Wander Woman: A Travel Podcast

Phoebe Smith
  • 4.8 (5)
  • PLACES & TRAVEL
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

The monthly Wander Woman Podcast frequently charts in 'Travel and Places' in over 147 countries around the world. It is the first travel podcast to take on a magazine style - rather than the format of just an interview – and has been listened to and downloaded everywhere from the UK to Australia and beyond, by hundreds of thousands of people. It has been selected as “Best of” travel podcasts by The Telegraph, The Guardian and The i newspaper, Globetrender and Tech Times - to name a few.  Every episode, award-winning broadcaster, travel writer, author and photographer Phoebe Smith offers a behind the scenes journey to a different destination which features interviews with locals, audio clips and vivid descriptions to make the listener feel like they are there too - without having to leave home.  The main ‘destination’ story weaves together her passion for finding off-the-beaten track places, undertaking quirky and unusual activities, discovering wild spaces in unlikely mass market destinations, watching wildlife and meeting the unsung heroes behind conservation efforts.  Additionally the Wander Woman Podcast’s regular features a celebrity interview;  Best Travel Gear for a life on the road; Travel Hack of the Month; Top 10 in Travel; Hidden Hero; and the Wander Woman of the Month - the traveller whose name is lost in the history books.  Wherever you find yourself - come wander with her…

  1. APR 30

    Pooh Sticks and the real Hundred Acre Wood

    Pooh Sticks looks like a simple game, until you’re standing on the real bridge where it all started, in Ashdown Forest watching your stick float on the water underneath the slats and realising Winnie the Pooh began right here in a living landscape. Join Adventurer Phoebe Smith as she travels to East Sussex to find the real Hundred Acre Wood behind the 100 year old Winnie-the-Pooh story. Along the way she meets the people who protect it today and learns why the open heathland – rarer than tropical rainforest – needs our help.  Also coming up: Author and dog-friendly travel specialist Lottie Gross on the best and worst countries in Europe for taking your canine companion toTravel Hack: How to travel like Pooh Bear10 literary destinations lifted straight out of your favourite children's booksMeet the woman who has dedicated her life to helping stray dogs and the volunteers who look after them in Greece through the charity Starlight BarkingGear chat: what to pack in destinations with a large stray dog packsSimona Kossak – who lived in a hut in Poland's Białowieża Forest with a lynx, boar and crow – is our Wander Woman of the Month.If Pooh's wisdom and legacy helps you plan your next trip do subscribe, share with a friend who needs some inspiration, and leave a quick review to help more travellers find us. Now pull on your big boots and get ready for your next adventure to happen... Contact Wander Woman www.Phoebe-Smith.com; @PhoebeRSmith

    50 min

  2. MAR 31

    The Milk Run

    A ferry announcement about whales comes over the tannoy and suddenly the cafeteria empties, the crew step away from their tasks, and everyone presses to the windows. That shared pause is the heartbeat of slow travel, and it’s why Adventurer Phoebe Smith takes you onboard BC Ferries’ “Milk Run” from Vancouver Island up through Canada’s Inside Passage. This isn’t a floating resort. It’s a working supply route that carries food, freight and locals between remote Indigenous coastal communities and, for travellers, it’s one of the most affordable ways to see humpbacks, orcas, sea lions and wild, rain-soaked shorelines. Also coming up: Author of All My Wild Mothers and new book The Apothecary by the Sea: A Year in an Orkney Garden and self-confessed wild woman Victoria 'Vik' Bennett Travel Hack: how to travel on a budget without being a backpacker Top 10 of the best ferry rides in the worldMeet the woman who's been making an audio record of women adventurers – of all ages, shapes and sizes – with her Tough Girl Podcast for the past 10 years, Sarah WilliamsGear chat: what to pack for a scenic ferry rideIsobel Gunn – who in 1806 passed herself off as a man and inadvertantly becoming the first European woman to travel to Rupert's Land, now part of Western Canada – is our Wander Woman of the Month.If you enjoy travel stories with substance, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find us. Contact Wander Woman www.Phoebe-Smith.com; @PhoebeRSmith

