Ramblings

Clare joins Marian Spain and Paula Brunt as they explore a stretch of the King Charles III England Coast Path in West Sussex. After more than forty years working in environment and conservation, Marian is retiring later this year from her role as CEO of Natural England, the organisation responsible for creating and delivering this route which, at almost 2,700 miles, is the longest managed coastal walking path in the world. She says that overseeing its completion is her proudest achievement.

Marian’s lifelong connection to nature goes back to childhood walks with her mum, who taught her the folklore of flowers. She also recalls an inspiring biology teacher who opened her eyes to the science of the natural world. Growing up, walking was central to family life and a way of keeping up with older siblings. In her working life she enjoys taking colleagues on walking meetings, where conversations flow more freely.

They began their walk in Bosham and walked to West Itchenor, via the Itchenor Ferry which crossses Chichester Harbour. Paula Brunt, a campaigner with Disabled Ramblers, joined them midway to test a section of the route for accessibility. Tree roots prove an issue and cut the walk a little short.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor Ramblings is a BBC Studios Audio Production

Clare meets Marlon Patrice for a walk up The Wrekin in Shropshire. Marlon is the founder of We Go Outside Too, a community organisation he created in Birmingham after the death of his 17 year old son who was killed by knife violence. In the aftermath of this loss, Marlon turned to nature as a way to cope with the overwhelming grief. He soon recognised how powerful these experiences could be for others who lacked access to green spaces. What began as a personal lifeline grew into the group he runs which takes people of colour into the outdoors.

Clare met Marlon and his group in The Wrekin car park, postcode TF6 5BH. It’s a famous hill in the region, so much so that ‘around the Wrekin’ is a Midlands expression meaning ‘around the houses’. Joining them was Tanya Matthews who led the group in a silent-disco style warm up, and a breathwork meditation session on the summit.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer for BBC Studios: Karen Gregor

Clare walks with a group of British Mountaineering Council volunteers who’ve been working to repair footpaths in Eryri, formerly known as Snowdonia National Park.

These ‘Get Stuck In’ events give people a chance to spend time with like-minded folk, in beautiful landscapes, improving the paths that walkers depend upon. The work takes place over two days under the guidance of experienced volunteer leaders and a local ranger, followed by a shared walk, giving the group a chance to enjoy the landscape they've been working in.

Clare joined volunteers and staff from the BMC and the National Trust at the start their walk on the shores of Llyn Ogwen at Grid Reference SH659602 on OS Map OL17 Yr Wdffya/Snowdon. They hiked under the dramatic peak of Tryfan in the Ogwen Valley.

https://www.thebmc.co.uk/en/get-involved-volunteering

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor Ramblings is a BBC Studios Audio production.

Clare explores the south side of Anglesey / Ynys Môn with friends Emily Coates and Nic Parry.

Beginning on the wide sands of Newborough beach, they follow the shoreline toward Holy Island / Ynys Llanddwyn, famed for its links to St Dwynwen - the Welsh patron saint of lovers. After enjoying the sweeping views across the water to the Eryri (Snowdonia) mountain range, they leave the island behind and complete their circular walk with a stroll through Newborough Forest’s Corsican pines.

Along the way, Emily and Nic share what makes this corner of Wales so special to them, and Emily recounts a recent Nepalese adventure that came close to disaster.

They started their walk at the Newborough Lighthouse and Cross car park - What3Words: ///loudness.bucked.post on OS Explorer 263, Grid Ref: SH405634

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Ramblings is made in Bristol for BBC Studios.

Clare Balding joins the Garioch 50+ Men’s Walking Group for a stroll through the scenic Fetternear Estate near Kemnay in Aberdeenshire.

This long-running group was founded to support men adjusting to life after retirement, offering not just exercise but companionship and conversation. Over the past twelve years, the group has become a lifeline for its members, many of whom have faced health challenges or caring responsibilities. Their ethos is simple: walking together promotes physical fitness, mental wellbeing, and a sense of purpose.

Today’s route is an easy walk through forests and farmland, with views of the River Don and a chance to explore the ruins of a 13th-century Bishop’s Palace. Nearby Kemnay Quarry, famous for its granite used in iconic buildings and the Thames Embankment, adds another layer of history to the outing. Along the way, Clare hears stories from men of varied backgrounds who share how walking has helped them.

Clare and the group met for their walk at a small car park near the Fetternear Estate: What3Words: landowner.stormed.number / AB51 5NL

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare heads up Mither Tap, a distinctive hill in the Bennachie range in Aberdeenshire.

