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PODCAST

Ramblings

Clare Balding and guests share inspiring conversations while walking in the great outdoors.Fresh air and nature, wonderful views and uplifting chat, each week Clare hikes in a different part of our glorious countryside. Walking side by side is the perfect way to cover a huge range of subjects: literature, art, wildlife, nature, taking on personal or physical challenges, dealing with grief, confronting preconceptions about the kind of people who love to ramble. The conversations are as varied as the

society & culture places & travel

All Episodes

24:14

To the World's End, north Wales

Ramblings ·

2022/02/17

Clare hikes through the Eglwyseg Valley in north Wales with two very different characters: Guy Kennaway and Hussein Sharif. The two men became family when Guy’s son married Hussein’s sister. Guy wanted to get to know Hussein better and show him a different side of Britain, so he suggested they go on a long walk. A book followed, ‘Foot Notes’, which describes both the adventure they had attempting to hike forty miles and their developing understanding of each other’s lives and experiences.

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24:07

The Golden Road, Pembrokeshire

Ramblings ·

2022/02/03

Clare explores part of a challenging route in the Preseli Hills taken by hardy cattle drovers who, over generations, would walk herds of two to three hundred animals from Pembrokeshire to livestock markets in London. With her is Nick Gammage who, in the summer of 2021, spent 17 arduous days completing the entire 250 mile trek. They begin their walk at Grid Ref SN075321 and head east along one of the most popular walks in the area, the Golden Road, which stretches for seven miles along the length

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24:06

The Slate Island of Seil

Ramblings ·

2021/10/07

Clare crosses the famous ‘Bridge over the Atlantic’ for a ramble on the island of Seil. Her guide is the writer, educator, and director of the Scottish Centre for Geopoetics, Norrie Bissell. Geopoetics is described as “creatively expressing the earth” and is critical of the western way of thinking which separates humans from the rest of the natural world. Norrie has also published a novel, ‘Barnhill’, about George Orwell’s final years on the relatively nearby Island of Jura where he wrote 1984.

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24:11

Off the Beaten Track on the Island of Iona

Ramblings ·

2021/10/04

Clare is walking on the beautiful island of Iona in today’s Ramblings. One of the Inner Hebrides, Iona is just three miles long by around a mile wide yet punches well above its weight both in terms of scenery and history. Her companion is David Allaway: a keen photographer, founding member of the island’s craft co-operative and a volunteer fire-fighter he also runs guided walking tours. Beginning and ending at the ferry terminal, they circumnavigate the coast at the north end of the island.See

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25:08

Slippy Rocks and Otter Spotting on the Island of Mull

Ramblings ·

2021/09/23

Clare takes on a challenging coastal route from Lochbuie to Carsaig on the island of Mull. Her guide is Wendy Lloyd who – like most islanders – has several strings to her bow. As well as working for Christian Aid, farming pigs on her croft, and hosting visitors in a yurt, she is interested in helping people navigate pilgrimage walking routes across Mull and over to Iona. She tells Clare about all of this as they attempt a long and arduous hike across slippy rocks and through shoulder-high bracken

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24:18

The Turquoise Sea and White Sands of Ardnamurchan

Ramblings ·

2021/09/16

Clare explores a remote and beautiful stretch of coastline between Portuairk and Sanna Bay on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula. Ardnamurchan's far coastline is the most westerly part of the British mainland and has some of Scotland’s most gorgeous beaches. Sanna Bay, in particular, is an expanse of white sand and turquoise seas with views that stretch across to the inner Hebridean islands of Rum, Eigg and Muck. Her guide is Dee Heddon, a Professor of Theatre at the University of Glasgow. She co-created

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24:20

White Stags and Kidney Donation in Fife

Ramblings ·

2021/09/09

Clare is in Fife hiking with John Fletcher who, in 2009, was the first man in Scotland to donate a kidney to a stranger. In another pioneering first, he launched Britain's first commercial deer farm back in 1973. Their route begins on John's farm in Auchtermuchty, surrounded by rare white stags. Walking brings John great joy and he - along with a fellow kidney donor, and a renal nurse – takes Clare on one of his favourite rambles. See the 'related links' section at the bottom of the Ramblings

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24:54

A Sunny Stomp on the Pentland Hills

Ramblings ·

2021/09/02

Clare hikes with the inspirational adventurers Hazel and Luke Robertson on the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh. They are mountain leaders, polar explorers and public speakers with many personal experiences to draw upon. Hazel spent four years of her childhood growing up in Canada and Alaska, which developed her love of the outdoors. At the age of 30, Luke became the first Scot to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole. This was in 2016, just two years after major brain surgery. Both are

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25:02

Urban Ambling in Cultural Coventry

Ramblings ·

2021/06/10

A fascinating wander through Coventry, the 2021 UK City of Culture. Ian Harrabin is a Trustee of the City of Culture so is the perfect guide to lead Clare Balding along a richly historic urban route. He is also Chair of the 'Historic Coventry Trust' which is running a host of projects designed to preserve, and make more accessible, some of the most interesting and little known parts of the city. The walk began at Nauls Mill Park, Coundon Road, Coventry CV1 4AR. Map: OS Explorer 221 Coventry

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24:21

Mallerstang in Cumbria with Debbie North.