    52 min

  3. FEB 27

    Passage to India

    What if we stopped saving our dream journey for “one day” and booked it now? Wander Woman Phoebe Smith hits pause on the grind and takes a micro‑retirement across North India by rail—soaking in Kolkata’s dawn ferry music, the riot of colour at the flower market, and the earthy taste of chai, before tracing slower paths to Bodh Gaya, Varanasi and Agra. The result is an immersion into India that her late mother always wanted but whose death age 50 meant she never got to experience.   Also coming up: Author and travel writer Shafik Meghji on South America's links with Britain and the perfect trip for first time visitorsTravel Hack: Survive your first night on an Indian Sleeper TrainTop 10 North Indian dishes you have to try... now!Meet the acid attack survivors at Sheroes Hangout Cafe - who turn tragedy into triumph over coffee every dayGear chat: what to pack for a trip to India in winter and summerIda Pfeiffer – the midlife pioneer who circled the globe on grit, curiosity, and a shoestring – is our Wander Woman of the Month.If this journey nudges your own “someday” list, make it sooner. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs a push, and leave a quick review to help more travellers find us. Where would your micro‑retirement take you? Contact Wander Woman www.Phoebe-Smith.com; @PhoebeRSmith

    58 min

  4. JAN 31

    Wayward Wanderings

    A rewilded valley, a returning herd, and a community finding new roots—come with Wander Woman Phoebe Smith to Portugal’s Côa Valley where tauros and sorraia horses are reshaping the land and jumpstarting local livelihoods. Join her as she learns how large herbivores create healthier mosaic habitats that reduce wildfire risk, boost biodiversity, and draw back predators like wolves, and listen in as she meets the people turning these ecological wins into sustainable nature-based tourism. Also coming up: Right to Roam campaigner Guy Shrubsole on access rights and Britain's RainforestsTravel Hack: How to find a legit re-wilding projectTop 10 Rewilding projects around the world and where to visit themMeet travel writers and authors Rhona Carrier and Tracey Davies as they discuss their memoir Wayward Women - and how mid-life women are a force to be reckoned withGear chat: what to pack for a responsible wild campFlorence Merriam Bailey - a birdwatcher who had to persuade others to look but don't shoot (yes, really) is our Wander Woman of the MonthContact Wander Woman www.Phoebe-Smith.com; @PhoebeRSmith

    50 min

  5. 12/31/2025

    Beneath a Stirring Sky

    The sky is stirring over Canada's Northwest Territories, and we wanted to know what it really means when the norhtern lights dance. So Wander Woman Phoebe Smith sent her editor and correspondent Daniel Neilson to travel to Yellowknife to sit with Dene guides who treat the aurora as memory and medicine, not a bucket list stunt. Join us for stories that bring light to the darkness and stir the sky - and the soul.  Also coming up: Celebrity Chef Rick Stein on his new series about Australia airing on the BBCTravel Hack: How to photograph the aurora borealisTop 10 winter festivities around the world that aren't Christmas - from Up Helly Aa to Diwali and moewMeet the man behind the former hunting farm that became a stronghold in Namibia for protecting endangered species - and ensuring local people benefitted tooGear chat: what to wear when stood watching for the Northern LightsShaaw Tláa - a pioneering prospector and proud member of the Tagish community is our Wander Woman of the MonthContact Wander Woman www.Phoebe-Smith.com; @PhoebeRSmith

    46 min

  6. 11/28/2025

    In to the Woods

    Cold breath on the air, pancakes at dawn, and the hush before a bear appears at the treeline – join Wander Woman Phoebe Smith as she journeys from Finland’s close‑to‑Helsinki wilds with a foraging guide to paddle a quiet nine kilometres to a lean‑to where two dogs double as companions and hot‑water bottles. The theme is deliberate slowness: built in boredom, and the forest fills the space. Before a finale at dusk with an elusive sighting of the European 'Spirit Bear' on the Finland-Russia border.  Also coming up: BBC Radio 4 Women's Hour presenter Anita Rani on what drew her to Race Across the World...Travel Hack: How to keep warm in cold climatesTop 10 species of bears to spot around the world - from polar to grizzly and all those in betweenMeet the tour company in Jasper National Park Canada who is embracing the change caused by the 2024 wildfires to teach travellers about ancient indigenious practisesGear chat: what to pack for a night out in an unheated hut (or bear hide)Mina Benson Hubbard - a pioneering Canadian explorer is our Wander Woman of the MonthContact Wander Woman www.Phoebe-Smith.com; @PhoebeRSmith

