Ramblings

BBC Radio 4
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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 landscapes we find ourselves in. If there's a recurring theme, it's the accepted truth that 'solvitur ambulando' - 'it is solved through walking': The sense of wellness, the benefits to mental health, easy companionship, or sometimes just the sense of solitude that being alone in nature brings. Few things are better than going for a good walk. That's what we aim to share each week on Ramblings with Clare Balding.

  1. 21 NOV

    Chief Scout Dwayne Fields in Epping Forest

    Clare rambles around Epping Forest with the new Chief Scout, Dwayne Fields. He was appointed in September 2024, taking over from Bear Grylls, and has a wealth of adventure experience under his belt. Dwayne was born in Jamaica and came to the UK at the age of six. He grew up in inner city London and says his formative years were wrapped up in social stigma, and he became a victim of both knife and gun crime. He managed to break away from this culture by spending time in outdoor spaces like Hackney Marshes, rediscovering a love of the outdoors he had felt deeply as a youngster in Jamaica. He remembers watching a TV interview with James Cracknell and Ben Fogle who were looking for a third team member to join a polar expedition. Although by the time he applied he was too late for selection, Dwayne did eventually join another trip and became the first black Briton to trek to the north pole. For Ramblings he leads Clare from the Scout Centre at Gilwell Park into and around Epping Forest. According to the Epping Forest Heritage Trust, it’s the largest open space in London at just over 6000 acres stretching from Manor Park in east London to just north of Epping in Essex. Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

    24 min

  2. 14 NOV

    The Old Lags - Bristol

    Clare joins a long established group as they embark on their 100th walk. Their route takes them from Leigh Woods, under the Clifton Suspension Bridge, and into the heart of Bristol. They call themselves The Old Lags, and every member was responsible during their careers for keeping our lights on and our kettles boiled as employees of the Central Electricity Generating Board. They’re all retired now and David Miller, who runs the Old Lags, is certain they’d have lost touch had it not been for their shared love of a good stomp. Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

    24 min

  3. 7 NOV

    River Itchen - Hampshire

    Clare explores the banks of the River Itchen in Hampshire with Andrew Simkins who has just completed walking around the coast and borders of England. It’s taken him eight years, and it’s been an extraordinary journey in more ways than one. His beloved daughter, Alice, died age 28 in 2016 and he discovered that devoting himself to the process of walking helped him deal with the grief; it gave him a feeling of solace and a sense of connection with her. When people asked him if he was walking alone, he would reply 'I’m often in the best of company’. This isn’t a sad episode of Ramblings, though, it’s very much about the positive impact of walking even in the most awful circumstances, and Andrew is a cheery companion. The route Andrew is sharing with Clare isn’t part of the coast OR borders, but he explains that he chose to divert away from the coast at this point as the Itchen Way appealed to him so much. Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

    24 min

  4. 31 OCT

    Lise Wortley - Woman with Altitude

    Clare meets ‘Woman with Altitude’ Lise Wortley who recreates the adventures of overlooked and forgotten female explorers. As Lise takes Clare on a walk around her childhood village of Boxford in Suffolk, she tells Clare why she doesn’t just follow in the footsteps of these incredible women but even wears the same kind of clothing and footwear. Her latest expedition, in woollen skirts and specially made hob-nail boots, was an attempt to climb Mont Blanc on the same route as the French adventurer, Henriette D'Angeville. In 1838 Henriette was the first woman to summit Mont Blanc unaided, in other words without being lifted across the tricky parts as a previous female walker had done. Lise's adventure didn't work out quite as expected and led to her taking a long and unexpected diversion up a completely different and less well known mountain. Find out more about Lise on her website: www.womanwithaltitude.com/ Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

    24 min

  5. 24 OCT

    Alan Titchmarsh on the Isle of Wight

    Alan Titchmarsh takes Clare Balding for his favourite stroll across Tennyson Down on the Isle of Wight. A keen and regular walker, Alan splits his time between the mainland and the Isle of Wight, and has a lot to share with Clare about this place that he loves. Best known as a TV gardener, interviewer and romantic novelist, Alan grew up in a family that took regular Sunday walks and as a young child developed an affinity for the natural world. Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

