Episodes

  • Seasons by the Sea | Grey Seals at Blakeney Point (Classic)

    Seasons by the Sea | Grey Seals at Blakeney Point (Classic)
    Jan 9 2025
    *The National Trust Podcast is changing.* From March 2025 the National Trust Podcast will look different so we can bring you more immersive stories in Nature, History and Adventure. Stay on this stream for our new nature podcast, 'The Wild World Of…' and look out for our new history podcast, 'Back When'. Remember to follow your favourite shows from National Trust Podcasts to be the first to hear new episodes as they arrive.

    In this classic episode, experience life on Blakeney Point in Norfolk as it transforms throughout the year. From the mass arrival of seal pups in winter to the noisy feathered-frenzy of summer, discover how a remote stretch of shingle coastline is home to some of the UK's most unique marine wildlife.

    [Ad] Open the door to more with a National Trust membership. As well as free entry and parking at over 500 places we care for, you’ll receive:
    • Access to our online Members’ Area, full of exclusive member-only content,
    • A yearly handbook packed with visit inspiration,
    • And our award-winning member magazine 3 times a year. Now also available digitally.
    Become a National Trust member:
    nationaltrust.org.uk/become-a-member.
    For a taste of the digital magazine, visit nationaltrust.org.uk/historic-recipes, or if you're a member and you'd like to switch, look for My Account on the website.

    Production
    Host and Producer: Michelle Douglass
    Sound editor: Jesus Gomez

    Discover more
    Please follow our seal-spotting guidance
    nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/nature/wildlife/seal-spotting-guidance

    Find out more about visiting Blakeney National Nature Reserve
    nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/norfolk/blakeney-national-nature-reserve

    Read about the Sea Mammal Research Unit’s work
    www.smru.st-andrews.ac.uk

    Follow the National Trust Podcast on your favourite podcast app.     If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected with the National Trust, you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk
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    23 mins
  • Victoria, Albert and the Christmas Tree Trend

    Victoria, Albert and the Christmas Tree Trend
    Dec 19 2024
    In 1848 an image of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their children decorating an evergreen caused a sensation, and sparked a Christmas tree trend in Britain.

    Many people began to bring trees into their homes and decorate them with homemade ornaments, sweet treats and naked candles tied with ribbons.

    The Victorians can be credited with inventing our modern Christmas. In this episode, Clara Woolford, Curator at Cragside in Northumberland, takes us to the mid 1800s to discover how the “Cult of Christmas” and the centrepiece, the Christmas Tree, entered into millions of homes.

    Discover more
    See the UK's tallest living Christmas tree, a 42m giant redwood at Cragside, Northumberland:
    nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/north-east/cragside/christmas-at-cragside

    Read about the history of the Christmas tree:
    www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/history/queen-victoria-christmas-tree

    [Ad from our sponsor] This podcast episode is sponsored by family history website Findmypast. What was life like for domestic servants, workers and local communities at our most fascinating heritage sites? Discover how people from all walks of life lived and worked, and who with, in hundreds of census records, for free, by signing up with Findmypast. And find out about the free trial that you could use to explore your family history. See where the past takes you at: findmypast.co.uk/national-trust

    The National Trust Podcast is changing
    In spring 2025 we'll be changing the National Trust Podcast to bring you more immersive stories in Nature, History and Adventure. Stay on this stream for our new Nature Podcast The Wild World Of… and look out for our new History podcast Back When. Remember to subscribe or follow either show in your favourite podcast app to be the first to hear new stories when they arrive.

    Production:
    Host and producer: Michelle Douglass
    Sound Editor: Jesus Gomez

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    16 mins
  • World Heritage Heroes | Saving History in Cairo & Norfolk

    World Heritage Heroes | Saving History in Cairo & Norfolk
    Dec 5 2024
    Heritage sites like the medieval palace Bayt Al Razzaz in Egypt and the picturesque Blickling estate in the UK, are under threat from climate change.
    What connects these vastly different places? And what can the guardians of these historic treasures learn from each other as they battle extreme weather, social upheaval and other challenges?

    Discover the global fight to protect our heritage.

    You can watch a video of this podcast on National Trust Youtube:
    https://ntpodcasts.org/Video

    [Ad] Open the door to more with a National Trust membership. As well as free entry and parking at over 500 places we care for, you’ll receive:
    • Access to our online Members’ Area, full of exclusive member-only content,
    • A yearly handbook packed with visit inspiration,
    • And our award-winning member magazine 3 times a year. Now also available digitally.
    Become a National Trust member:
    nationaltrust.org.uk/become-a-member.
    For a taste of the digital magazine, visit nationaltrust.org.uk/historic-recipes, or if you're a member and you'd like to switch, look for My Account on the website.