    52 min

  7. 10/29/2025

    Ways and Means

    A simple walk can change a life and a place. Join Wander Woman Phoebe Smith as she head's to Umbria to undertake part of Italy’s lesser-known pilgrim path - the St Francis Way - and see how it is bringing life back into the region. In association with this episode's podcast partner Sloways. From truffle hunts on the village edges to choirs echoing through convents, to ridge walks above Assisi and stamps in a well-worn pilgrim passport, this journey shows how slow travel creates real ties between people and landscape. Also coming up:  Co-founder of the British Pilgrimage Trust Guy Hayward about his mission to change the path of walks with purpose to enable everyone to bring their own beliefs... Travel Hack: How to have a meaningful pilgrimageTop 10 non-religious pilgrimages around the worldMeet Andrea Devicenzi – the Italian Paralympic cyclist who is using pilgrimages to change people's perceptions about disabilityGear chat: what to pack when doing activities in very hot weatherMargery Kempe - pilgrim and author of the first memoir in history is our Wander Woman of the Month Contact Wander Woman www.Phoebe-Smith.com; @PhoebeRSmith

    52 min

  8. 09/30/2025

    Who am I when I am transported?

    With the rise of the Far Right across the globe, things have never been so tough for refugees and asylum seekers. So I head out with a new social enterprise that’s training immigrant women to become tour guides across Britain so they can celebrate their culture whilst earning their own income and teach us all a thing or too about our most well-known cities. Join Phoebe on an exploration of Syrian-Palestinian culture right here in London. Also coming up: Award-winning chef Ahu Hettema - who spent a decade stuck in the US immigration system - shares how she managed to cook her way out of depression… Travel Hack: How to travel everywhere without going anywhere Top 10 ethnic enclaves in unexpected places around the worldMeet Beki Henderson the adventure producer/director behind some of TVs most popular male-fronted shows – from Will Smith to Levison Wood and moreGear chat: what to pack for a walking city tourMabel Barker – the Lakeland teacher, inventor of the microadventure and fearless climber is our Wander Woman of the Month Contact Wander Woman www.Phoebe-Smith.com; @PhoebeRSmith

    51 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

The monthly Wander Woman Podcast frequently charts in 'Travel and Places' in over 147 countries around the world. It is the first travel podcast to take on a magazine style - rather than the format of just an interview – and has been listened to and downloaded everywhere from the UK to Australia and beyond, by hundreds of thousands of people. It has been selected as “Best of” travel podcasts by The Telegraph, The Guardian and The i newspaper, Globetrender and Tech Times - to name a few.  Every episode, award-winning broadcaster, travel writer, author and photographer Phoebe Smith offers a behind the scenes journey to a different destination which features interviews with locals, audio clips and vivid descriptions to make the listener feel like they are there too - without having to leave home.  The main ‘destination’ story weaves together her passion for finding off-the-beaten track places, undertaking quirky and unusual activities, discovering wild spaces in unlikely mass market destinations, watching wildlife and meeting the unsung heroes behind conservation efforts.  Additionally the Wander Woman Podcast’s regular features a celebrity interview;  Best Travel Gear for a life on the road; Travel Hack of the Month; Top 10 in Travel; Hidden Hero; and the Wander Woman of the Month - the traveller whose name is lost in the history books.  Wherever you find yourself - come wander with her…

Information

  • Creator
    Phoebe Smith
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    42
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Wander Woman: A Travel Podcast
  • Show Website
    Wander Woman: A Travel Podcast

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