-Basin's latest U.S. Forest Service masterplan – “everything in there, we hope to do”; a parking lot pulse gondola and why that makes sense over shuttles; why A-Basin plans a two-lift system of beginner machines; why should A-Basin care about beginner terrain?; is beginner development is related to Ikon Pass membership?; what it means that the MDP designs for 700 more skiers per day; assessing the Lenawee Express sixer three seasons in; why A-Basin sold the old Lenawee lift to independent Sunlight, Colorado; A-Basin's patrol unionizing; and 100 percent renewable energy.What I got wrong* I said that A-Basin was the only mountain that had been caught up in antitrust issues, but that's inaccurate: when S-K-I and LBO Enterprises merged into American Skiing Company in 1996, the U.S. Justice Department compelled the combined company to sell Cranmore and Waterville Valley, both in New Hampshire. Waterville Valley remains independent. Cranmore stayed independent for a while, and has since 2010 been owned by Fairbank Group, which also owns Jiminy Peak in Massachusetts and operates Bromley, Vermont.* I said that A-Basin's $259 early-season pass, good for unlimited access from opening day through Dec. 25, “was like one day at Vail,” which is sort of true and sort of not. Vail Mountain's day-of lift ticket will hit $230 from Nov. 14 to Dec. 11, then increase to $307 or $335 every day through Christmas. All Resorts Epic Day passes, which would get skiers on the hill for any of those dates, currently sell for between $106 and $128 per day. Unlimited access to Vail Mountain for that full early-season period would require a full Epic Pass, currently priced at $1,121.* This doesn't contradict anything we discussed, but it's worth noting some parking reservations changes that A-Basin implemented following our conversation. Reservations will now be required on weekends only, and from Jan. 3 to May 3, a reduction from 48 dates last winter to 36 for this season. The mountain will also allow skiers to hold four reservations at once, doubling last year's limit of two.Why now was a good time for this interviewOne of the most striking attributes of modern lift-served skiing is how radically different each ski area is. Panic over corporate hegemony power-stamping each child mountain into snowy McDonald's clones rarely survives past the parking lot. Underscoring the point is neighboring ski areas, all over America, that despite the mutually intelligible languages of trail ratings and patrol uniforms and lift and snowgun furniture, and despite sharing weather patterns and geologic origins and local skier pools, feel whole-cut from different eras, cultures, and imaginations. The gates between Alta and Snowbird present like connector doors between adjoining hotel rooms but actualize as cross-dimensional Mario warpzones. The 2.4-mile gondola strung between the Alpine Meadows and Olympic sides of Palisades Tahoe may as well connect a baseball stadium with an opera house. Crossing the half mile or so between the summits of Sterling at Smugglers' Notch and Spruce Peak at Stowe is a journey of 15 minutes and five decades. And Arapahoe Basin, elder brother of next-door Keystone, resembles its larger neighbor like a bat resembles a giraffe: both mammals, but of entirely different sorts. Same with Sugarbush and Mad River Glen, Vermont; Sugar Bowl, Donner Ski Ranch, and Boreal, California; Park City and Deer Valley, Utah; Killington and Pico, Vermont; Highlands and Nub's Nob, Michigan; Canaan Valley and Timberline and Nordic-hybrid White Grass, West Virginia; Aspen's four Colorado ski areas; the three ski areas sprawling across Mt. Hood's south flank; and Alpental and its clump of Snoqualmie sisters across the Washington interstate. Proximity does not equal sameness.One of The Storm's preoccupations is with why this is so. For all their call-to-nature appeal, ski areas are profoundly human creations, more city park than wildlife preserve. They are sculpted, managed, manicured. Even the wildest-feeling among them – Mount Bohemia, Silverton, Mad River Glen – are obsessively tended to, ragged by design.A-Basin pulls an even neater trick: a brand curated for rugged appeal, scaffolded by brand-new high-speed lifts and a self-described “luxurious European-style bistro.” That the Alterra Mountain Company-owned, megapass pioneer floating in the busiest ski county in the busiest ski state in America managed to retain its rowdy rap even as the onetime fleet of bar-free double chairs toppled into the recycling bin is a triumph of branding.But also a triumph of heart. A-Basin as Colorado's Alta or Taos or Palisades is a title easily