Leading the way are the Bailies of Bennachie, a group of volunteer conservators formed over 50 years ago as a “Voice for the Hill.” Peter Stock, Allan Will, Stella Gauld, Lorna Bell and Anne Watson are just some of the many Bailies who care passionately about Bennachie - its wildlife, archaeology, landscape, history and future.

Their walk begins at the Bennachie Visitor Centre. From there, they climb steadily towards the ancient Pictish hillfort that crowns the summit. After enjoying the views on a very blowy top, they head back down. On the way, they pause to hear the story of the Bennachie Colony and see the remains of this crofting settlement first established in 1825.

The Bennachie Visitor Centre: Grid ref NJ698216 What3Words: ///sedative.info.equal

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare Balding heads to Brockley and Ladywell for a leafy London wander with Hana Sutch, co founder of the walking app Go Jauntly. Growing up in a family that didn’t walk for pleasure, Hana discovered the joy of rambling in her twenties, when a visit to her husband’s native Northumberland showed her the calming power of putting one foot in front of the other.

Later, as a new parent in the city, she struggled to find accessible green spaces - an experience that inspired her to create the app which helps walkers navigate routes easily, including by following images of landmarks.

As they wander, Hana discusses the challenges of building a start‑up as part of a small team of four, including hearing from big players in the field that she would never succeed.

Their route is a four‑mile urban circular starting in Ladywell. Avoiding main roads where possible, they head up and around Hilly Fields, down to Ladywell Fields and on to Blythe Hill before ending the walk, where they met, in Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries. You can find out more at www.gojauntly.com The walk Hana and Clare took together will go live on the app when the programme is broadcast.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare joins Ian Teasdale in the north Lake District for a very personal walk. Ian and his wife, Catherine, are on a mission to climb all 214 Wainwright fells as part of their 'Terminal Hillness' project which they started following Ian's diagnosis of incurable bowel cancer. He wants to raise awareness of the lack of cancer support facilities in their region and he decided the best way to do this was by completing a full round of the Wainwrights. As they hike up Longlands, Ian shares memories connected to the landscape he grew up in. The forecast was grim before they set off, but the sun shone, and the only rain that fell created the most beautiful rainbow across the valley.

They started at Longlands, Grid Ref NY266358, and completed a 6 mile circuit with views of Skiddaw and the Northern Fells.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare joins writer Nicola Chester for a circular walk from her home in the village of Inkpen in West Berkshire. Despite recently breaking her leg in an unfortunate tangle of dog zoomies, Nicola is back on her feet and eager to share the landscapes that have shaped both her life and her books. Their route takes them through Manor Farm, the setting for her latest work, and up towards Inkpen Beacon, a hill familiar to Clare from childhood climbs.

As they walk, Nicola reflects on her lifelong desire to farm, the barriers faced by women in agriculture, and the remarkable story of Miss Julia White, a pioneering farmer whose life she explores in her new book Ghosts of the Farm: Two Women’s Journeys Through Time, Land and Community.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare hikes up Bredon Hill with Steve Boycott, founder of the Be You Programme, an outdoor‑based initiative that helps young people build confidence and resilience. Steve explains how his work grew from his own experiences of insecurity, bullying, military service and years spent travelling the world. He reflects on how the outdoors can transform young people, why taking “one more step” can shift a mindset, and his belief that hills can teach us more about ourselves than any classroom. Clare and Steve met at The Queen Elizabeth Pub in Elmley Castle and began their walk from there. Bredon, he says, isn’t the biggest or the most beautiful hill, but it has soul and a healing quality.

Map: OS Explorer Map OL45 – The Cotswolds (North) Grid Ref: SO982411

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare Balding meets the adventurer Pom Oliver for a woodland wander near her home in West Sussex.

As they stroll amongst the trees, Pom recalls extraordinary chapters from her life: polar and desert expeditions, an epic hitch‑hiking journey from Cape Town to Sydney, and her time in the film industry working on much‑loved productions such as Biggles and Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Their conversation also turns to Pom’s latest adventure - a challenging three‑month trek across Saudi Arabia, tracing the footsteps of traders along the ancient incense route.

The walk begins at Pom’s home, but listeners keen to explore the woodland can enter it from The Blue Ship pub in the tiny hamlet of The Haven (postcode RH14 9BS).

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare joins Glenn Meyer in Surrey’s Happy Valley for a walk that celebrates resilience and recovery. During lockdown, Glenn suffered a serious spinal injury after a simple movement on a sun lounger. Over time he lost the ability to walk and became reliant on a wheelchair. Three major operations at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital rebuilt his spine with an internal frame anchored by bolts into his hips. Against the odds, Glenn can now stand and walk and is in training for a 3 day, 37 mile hike from his home in Caterham to the hospital in Stanmore that helped him get back on his feet.