    Production
    Host: James Grasby and Jesse Edbrooke
    Producers: Jesse Edbrooke
    Sound Design: Jesus Gomez

    Further Information
    INTO - The International National Trusts Organisation
    https://www.into.org/

    Withstanding Climate Change
    https://www.into.org/withstanding-change-project/

    Blickling and Bayt Al Razzaz in partnership
    https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/norfolk/blickling-estate/blickling-estate-twins-with-bayt-al-razzaz-in-cairo

    If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected with the National Trust, you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk
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    28 mins
  • Surfing in the North Sea | An Unimaginable Dream

    Surfing in the North Sea | An Unimaginable Dream
    Nov 21 2024
    As a wheelchair user, Melissa rarely has the opportunity of spending time on the beach with the rest of her family; and an activity for them all in the water together was unimaginable.
    But an ‘adaptive surfing for families’ session in South Shields in the North East, changed everything.
    You can watch a video of this podcast on National Trust Youtube:
    https://ntpodcasts.org/Video

    [Ad] Open the door to more with a National Trust membership. As well as free entry and parking at over 500 places we care for, you’ll receive:
    • Access to our online Members’ Area, full of exclusive member-only content,
    • A yearly handbook packed with visit inspiration,
    • And our award-winning member magazine 3 times a year. Now also available digitally.
    Become a National Trust member:
    nationaltrust.org.uk/become-a-member.
    For a taste of the digital magazine, visit nationaltrust.org.uk/historic-recipes, or if you're a member and you'd like to switch, look for My Account on the website.

    Production:
    Host: Claire Hickinbotham
    Producer: Katy Kelly
    Sound Design: Jesus Gomez

    Discover More:
    Find out more about South Shields Surf:
    southshieldsurf.co.uk

    Learn about Team England Para:
    Adaptive/Para - Surfing England

    If you’d like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected with the National Trust, you can contact us at: podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk


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    19 mins
  • Isaac Newton | The Gravity of Good Friends

    Isaac Newton | The Gravity of Good Friends
    Nov 7 2024
    Sir Isaac Newton is best known for coming up with the theory of gravity while relaxing in his orchard, thanks to an apple that fell beside him one afternoon – helping him to unravel one of the universe's great mysteries. But that story is only a small part of the tale...
    Heather Birkett delves into one of the greatest minds of all time. Discover how a friendship with astronomer Edmund Halley helped to bring Isaac's ideas to the world and beyond.

    [Ad from our sponsor]
    This episode is supported by Blue Diamond Garden Centres. Fill your space with beauty and heritage with a collection of bulbs, seeds and plants, curated by Blue Diamond Garden Centres working with National Trust gardeners. A minimum of 10% of the retail selling price will be given to support the National Trust’s conservation work and ambitions to plant and establish 20 million trees by 2030.
    https://www.bluediamond.gg/national-trust

    Production
    Host: Heather Birkett
    Producers: Jack Glover and Michelle Douglass
    Sound Design: Jesus Gomez

    Discover more
    This episode continues the story from a previous release 'Pips in Space | Featuring Tim Peake'. You could listen to that episode and hear more about the Newton Trees:
    https://bit.ly/NTPod81

    Find out more about Woolsthorpe Manor
    www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/nottinghamshire-lincolnshire/woolsthorpe-manor

    Read a biography about Sir Issac Newton
    www.newtonproject.ox.ac.uk/

    If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected with the National Trust, you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk
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    18 mins
  • Ghost Stories | Murder in the Castle

    Ghost Stories | Murder in the Castle
    Oct 17 2024
    On 18th March AD 978 at Corfe Castle in Dorset, a 16-year-old boy was brutally stabbed in the back and died shortly after. That boy was the teenage king, Edward the Martyr. But who was the murderer, or murderers?
    Join James Grasby and author Anna Groves on this Halloween historical Whodunnit, as they try and figure out who committed the regicide, with the help of some other worldly encounters.

