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Home > Scotland Outdoors > Rivers, Fossils and Hot Air Balloons


	Podcast:		Scotland Outdoors
	Episode:		Rivers, Fossils and Hot Air Balloons
	Category:		Science & Medicine
	Duration:		01:24:21
	Publish Date:		2025-08-23 11:00:00
	Description:		Mark is back with Heritage Engagement Manager Ingrid Shearer on the banks of the River Clyde to discuss one of Scotland’s first access rights success stories, the case of Harvie’s Dyke. Also on the Clyde, Helen Needham takes a wander with author Louise Welsh and architect Jude Barber, who are asking for recognition of the legal personhood status of the river. Helen and Mark are joined by Chris Romer-Lee who co-founded Swimmable Cities to discuss how we can swim in our urban waterways once more and the benefits of cleaning up our rivers for both people and nature. It’s the 25th edition of the Strathaven Hot Air Balloon Festival this weekend and Mark heads along to find out what it takes to bring 25 hot air balloons together for a show and how they are recovered after they float away with the wind. Festival Secretary Les Hoggan confides that the secret lies in whisky. In an excerpt of the midweek podcast, Helen catches up with Robert Macfarlane at the Edinburgh Festival to talk about the ‘aliveness’ of rivers. How can nature influence more responsible AI systems? Mark finds out when he visits the exhibition Tipping Point: Artists Responses to AI in Edinburgh with Gavin Leuzzi, Lead, Fellowships at Edinburgh University’s Bridging Responsible AI Divides. Ghillie and Manager Iain MacMaster has worked at Finavon Castle Water Estate for 10 years and he knows the land inside out. He takes Mark for a walk of the South Esk River and explains the changes in weather patterns he has been experiencing. Helen learns about the legacy of Scottish geologist Hugh Miller who grew up in Cromarty. She joins Bob Davidson and Sidney Johnston of the Friends of Hugh Miller Society to go fossil hunting on the beach at Cromarty.
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