Today’s training walk with Clare is a scenic circuit of around 5 miles, starting at The Fox pub on Coulsdon Common. Glenn and his wife, Hilary, lead Clare into Happy Valley, skirt the Surrey National Golf Course, and pause at Chaldon Church, famed for its medieval mural. The walk continues across Farthing Downs before looping back to Coulsdon Common.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare Balding joins Rob Curtis for a walk across the dramatic landscape of Rhossili Bay on the Gower Peninsula. Rob, an electrician with a passion for nature and adventure, has worked with the British Antarctic Survey on five separate expeditions. Now, despite a recent diagnosis of type 2 diabetes which he was sure would stymie his plans, he’s training for yet another trip to the Halley Research Station.

As they walk from Llangennith to the church memorial of Welsh Antarctic explorer, Edgar Evans, Rob shares stories of life on the ice, the challenges of polar survival, and his determination to stay fit enough to pass the medical required for deployment.

They started their walk at Hillend car park, Llangennith and headed across Rhossili Down (where Rob once broke his leg paragliding), to St. Mary’s Church, then ambled back along the beach to Hillend.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare is walking in the Cotswolds with author Corinne Fowler and historian Raj Pal, whose family has roots in both Britain and India.

Corinne is leading the way, recreating and extending the “Indian Walk in the Cotswolds” walk she originally took with Raj for a chapter in her book Our Island Stories: Ten Walks through Rural Britain and its Hidden History of Empire. As they ramble, they reflect on how the British countryside is deeply connected to colonial history.

Beginning on the Heart of England Way at Bourton on the Hill, they pass Sezincote House, a Neo-Mughal estate built in 1805 by a former East India Company officer, take in the Church of St James in Longborough, before circling back to the Horse and Groom pub in Bourton.

Map: OS Explorer OL45 The Cotswolds - Burford, Chipping Camden, Cirencester, Stow on the Wold Grid Ref: SP 173 325 Near the Horse & Groom pub, Bourton on the Hill

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer for BBC Studios: Karen Gregor

Clare joins Earth Scientist and author Anjana Khatwa for a cliffside walk in Dorset exploring the landscapes that shaped her life, and her book The Whispers of Rock – Stories from the Earth.

Starting at Spyway Barn near Langton Matravers, the route takes in clifftops, caves, and the fossil-rich coastline, revealing stories of geology and belonging. Anjana shares her journey from growing up in Slough in a traditional Indian family to becoming a leading voice in earth science.

From Spyway Barn, at the National Trust car park, they walked down to Dancing Ledge, along the coast path past Winspit Caves, and up to the village of Worth Matravers before heading back to the car park.

Grid Reference for Spyway Barn: SY 998 776 Map: OS Explorer 116 – Lyme Regis & Bridport

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer for BBC Studios: Karen Gregor

Clare joins Nick Wilson for a circuit around Pitsford Reservoir in Northamptonshire. A former soldier, Nick now uses a powerchair after a spinal injury and years of chronic pain made walking impossible. He has experienced homelessness and battled depression, yet has found the strength to launch his ‘Disabled Adventurer’ project. Through this initiative, Nick creates social media videos about the accessibility of natural spaces, leads wheelchair skills workshops, and collaborates with national organisations to make the outdoors more inclusive.

Nick and his support worker, Matthew, brought along a spare powerchair for Clare. With their guidance, she navigated a stretch of the reservoir’s wide, accessible paths. As Nick explained, having access to outdoor spaces and continuing to pursue his love of adventure - albeit in a different way - has helped him rediscover a sense of enjoyment, achievement, and purpose.

Map: OS Explorer 223 Northampton and Market Harborough Map Ref: (car park) SP 752 694

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4

Clare joins writer Kate Morgan on a walk from Monsal Head to Tideswell in the Peak District. Along the way, they explore how the use of gallows and gibbets in public punishment has influenced rural place names. Gibbet Rock, a striking limestone outcrop also called Peter’s Stone for its resemblance to the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, was once used to ‘gibbet’ or display the bodies of executed criminals. Kate tells the story of Anthony Lingard, who was convicted in 1815 of murdering a local woman, Hannah Oliver, and became the last person to be gibbetted at the site.

Kate is currently researching her third book, which will be on this subject. Her previous two books are Murder: The Biography which explores the legal history of the crime of murder in English Law, and The Walnut Tree which looks into the major legal changes affecting women in the 19th and early 20th centuries. (https://amheath.com/authors/kate-morgan)

Map:OS Explorer OL24 The Peak District White Peak Area, Buxton Bakewell, Matlock & Dove Dale Map Ref: SK185715 for the start of the walk at Monsal Head car park

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4

Clare explores a six-mile loop of the Chater Valley in this week’s Ramblings. Her companion is Will Hetherington who wrote to the programme inviting Clare to join him. He wanted to share his story of sudden bereavement, and the positivity that ultimately emerged from it.