    24 min

  6. 17 OCT

    GM Ringway - a new 200-mile walking route

    Clare hikes along a section of the GM Ringway, Greater Manchester’s new walking trail. It’s a 200 mile route split into 20 stages, starting and ending in Manchester city centre. It goes around the edge of the county through all 10 boroughs of the region, and it’s linked with public transport so people can easily access the linear stages. Joining Clare as she walks part of Stage 6, which is Strines to Marple, is Andrew Read whose brilliant idea this was. He was awarded £250k of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to make it happen. The project also depends upon a legion of keen volunteers, several of whom join Clare for today’s walk. One of these is ‘Stage Guardian’ Roz Hughes who explains how important volunteer involvement is to keep the walk maintained in the long term. The starting point of the walk, Strines Station, was described in The Railway Children. Craig Wright joined the group to share his enthusiasm for this classic children’s book, and - while reading a short section - points out aspects of a view that can be recognised from Edith Nesbit's descriptions. Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

    24 min

  7. 10 OCT

    Arsenic and Fish Weirs on the Edge of Dartmoor

    Clare explores the Lower Tavy Valley in Devon with Sharon Gedye a physical geographer who's spent years discovering how the area's rich history has shaped its landscape and people. Sharon takes Clare on a circular walk starting on West Down, on the western edge of Dartmoor, heading down towards the River Tavy and eventually reaching Double Waters, the confluence of the Tavy and Walkham. On the way they see evidence of arsenic mines, copper workings and discuss long forgotten but fascinating fish weirs. One of these, Sharon discovered with the help of court records, was the focus of an unlikely battle in 1280. Sharon is also interested in how humans shape landscape and how landscape shapes us. Thinking of her grandfather, she says: He was a quarry-man on Dartmoor and by picturing him working and polishing the granite, I feel closer to how he experienced the world. Also on the walk are two of Sharon's friends who bring their own areas of expertise to their interpretation of the area: archeologist Chris Smart, and heritage consultant, Andrew Thompson Sharon writes a blog which you can find at www.awalkinenglishweather.com They met at WhatThreeWords: grin.tend.negotiators / Grid Ref: SX479708 Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

    24 min

  8. 1 AUG

    Amar Latif - President of the Ramblers in North Yorkshire

    Clare and the ‘blind adventurer’ Amar Latif explore a circular route in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire. As the current President of the Ramblers, Amar is keen to promote the message that walking is for absolutely everyone, from all backgrounds and abilities. He lost most of his vision by the time he was 18 and found it very hard to accept. He began to believe that he wouldn’t be able to continue doing all the things he enjoyed but after spending a year of his university course in Canada, decided that travelling was definitely for him and went onto make a career out of it. He set up ‘TravelEyes’ a company specialising in tourism for blind and sighted people travelling together, including walking trips. One of his greatest adventures was walking 220 miles from the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua across to the Pacific Ocean, crossing a shark-filled lake and scaling a 5000ft volcano. Also on the walk are Rayyah McCaul, who is guiding Amar, and Ramblers volunteer and walk leader, Stephen Down. The Ramblers is a charity with around 100,000 members. Established in 1935, one of their main aims is improving access to the countryside for everyone to enjoy. Clare met Amar in Toft Gate Lime Kiln car park, at the top of Greenhow Hill, and completed a five mile circular walk. Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

    24 min
See All (275)

Hosts & Guests

About

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 landscapes we find ourselves in. If there's a recurring theme, it's the accepted truth that 'solvitur ambulando' - 'it is solved through walking': The sense of wellness, the benefits to mental health, easy companionship, or sometimes just the sense of solitude that being alone in nature brings. Few things are better than going for a good walk. That's what we aim to share each week on Ramblings with Clare Balding.

Information

  • Creator
    BBC Radio 4
  • Years Active
    2007 - 2024
  • Episodes
    275
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2024
  • Show Website
    Ramblings

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