CountrySlide

Nigel Vardy is an outdoorsman in every sense of the word; he grew up in the Peak District fishing for his dinner and hunting for his tea and exploring the woodlands around his home. He is now an accomplished mountaineer, adventurer and motivational speaker who recounts how he lost his fingers, toes and nose to frostbite after the weather closed in on an attempt to summit Denali in Alaska.Richard P and Nigel talk through topics ranging from sizing footwear with no toes, the crossover between mountaineering and field sports, respect for our countryside and wildlife, and the psychology of recovery.CountrySlide is a podcast that looks at farming, conservation and life in the British countryside.Send us photos of your interesting trinkets that your other half wants to burn or bin as submissions to the calendar or for fun at: contact@countryslide.co.uk Links- Nigel's website- Frostbitten on Amazon Prime- Nigel on social media: X, Facebook, Instagram / more rural Instagram and Youtube- Buxton Mountain Rescue Team- Subscribe on Patreon for extra content (you can cancel at any time)- If you enjoy what we do, consider a one-off tip on Ko-fi- CountrySlide website- Negus' book tour dates can be found hereThe HostsRichard Negus websiteCallum McInerney-Riley websiteRichard Prideaux websiteEdited and Produced by Amy Green for Rural and Outdoor.

We catch up with Richard, Callum and Richard after a couple of weeks apart and explore what £35 million could achieve if spent on improving things for British wildlife. Richard P talks about some of the current funding available and the Pittman-Robertson act, whilst Richard N champions gathering baseline data and Callum provides a parent's perspective.CountrySlide is a podcast that looks at farming, conservation and life in the British countryside.Send us photos of your interesting trinkets that your other half wants to burn or bin as submissions to the calendar or for fun at: contact@countryslide.co.uk Links- Richard Prideaux's Mast Year article- Lemur article- Pittman-Robertson Act- Subscribe on Patreon for extra content (you can cancel at any time)- If you enjoy what we do, consider a one-off tip on Ko-fi- CountrySlide website- Negus' book tour dates can be found hereThe HostsRichard Negus websiteCallum McInerney-Riley websiteRichard Prideaux websiteEdited and Produced by Amy Green for Rural and Outdoor.

We welcomed 2 guests on this weeks episode, Cat Frampton and Richard's mother A.A Prideaux.Cat talks with Richard and Richard about the England Peat Map released in May 2025 and the problems and errors which have designated reservoirs, walls, hedges and rocky outcroppings as deep peat. We did record for a full hour with Cat, but due to technical issues it sadly only recorded Negus and Prideaux for the last 45 minutes and then blank space where once there was informative content from Cat. Don't worry - we'll invite her back on with a more stable connection!For the second half of this episode Richard Prideaux interviews his mother about rural life in the 60s, 70s and 80s - they talk about the number of people, nature of community, poverty, and a few anecdotes from Richard's childhood.CountrySlide is a podcast that looks at farming, conservation and life in the British countryside.Send us photos of your interesting trinkets that your other half wants to burn or bin as submissions to the calendar or for fun at: contact@countryslide.co.uk Links- Cat Frampton website- Cat on X- AA Prideaux website- Subscribe on Patreon for extra content (you can cancel at any time)- If you enjoy what we do, consider a one-off tip on Ko-fi- CountrySlide website- Negus' book tour dates can be found hereThe HostsRichard Negus websiteCallum McInerney-Riley websiteRichard Prideaux websiteEdited and Produced by Amy Green for Rural and Outdoor.

The gang are back together and taking every detour available. They shatter our image of Richard Negus, take us down a tangent around the perceptions of traditional management activities vs modern land management and question whether Callum's job is in fact real - hair and makeup for the double decker bus please!Finally we talk about favourite trees, from historical Oaks to rare Black Poplar and the trees which hold meaning. If you have a favourite tree or species of tree we would love to hear from you!CountrySlide is a podcast that looks at farming, conservation and life in the British countryside.Send us photos of your interesting trinkets that your other half wants to burn or bin as submissions to the calendar or for fun at: contact@countryslide.co.uk Links- Subscribe on Patreon for extra content (you can cancel at any time)- If you enjoy what we do, consider a one-off tip on Ko-fi- CountrySlide website- Negus' book tour dates can be found hereThe HostsRichard Negus websiteCallum McInerney-Riley websiteRichard Prideaux websiteEdited and Produced by Amy Green for Rural and Outdoor.