ceded to Telluride or Aspen Highlands, similarly tilted high-alpiners. But here it is, right beside buffed-out Keystone, a misunderstood mountain with its own wild side but a fair-enough rap as an approachable landing zone for first-time Rocky Mountain explorers westbound out of New York or Ohio. Why are A-Basin and Keystone so different? The blunt drama of A-Basin's hike-in terrain helps, but it's more enforcer than explainer. The real difference, I believe, is grounded in the conductor orchestrating this mad dance.Since Henceroth sat down in the COO chair 20 years ago, Keystone has had nine president-general manager equivalents. A-Basin was already 61 years old in 2005, giving it a nice branding headstart on younger Keystone, born in 1970. But both had spent nearly two decades, from 1978 to 1997, co-owned by a dogfood conglomerate that often marketed them as one resort, and the pair stayed glued together on a multimountain pass for a couple of decades afterward.Henceroth, with support and guidance from the real-estate giant that owned A-Basin in the Ralston-Purina-to-Alterra interim, had a series of choices to make. A-Basin had only recently installed snowmaking. There was no lift access to Zuma Bowl, no Beavers. The lift system consisted of three double chairs and two triples. Did this aesthetic minimalism and pseudo-independence define A-Basin? Or did the mountain, shaped by the generations of leaders before Henceroth, hold some intangible energy and pull, that thing we recognize as atmosphere, culture, vibe? Would The Legend lose its duct-taped edge if it:* Expanded 400 mostly low-angle acres into Zuma Bowl (2007)* Joined Vail Resorts' Epic Pass (2009)* Installed the mountain's first high-speed lift (Black Mountain Express in 2010)* Expand 339 additional acres into the Beavers (2018), and service that terrain with an atypical-for-Colorado 1,501-vertical-foot fixed-grip lift* Exit the Epic Pass following the 2018-19 ski season* Immediately join Mountain Collective and Ikon as a multimountain replacement (2019)* Ditch a 21-year-old triple chair for the mountain's first high-speed six-pack (2022)* Sell to Alterra Mountain Company (2024)* Require paid parking reservations on high-volume days (2024)* Go unlimited on the Ikon Pass and exit Mountain Collective (2025)* Release an updated USFS masterplan that focuses largely on the novice ski experience (2025)That's a lot of change. A skier booted through time from Y2K to October 2025 would examine that list and conclude that Rad Basin had been tamed. But ski a dozen laps and they'd say well not really. Those multimillion upgrades were leashed by something priceless, something human, something that kept them from defining what the mountain is. There's some indecipherable alchemy here, a thing maybe not quite as durable as the mountain itself, but rooted deeper than the lift towers strung along it. It takes a skilled chemist to cook this recipe, and while they'll never reveal every secret, you can visit the restaurant as many times as you'd like.Why you should ski Arapahoe BasinWe could do a million but here are nine:1) $: Two months of early-season skiing costs roughly the same as A-Basin's neighbors charge for a single day. A-Basin's $259 fall pass is unlimited from opening day through Dec. 25, cheaper than a Dec. 20 day-of lift ticket at Breck ($281), Vail ($335), Beaver Creek ($335), or Copper ($274), and not much more than Keystone ($243). 2) Pali: When A-Basin tore down the 1,329-vertical-foot, 3,520-foot-long Pallavicini double chair, a 1978 Yan, in 2020, they replaced it with a 1,325-vertical-foot, 3,512-foot-long Leitner-Poma double chair. It's one of just a handful of new doubles installed in America over the past decade, underscoring a rare-in-modern-skiing commitment to atmosphere, experience, and snow preservation over uphill capacity. 3) The newest lift fleet in the West: The oldest of A-Basin's six chairlifts, Zuma, arrived brand-new in 2007.4) Wall-to-wall: when I flew into Colorado for a May 2025 wind-down, five ski areas remained open. Despite solid snowpack, Copper, Breck, and Winter Park all spun a handful of lifts on a constrained footprint. But A-Basin and Loveland still ran every lift, even over the Monday-to-Thursday timeframe of my visit.5) The East Wall: It's like this whole extra ski area. Not my deal as even skiing downhill at 12,500 feet hurts, but some of you like this s**t:6) May pow: I mean yeah I did kinda just get lucky but damn these were some of the best turns I found all year (skiing with A-Basin Communications Manager Shayna Silverman):7) The Beach: the best ski area tailgate in North America (sorry, no pet dragons allowed - don't shoot the messenger):8) The Beavers: Just glades and glades and glades (a little crunchy on this run, but better higher up and the following day):9) It's a ski area first: In a county of ski resorts, A-Basin is a parking-lots-at-the-bottom-and-not-much-else ski area. It's spare, sparse, high, steep, and largely exposed. Skiers are better at self-selecting than we suppose, meaning the ability level of the average A-Basin skier is more Cottonwoods than Connecticut. That impacts your day in everything from how the liftlines flow to how the bumps form to how many zigzaggers you have to dodge on the down.Podcast NotesOn the dates of my visit We reference my last A-Basin visit quite a bit – for context, I skied there May 6 and 7, 2025. Both nice late-season pow days.On A-Basin's long seasonsIt's surprisingly difficult to find accurate open and close date information for most ski areas, especially before 2010 or so, but here's what I could cobble together for A-Basin - please let me know if you have a more extensive list, or if any of this is wrong:On A-Basin's ownership timelineArapahoe Basin probably gets too much credit for being some rugged indie. Ralston-Purina, then-owners of Keystone, purchased A-Basin in 1978, then added Breckenridge to the group in 1993 before selling the whole picnic basket to Vail in 1997. The U.S. Justice Department wouldn't let the Eagle County operator have all three, so Vail flipped Arapahoe to a Canadian real estate empire, then called Dundee, some months later. That company, which at some point re-named itself Dream, pumped a zillion dollars into the mountain before handing it off to Alterra last year.On A-Basin leaving Epic PassA-Basin self-ejected from Epic Pass in 2019, just after Vail maxed out Colorado by purchasing Crested Butte and before they fully invaded the East with the Peak Resorts purchase. Arapahoe Basin promptly joined Mountain Collective and Ikon, swapping unlimited-access on four varieties of Epic Pass for limited-days products. Henceroth and I talked this one out during our 2022 pod, and it's a fascinating case study in building a better business by decreasing volume.On the price difference between Ikon and Epic with A-Basin accessConcerns about A-Basin hurdling back toward the overcrowded Epic days by switching to Ikon's unlimited tier tend to overlook this crucial distinction: Vail sold a 2018-19 version of the Epic Pass that included unlimited access to Keystone and A-Basin for an early-bird rate of $349. The full 2025-26 Ikon Pass debuted at nearly four times that, retailing for $1,329, and just ramped up to $1,519.On Alterra mountains with their own season passesWhile all Alterra-owned ski areas (with the exception of Deer Valley), are unlimited on the full Ikon Pass and nine are unlimited with no blackouts on Ikon Base, seven of those sell their own unlimited season pass that costs less than Base. The sole unlimited season pass for Crystal, Mammoth, Palisades Tahoe, Steamboat, Stratton, and Sugarbush is a full Ikon Pass, and the least-expensive unlimited season pass for Solitude is the Ikon Base. Deer Valley leads the nation with its $4,100 unlimited season pass. See the Alterra chart at the top of this article for current season pass prices to all of the company's mountains.On A-Basin and Schweitzer pass partnershipsAlterra has been pretty good about permitting its owned ski areas to retain historic reciprocal partners on their single-mountain season passes. For A-Basin, this means three no-blackout days at Monarch and two unguided days at Silverton. Up at Schweitzer, passholders get three midweek days each at Whitewater, Mt. Hood Meadows, Castle Mountain, Loveland, and Whitefish. None of these ski areas are on Ikon Pass, and the benefit is only stapled to A-Basin- or Schweitzer-specific season passes.On the Mountain Collective eventI talk about Mountain Collective as skiing's most exclusive country club. Nothing better demonstrates that characterization than this podcast I recorded at the event last fall, when in around 90 minutes I had conversations with the top leaders of Boyne Resorts, Snowbird, Aspen, Jackson Hole, Sun Valley, Snowbasin, Grand Targhee, and many more.On Mountain Collective and Ikon overlapThe Mountain Collective-Ikon overlap is kinda nutso:On Pennsylvania skiingIn regards to the U.S. Justice Department grilling Alterra on its A-Basin acquisition, it's still pretty stupid that the agency allowed Vail Resorts to purchase eight of the 19 public chairlift-served ski areas in Pennsylvania without a whisper of protest. These eight ski areas almost certainly account for more than half