The team at 'Whats Special About' is passionate about exploring highways and byways. Giving you lots of treats by way of facts and anecdotes about the region and the routes you travel.
Director Lesley Gosling has a background in Public Relations where she has worked for 26 years, mainly in the North East. She attributes her love of the countryside to her parents, who could never sit still at weekends when she was a child. Armed with maps and picnics, the three of them would tour the roads in search of new discoveries. It might be finding fluorspar in the Wear Valley; the Electric Brae in Scotland; the coast at Newton by the Sea or sitting watching dragonflies on a stream near Blanchland. The domestic larder in the caves in Somerset, the narrow gauge railway in Snowdonia and the sky at night-wherever they pitched a tent. It all helped heighten her curiosity about wildlife, landscape and the people who live and work within it.
Historian and broadcaster John Grundy was born in the West but has lived in the East for the past 45 years. To people in the North East he needs little introduction as he has been the face - and the voice - behind many radio and television productions and a number of CDs. His knowledge of famous and obscure buildings in the region is boundless and so is his energy. Here, he shares his passion for the landscape and takes the listener along some of the stunning routes which perfectly illustrate the variety of scenery forged by nature, industry and the buildings, both secular and religious, which define the region.
Producer Steve Robins, from Gloucestershire, has a regional television background. However, he too, is now firmly stuck in the North East and has worked with John Grundy many times in the past.
The mellifluous tones of Marian Foster knit together the tracks on the CD. Marian is another noted BBC broadcaster and newsreader and her media experience is invaluable in creating a seamless journey for the listener.