    [Ad from our sponsor] This podcast episode is sponsored by family history website Findmypast. What was life like for domestic servants, workers and local communities at our most fascinating heritage sites? Discover how people from all walks of life lived and worked, and who with, in hundreds of census records, for free, by signing up with Findmypast. And find out about the free trial that you could use to explore your family history. See where the past takes you at: findmypast.co.uk/national-trust

    Watch a video of this podcast on the National Trust’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@nationaltrustcharity/podcasts

    Production
    Hosts : James Grasby and Anna Groves
    Producers : Pippa Tilbury-Harris and Nikki Ruck
    Sound Design: Jesus Gomez
    Actor voices :
    Caitlin Packer, Ethan Hughes, Louise Bray, Mark Powell courtesy of Prime Theatre

    Discover More
    If you’d like to read more about the ghosts of the National Trust, you can purchase Anna Groves’ book, ‘Britain’s Ghosts’ here:
    https://shop.nationaltrust.org.uk/national-trust-britain-s-ghosts.html

    To find out more about Corfe Castle including details for visiting, please click here: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/dorset/corfe-castle

    If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected with the National Trust, you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk
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    24 mins
  • New Kids' Podcast | Ranger Rae and the Wildlifers

    New Kids' Podcast | Ranger Rae and the Wildlifers
    Oct 16 2024
    Join the adventures of Ranger Rae and the Wildlifers, the new kids' podcast from the National Trust.

    Introducing the Wildlifers, a crew of colourful creatures who use their special skills to help where there's trouble in nature.

    Beaver’s a super engineer. Sleepy Bat’s skill is sonar. Wildcat’s a proud predator. Deer’s strong and speedy. Fox has a nose for trouble. Shy Mole’s an expert digger, and Dragonfly’s always buzzing.

    Ranger Rae’s the leader and can understand animals. And 12-year-old Apprentice Roxy dreams of becoming a real Ranger and being able to talk to wildlife too.

    From catching an escaped pet rat on a remote island, to solving the mystery of a giant bat in a cave, or tracking a thief through city streets, the gang are put to the test in their quests to help the natural world.

    Uncover stories of adventure and discovery with friends in the wild world.

    Perfect for 5-8 year olds.

    Ranger Rae and the Wildlifers is a podcast from the National Trust, produced by Fun Kids Radio. Artwork (c) Becka Moor.

    Follow and listen to Ranger Rae and the Wildlifers via mobile on your favourite podcast app:
    podfollow.com/national-trust-kids-podcast

    Head to the National Trust Kids' Podcast website: nationaltrust.org.uk/kids-podcast
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    1 min
  • WWII ‘Brown Babies’ | A Hidden History

    WWII ‘Brown Babies’ | A Hidden History
    Oct 10 2024
    Historian David Olusoga tells the story of the children born to white British mothers and black American servicemen during the Second World War, dubbed Britain’s ‘Brown Babies’ in the African American press at the time.
    Carol and Ann, now in their 80s, revisit their childhood home, Holnicote House in Somerset. During the 1940s, the building was used for the care of around 30 children of black GIs, from birth to the age of five.

    Carol and Ann were among some 2000 children born in wartime Britain to black GI fathers and white British mothers. Under many pressures including social prejudice and US legislation banning interracial marriage, around half of these children were placed into care.

    David also meets experts Prof Lucy Bland and Dr Chamion Caballero, to reveal this little-known history of the Second World War, and how modern DNA testing is helping families search for lost relatives 80 years later.

    You can watch a video of this podcast on National Trust YouTube: ntpodcasts.org/NTP143Video

    Production
    Host: David Olusoga
    Producer: Michelle Douglass
    Sound editor: Jesus Gomez
    Consultants: Lucy Bland, Professor of Social and Cultural History at Anglia Ruskin University, and Dr Chamion Caballero, Director and Co-Founder of The Mixed Museum

    Discover more

    Find out more about Britain’s ‘Brown Babies’ and hear oral histories, including more from Ann:
    https://mixedmuseum.org.uk/brown-babies/
    Explore the experiences of WWII black GIs in the UK:
    https://mixedmuseum.org.uk/brown-babies/black-gis-in-britain/
    Read Britain’s ‘Brown Babies’ by Professor Lucy Bland:
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Britains-%60Brown-Babies-Stories-Children/dp/1526133261
    Discover the Holnicote Estate’s diverse countryside, wildlife and walkways, looked after by the National Trust
    https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/somerset/countryside-woodland/explore-holnicote-estate
    Visit the Holnicote House hotel website:
    https://www.hfholidays.co.uk/country-houses/locations/selworthy-exmoor

    If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected with the National Trust, you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk

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    24 mins