The Mullet is our small rural business and marketing advice mini-series, brought to you by Richard P and Callum of CountrySlide.Gareth from Wales (which isn't on another planet as Callum likes to believe) has written in asking whether it is too late to build up a brand for his hobby business and transform it into a real money maker.Callum and Richard weigh up the pros and cons of turning something you love into a job and discuss what Gareth could do to develop his love of walking sticks and wood carving into something more substantial.If you have a question, please DM us or send an email on contact@countryslide.co.uk

This week Callum couldn't make it so we've brought in a stunt double in the form of Poor Producer Amy. Together the Richards and Amy talk about the signs of Autumn - everything from bats to hedges, fruits to frosts!The trio also discuss a recent article about the decline of birds and the state of wildlife recording overall.CountrySlide is a podcast that looks at farming, conservation and life in the British countryside.Send us photos of your interesting trinkets that your other half wants to burn or bin as submissions to the calendar or for fun at: contact@countryslide.co.uk Links- Amy on X and Instagram- Subscribe on Patreon for extra content (you can cancel at any time)- If you enjoy what we do, consider a one-off tip on Ko-fi- CountrySlide website- Negus' book tour dates can be found hereThe HostsRichard Negus websiteCallum McInerney-Riley websiteRichard Prideaux websiteEdited and Produced by Amy Green for Rural and Outdoor.

This week we interview Matt (Aspect Forestry and Rural Management) and Nick (Kilmaha Forestry) about what actually happens in forestry and the moves in the last 20 years away from bare monocultures and towards more diverse and sensitive plantations.We cover every stage of forestry and the consideration taken for nature, from planting and selective weeding through to after care and harvesting of timber with minimal ground damage, and the benefits of using timber over other Carbon expensive materials like steel and concrete.Finally the guys talk about the industry as a whole and the impact that vilification of a sector can have on the mental health of the humans within it.CountrySlide is a podcast that looks at farming, conservation and life in the British countryside.Send us photos of your interesting trinkets that your other half wants to burn or bin as submissions to the calendar or for fun at: contact@countryslide.co.uk Links- The video launching the sector-wide mental health initiative- Matt on X , bluesky and Aspect Forestry website- Nick on X and Kilmaha Forestry website- Forestry Contracting Association- Subscribe on Patreon for extra content (you can cancel at any time)- Richard Negus interview on YouTube- If you enjoy what we do, consider a one-off tip on Ko-fi- CountrySlide website- Negus' book tour dates can be found hereThe HostsRichard Negus websiteCallum McInerney-Riley websiteRichard Prideaux websiteEdited and Produced by Amy Green for Rural and Outdoor.

Access to nature and an increase of arable land going into environmental schemes are the hot topics this week.A recent study has shown that 42.3% of farmers across the UK reduced their cropped arable area to take part in agri-environment schemes for harvest 2025, with the majority being in the South East and East of England where less productive and marginal ground which is difficult to access with machinery are being put into schemes to improve profitability and help the environment.Meanwhile a Labour-led all-party parliamentary group has released a report which concludes that there is not enough access to nature in England and calling for greater access to nature, particularly inland waters. There is also a push for improving accessibility of existing rights of way by removing stiles and replacing with inclusive alternatives.Richard and Richard discuss these topics, the deeper meanings and their potential impacts on rural spaces and our wildlife.CountrySlide is a podcast that looks at farming, conservation and life in the British countryside.Links- Environmental scheme study- Helena Horton's article about access to blue spaces- More information on the All-party parliamentary group and their recent report- Subscribe on Patreon for extra content (you can cancel at any time)- If you enjoy what we do, consider a one-off tip on Ko-fi- CountrySlide website- Negus' book tour dates can be found hereThe HostsRichard Negus websiteCallum McInerney-Riley websiteRichard Prideaux websiteEdited and Produced by Amy Green for Rural and Outdoor.

A download of information about the fantastic Hedgerow Fest in Ireland, what the recent changes in government could mean for rural communities, and how Wild Justice can sometimes be an ally.Callum eventually turns up after a day of no signal and horse shenanigans to disrupt things!CountrySlide is a podcast that looks at farming, conservation and life in the British countryside.Send us photos of your interesting trinkets that your other half wants to burn or bin as submissions to the calendar or for fun at: contact@countryslide.co.uk Links- Hedgerow fest- Subscribe on Patreon for extra content (you can cancel at any time)- Richard Negus interview on YouTube- If you enjoy what we do, consider a one-off tip on Ko-fi- CountrySlide website- Negus' book tour dates can be found hereThe HostsRichard Negus websiteCallum McInerney-Riley websiteRichard Prideaux websiteEdited and Produced by Amy Green for Rural and Outdoor.