of all skier visits in a state that typically ranks sixth nationally for attendance. Last winter, the state's 2.6 million skier visits accounted for more days than vaunted ski states New Hampshire (2.4 million), Washington (2.3), Montana (2.2), Idaho (2.1). or Oregon (2.0). Only New York (3.4), Vermont (4.2), Utah (6.5), California (6.6), and Colorado (13.9) racked up more.On A-Basin's USFS masterplanNothing on the scale of Zuma or Beavers inbound, but the proposed changes would tap novice terrain that has always existed but never offered a good access point for beginners:On pulse gondolasA-Basin's proposed pulse gondola, should it be built, would be just the sixth such lift in America, joining machines at Taos, Northstar, Steamboat, Park City, and Snowmass. Loon plans to build a pulse gondola in 2026.On mid-mountain beginner centersBig bad ski resorts have attempted to amp up family appeal in recent years with gondola-serviced mid-mountain beginner centers, which open gentle, previously hard-to-access terrain to beginners. This was the purpose of mid-stations off Jackson Hole's Sweetwater Gondola and Big Sky's new-for-this-year Explorer Gondola. A-Basin's gondy (not the parking lot pulse gondola, but the one terminating at Sawmill Flats in the masterplan image above), would provide up and down lift access allowing greenies to lap the new detach quad above it.The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

‘Playboy,' ‘Penthouse' model accused in string of high-end luxury burglaries - https://ktla.com/news/local-news/playboy-penthouse-model-accused-in-string-of-high-end-luxury-burglaries/Missouri Hair Museum's Closing; Tress Collection To Be Scattered Around US - https://www.huffpost.com/entry/missouri-hair-museum-closes-tresses-scattered-across-us_n_68e7cf71e4b0b4458cb74c0c?origin=article-bottom1-nonlifeIndiana couple attacks cat owners & steals cats at Cuyahoga fairgrounds in Berea - https://www.cleveland.com/community/2025/10/indiana-couple-charged-after-attacking-cat-owners-stealing-cats-at-cuyahoga-fairgrounds-in-berea.htmlER Docs Want People To Stop Doing This One Super-Common Thing in the Car - https://www.aol.com/articles/er-docs-want-people-stop-145000250.htmlFriday FailsChinese Woman Swallows 8 Live Frogs To Treat Lower Back Pain. This Happens Next - https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/chinese-woman-swallows-8-live-frogs-to-treat-lower-back-pain-this-happens-next-9420380Naked man accused of chasing Walmart employees around parking lot - https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/nation-world/national/article312440792.htmlTwo Arrested After Netflix Account Dispute Escalates to Shooting in Bexar County - https://www.newsbreak.com/the-bandera-review-323672383/4265693832046-two-arrested-after-netflix-account-dispute-escalates-to-shooting-in-bexar-countyLouisville man is facing charges, accused of impersonating a CIA officer during a traffic stop in the Highlands last week, and other times, as well. - https://www.wlky.com/article/louisville-man-accused-impersonating-cia-officer-traffic-stop/66129138Substitute Teacher Cited After Bringing Cocaine to School - https://people.com/substitute-teacher-receives-citation-after-bringing-cocaine-to-school-police-say-11824412Woman arrested after puppy tips off where she had been hiding drugs - https://www.wvlt.tv/2025/09/17/woman-arrested-after-puppy-tips-off-where-she-had-been-hiding-drugs/Florida firefighter accused of chucking 75 red-stained tampons onto ex-boyfriend's yard - https://nypost.com/2025/10/06/us-news/florida-firefighter-accused-of-chucking-75-red-stained-tampons-onto-ex-boyfriends-yard/‘He put it up the exit ramp': Florida man with long rap sheet caught hiding thermos inside body, sheriff says - https://wsvn.com/news/local/florida/he-put-it-up-the-exit-ramp-florida-man-with-long-rap-sheet-caught-hiding-thermos-inside-body-sheriff-says/Fan sues LeBron James over ‘second decision' - https://ktla.com/entertainment/fan-sues-lebron-james-over-second-decision/SportsFive observations from Blues' opening-night loss: No net-front presence, Mailloux shakySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this uplifting Soulful Valley Podcast episode, Katie Carey speaks with Sally, a crofter, single mum by choice, entrepreneur, and star of BBC Scotland's This Farming Life (Series 7). Sally shares her journey from chronic illness and burnout to consciously creating the life she truly wanted—running her own croft in the Highlands, raising her son William, and building multiple income streams from farming with creativity, resilience, and humour. We explore:

Welcome back, book besties!