An Orkney Shipwreck, A Rare Moth and Aspen Trees

Scotland Outdoors

The rare Dark Bordered Beauty moth is found in only two sites in Scotland and one in England. Mark joins Dark Bordered Beauty Moth Champion Pete Moore at RSPB Insh Marshes nature reserve to find out more about attempts to reintroduce the moth to other areas in Scotland.

Dark Bordered Beauty moths in Scotland are reliant on aspen suckers - shoots that sprout from the roots of an aspen tree, acting as a form of vegetative reproduction. Mark catches up with Conservation Manager Shaila Rao at Mar Lodge Estate in the Cairngorms to discover how the team are restoring aspen in the area.

Rachel is in Dornoch to meet a group of women training for the traditional heavy events at the Highland Games.

Mark and Rachel have a wander with David Coid and local historian Alasdair Malcolm on the coast of Prestwick, Ayrshire to explore a group of Grade-A listed houses built in the 1700s for the salt boiling industry.

Phil Sime heads to a Creative Summer School with Cairngorms Connect to discover how the project helps local school children to explore art and creativity through different landscapes, habitats and species.

Ben Saunders, Senior Marine Archaeologist at Wessex Archaeology, returns to the programme to update the team on exciting new information on the identity of the shipwreck found on Sanday, Orkney last year.

Rachel meets Andrew Bateman who runs hiking tours in the Cairngorms with the comfort of a heated Nordic tipi at night. Andrew’s highland ponies join the trek to carry the camping equipment.

Mark and Rachel have a gander around Girvan as they continue to explore the Whithorn Way pilgrimage.