The Mullet is our small rural business and marketing advice mini-series, brought to you by Richard P and Callum of CountrySlide.Whilst feeding us with Pheasant burgers hot off the grill at the Game Fair, Hugo asked how to tell when it's time to grow some balls and quit the day job to focus entirely on the side hustle/passion project/own business.Whether your thing is smoking meat or laying hedges (or both) there are a few things to think about before throwing everything that you've got into it.Hugo can be found on Instagram @thegamegluttonIf you have a question for the podcast, please DM us or send an email on contact@countryslide.co.uk

After a month off from regular podcast recording, we've wrangled Richard N and Callum into giving us the lowdown on what they did over the summer holidays. Callum has been to France in search of fine food, family friendly lakes and adventures with his son. Meanwhile Richard has been learning more about the wider nature writing audience through his book tour.CountrySlide is a podcast that looks at farming, conservation and life in the British countryside.Send us photos of your interesting trinkets that your other half wants to burn or bin as submissions to the calendar or for fun at: contact@countryslide.co.uk Links- Richard P's wild camping article on Scribehound- Hedgerow fest- Subscribe on Patreon for extra content (you can cancel at any time)- If you enjoy what we do, consider a one-off tip on Ko-fi- CountrySlide website- Negus' book tour dates can be found hereThe HostsRichard Negus websiteCallum McInerney-Riley websiteRichard Prideaux websiteEdited and Produced by Amy Green for Rural and Outdoor.

The Mullet is our small rural business and marketing advice mini-series, brought to you by Richard P and Callum of CountrySlide.This episode we answer a question from Danum Blades about how to get around the meta algorithm which appears to be slowing his growth on social media as a craftsman who makes and sells knives.You can give Alan a follow over on @DanumbladesIf you have a question, please DM us or send an email on contact@countryslide.co.uk

We sat down with Nick Von Westenholz CEO of the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust and had a conversation about what it has been like for him so far, the challenges facing rural wildlife and landowners and managers in 2025, the function of conservation organisations and plans for GWCT in the future.This episode was recorded on the GWCT stand at The Game Fair with a backdrop of lively chatter and burgers being cooked.CountrySlide is a podcast that looks at farming, conservation and life in the British countryside.Send us photos of your interesting trinkets that your other half wants to burn or bin as submissions to the calendar or for fun at: contact@countryslide.co.uk Links- GWCT- Subscribe on Patreon for extra content (you can cancel at any time)- If you enjoy what we do, consider a one-off tip on Ko-fi- CountrySlide website- Negus' book tour dates can be found hereThe HostsRichard Negus websiteCallum McInerney-Riley websiteRichard Prideaux websiteEdited and Produced by Amy Green for Rural and Outdoor.

A little bonus episode in the form of Richard interviewing Richard about hedgelaying and his book live on stage at FolkEast. There's even a little preview of what the audiobook might sound like!CountrySlide is a podcast that looks at farming, conservation and life in the British countryside.Send us photos of your interesting trinkets that your other half wants to burn or bin as submissions to the calendar or for fun at: contact@countryslide.co.uk Links- Subscribe on Patreon for extra content (you can cancel at any time)- If you enjoy what we do, consider a one-off tip on Ko-fi- CountrySlide website- Negus' book tour dates can be found hereThe HostsRichard Negus websiteCallum McInerney-Riley websiteRichard Prideaux websiteEdited and Produced by Amy Green for Rural and Outdoor.

Richard P sat down with Avian Sandercock - regular cohost of the Guns on Pegs podcast, ex-gin distiller, current gin drinker, woodland manager and proud Cornish man.The pair talk about Cornwall's different coastlines and Avian's struggle to find local apple trees, experimenting with gin flavours - Clotted cream infused gin anyone?, and the realities of being in a syndicate shoot and managing a small woodland. The conversation flows from topic to topic like a river full of pools and gives vibes of a pub chat between friends.This episode was recorded on the Guns on Pegs stand at The Game Fair with a backdrop of chatter, drinks and George Browne's faded Salmon shorts.CountrySlide is a podcast that looks at farming, conservation and life in the British countryside.CountrySlide is a podcast that looks at farming, conservation and life in the British countryside.Send us photos of your interesting trinkets that your other half wants to burn or bin as submissions to the calendar or for fun at: contact@countryslide.co.uk Links- Subscribe on Patreon for extra content (you can cancel at any time)- If you enjoy what we do, consider a one-off tip on Ko-fi- Avian's Instagram- Avian's YouTube channel - A Year in the Woods- CountrySlide website- Negus' book tour dates can be found hereThe HostsRichard Negus websiteCallum McInerney-Riley websiteRichard Prideaux websiteEdited and Produced by Amy Green for Rural and Outdoor.