Ramblings ·

2021/06/03

Debbie North uses a motorised wheelchair and is a powerful advocate for making the countryside accessible for all. Debbie had always been a keen walker but, in her 40s, was diagnosed with spinal degeneration. Very quickly she became a wheelchair user yet made the decision that this wasn’t going to stop her accessing the countryside that she loves. Today she takes Clare on one of her favourite rambles in Mallerstang. It starts at The Thrang, south of Outhgill. Although officially at the eastern

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25:19

Tales of International Adventure on a Walk in Somerset

Ramblings ·

2021/05/27

Bex Band was not an outdoorsy person, but one day she decided to hike the length of Israel. Whilst there she noticed very few women walking the 1000km National Trail so, on her return, decided to do something about it. She set up Love Her Wild, an organisation that encourages women to become more adventurous. The community now has over 25,000 members. On today’s walk, she takes Clare for a loop around King Alfred’s Tower near the Stourhead Estate, not far from Shepton Mallet in Somerset. As they

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25:28

Screenwriter Kay Mellor at Harewood in Leeds

Ramblings ·

2021/05/20

Kay Mellor is one of our most successful screenwriters. On today's ramble she takes Clare on her favourite route at Harewood House in her home city of Leeds. En route they discuss The Syndicate, Kay's hit drama series on BBC One and the iPlayer, which tells the story of a group of people who have won a huge amount of money on a lottery. Kay also discusses how walking helps her in the writing process, her desire to nurture more new writers, and how she started directing her own work. The

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24:18

Rhiane Fatinikun of Black Girls Hike in the Peak...

Ramblings ·

2021/05/13

Rhiane Fatinikun takes Clare on one of her favourite walks in the Peak District. Starting in Edale they take in Hollins Cross, Lose Hill and Mam Tor. Rhiane set up Black Girls Hike to provide a safe space for black women to explore the countryside. It’s been such a success that there are now three branches: in the North West, the West Midlands and London. As she tells Clare, it’s a way of building confidence and increasing diversity in the outdoors. It's an exhilarating and challenging walk, made

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24:59

Cressida Cowell in West Sussex

Ramblings ·

2021/05/06

The best-selling author Cressida Cowell takes Clare for a nostalgic walk near Chichester in West Sussex. As well as writing the whoppingly successful ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ series, Cressida created ‘The Wizards of Once’ books which draw upon her childhood memories of roaming across the South Downs. She grew up in London but during school holidays would visit her grandparents where she found the freedom of the Sussex countryside intoxicating. Clare and Cressida walk for roughly six miles on a

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24:24

Stained Glass in Minsmere with Arabella Marshall

Ramblings ·

2021/03/25

Glass artist, Arabella Marshall, takes Clare for a walk at Minsmere in Suffolk. Their focus is an old chapel ‘bleak and broken’ which provided Arabella with the inspiration for a major work of art: a new stained-glass window fitted into one of the ruin’s old apertures. It’s a striking modern feature in the abandoned building. The idea came to her when out walking which, alongside her artistic practice, is the thing she loves best in life. She says rambling alone provides creative inspiration and

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24:20

Walking in Sound: Ellie Williams in North Somerset

Ramblings ·

2021/03/18

Sound Recordist, Ellie Williams, takes Clare for an audio-rich wander at Abbots Pool in North Somerset. Walking, she says, is as essential to her as food and sleep and – whether she’s recording, or not – she’s always super-aware of the richness of the sounds around her. En route she contemplates why her profession is still so male-dominated and how it can be opened up to more women. Grid Ref for Abbots Pool Car Park: ST 537 730Producer: Karen Gregor

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24:20

Big Cats! Rick Minter in Gloucestershire

Ramblings ·

2021/03/11

Do big cats roam the British countryside? It’s a long running debate, one that’s never far from the headlines. A few years ago on Ramblings, Clare saw what she described as an “enormous black cat” on a walk near Ross on Wye. Several newspapers followed this up, as did the ‘Big Cat Conversations’ podcast which is hosted by Rick Minter: he set up a camera trap close to Clare’s sighting and made contact with Ramblings. So, for today’s walk, Clare and Rick explore the area around Selsley Common in

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25:28

Reading the Landscape with Mary-Ann Ochota: Pegsdon...

Ramblings ·

2021/03/04

How many times have you been out for a walk and spotted intriguing shapes in the landscape? Your instinct tells you that these dips, hollows, lumps, bumps and oddly shaped stones aren’t natural features, but what on (and under) the earth are they? Mary-Ann Ochota is an anthropologist who writes about these curious archaeological forms and how to understand them. In her book, Hidden Histories, she shows how anyone can become a landscape detective, and start to read the history of the countryside

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24:18

From Solicitor to Sculptor: Simon Gudgeon in Dorset

Ramblings ·

2021/02/25

Simon Gudgeon is one of our leading sculptors, but he didn't practice his art until his mid 40s. He'd worked as a solicitor, a photographer, and a landscape gardener before, one day, picking up a lump of clay to see what he could create. It wasn't long before he knew that sculpting was all he wanted to do. His distinctive creations, often inspired by the natural world, are showcased at his own venture, Sculpture by the Lakes in Dorset. Set in 26 acres and featuring over 40 lake and riverside

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24:15

Oscar winner Gareth Ellis-Unwin on his local...

Ramblings ·

2021/02/18

The Oscar winning producer of The King’s Speech, Gareth Ellis-Unwin, takes Clare on one of his regular rambles from Pangbourne in Berkshire to Goring on Thames in South Oxfordshire. Gareth had an unusual route into film-making and now works with the charity, ScreenSkills, which is trying to make it easier for people of all backgrounds to join the industry. Walking - Gareth says - is vital for the creative process, and he has a lot bubbling under: including a project about the extraordinary

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