Blood Sucking Leeches, Skittish Whales and Horse Gymnastics

In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast, Mark visits what is believed to be the UK’s largest urban farm. Lauriston Agroecology farm is on a hundred-acre site near Edinburgh Airport and is a hive of activity. Mark hears how the site has been developed so far.

The Highland Wildlife Park near Kingussie is well known for its polar bears, wildcats and over recent weeks, its monkeys. But as Rachel found out, it’s also home to an important conservation breeding programme for leeches. Not perhaps the most attractive creatures, Rachel hears how the park look after them and why they are important.

Minke Whales are found across the world and can be spotted in Scotland mainly between July and September. But despite their widespread population, we don’t know much about their lifecycles. Mark meets up with Tim Awbery, a researcher at the Scottish Association for Marine Science to hear about how he’s been carrying out his studies on these elusive whales.

If you’re interested in what whales and dolphins sound like, you might want to explore a new exhibition in Moray. Rachel went along to the Scottish Dolphin Centre at Spey Bay to take a listen to some of the fascinating sounds of cetaceans.

And sticking with whale sounds, we chat live to Dr Denise Risch from the Scottish Association for Marine Science about a recent discovery revealing how baleen whales actually produce their haunting songs.

McCaig’s tower dominates the skyline above Oban. It’s a well-known landmark but not much is actually known about the family for whom it was built. Mark visits the tower with local historian Bob McCulloch to hear more about it.

Alford Valley Community Railway are currently working on restoring an old Aberdeen Tram that was found in Ellon. It was thought that all the trams were burned after the service was discontinued, so Mark was excited to visit and see the restoration work for himself.

Pegasus Vaulting Group, based near Killiecrankie, involves highly skilled gymnasts performing on horseback. An incredibly skilled pastime, Rachel visits the group to see them try out their new vaulting simulator