nature – Edge of England

Welcome to the first of a new batch of Edge of England episodes, exploring people and place along this curious, glorious stretch of coastline. We kick off season three with a very personal episode inspired by the wellbeing weekend that the lovely people at East Sussex libraries are having for Mental Health Awareness Week. In our first walk together for quite some time, Cole and Emily take a route skirting the very edge of the South Downs above Eastbourne and it all gets quite confessional. Plug in your ears, feel the wind in your hair and come along for a stroll as we reflect on the saving power of nature, big skies, and the mysterious draw of the ‘sky pool’.

The skypool we talk about in this episode

Lockdown might have stopped us humans spreading our wings over the past year, but it hasn’t stopped the birds making their incredible journeys. A rare bearded vulture was seen soaring over the chalk cliffs back in the Autumn and white-tailed eagles from the Isle of Wight have been spotted over Beachy Head recently. The eagles were photographed by a man called Beachy Birder, whose blog and Twitter feed are fascinating even if you’re even just a little bit interested in birds and their interaction with this windswept stretch of Sussex coastline. We join Beachy Birder up on the headland to explore the wonders of nature and the nature of obsession. Have you seen Detectorists? This is a bit like that, with wings.

Tag: nature

The Saving Power of Nature

The Birds