Tragically, in 2017, Will’s first wife, Wendy, took her own life. It was an enormous shock, bringing with it what Will describes as “complicated grief.” However, a remark at her funeral about a long walk Will and Wendy had once done together led to the suggestion that he organise a group walk in her name. Sixty people turned up for that first hike, and it’s now grown into a regular event known as Walk for Wendy.

Will says walking has been a wonderful way for him to process his emotions, and for others to step away from the daily grind and open up about the things that affect them. His passion for the outdoors has even led him to publish a series of books about walking in the local area.

Clare and Will met in North Luffenham, continued onto Pilton, Wing, Lyndon and then completed their circuit by returning to North Luffenham. This is Clare's second consecutive walk in Rutland... check out last week's episode where she ambled around the Hambleton Peninsula with the comedian, Mark Steel. Map: OS Explorer 234 - Rutland Water (approaching the southern edge of the map) Map Ref: SK 935 033 for Church Street where they started - and ended - the walk

If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, including urgent support, a list of organisations that can help is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4

Clare Balding’s In Town! To kick off the new series, Clare is walking in Rutland with comedian Mark Steel. Since they’re in the same place at the same time, Clare is also making a cameo appearance on Mark’s hugely successful Radio 4 show, Mark Steel’s In Town, in Oakham, Rutland’s largest town.

Mark has been making In Town for 450 years (he told us) and each show involves intense research before he performs a stand-up routine about the area to a local audience. As Clare and Mark amble around the Hambleton Peninsula, which stretches into Rutland Water, Mark and his producer Carl Cooper discuss what it takes to pull together an episode of In Town.

Mark also discusses the theme of his new book, Leopard in My House, about his recovery from cancer. Guiding Mark and Clare is keen local walker Richard Cooper, who has lived in the area for 20 years and is both knowledgeable and passionate about Rutland. Mark Steel's In Town – Oakham, Rutland will be broadcast on Tuesday, 7 October, with Ramblings following on the 9th... with both available forever on BBC Sounds...

Map: OS Explorer 234 - Rutland Water Map Ref: SK901075 for Ketton Road where they started the walk

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4

Clare is in Northumberland today for the final episode of this Camino de Santiago themed series. She’s walking along a section of Hadrian’s Wall with a fabulous group of women - the Ciao Ciao Girls - celebrating the 10th anniversary of their pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Since then, they've become a tightly bonded unit who gather every year to complete another walking challenge. For today’s joyful, windy and very rainy hike they met at the Steel Rigg car park, and completed a circular walk including the remains of the tree at Sycamore Gap. As they wander they reflect on their first adventure together on the Camino, what that experience brought them, and continues to bring them ten years on.

Steel Rigg Car Park, NE47 7AW / What3Words: teacher.spelling.tweed

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare is in Penicuik for the penultimate episode of this Camino de Santiago themed series. The first five programmes were recorded in Spain, and the final two episodes are in the UK with people reflecting on their past experiences of The Way. Today Clare meets a true Camino veteran: Rev. Nick Bowry has walked it seven times, and on different routes, including when he was making the decision to give up his long-standing career to become a Priest.

Joining Clare and Nick on today's walk are Nick's friends, Cat and Liz, who share their own Camino memories as they enjoy the beautiful local scenery on a fine day.

They completed a circular walk starting at Nick's church, St. James the Less, taking in the River North Esk, Serpentine Wood, and views of the Pentland Hills.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Here's a poem Nick wrote about his time on the Camino in 2016:

Santander a Muxia, Camino 2016

Come, it's been a while, And walk, talk, sing, and pray, My way, your way, our way, In silence, in company, together, apart, each day, Never lonely, I'm pleased to say, One foot in front of the other.

Consciously clearing clutter from my mind, Allowing time to forgive, seventy times seven and once again, Making friends with myself and letting go what drains, I feel my load lighten, less and less remains, New days dawn and the true self gains, One foot in front of the other.

Conversations words and gestures, All allow acquaintances to grow, Many mark a mile, some many more - going with the flow, Intimate confessions and burdens off loaded, I know, Now I have time and patience to listen, to help the speaker let go, One foot in front of the other.

Calmed and caught in the cadence of walking, Applied compeed, insect repellent and sun cream, Mass at noon - seeing it swing - has it been a dream, Indisputably not, my calf muscles know where they have been, Now with great anticipation, mi amigo is seen, One foot in front of the other.

Companions on the way, four between us, And now we start our one at last, Minding all that has gone on, the past, In perspective, in sorrow and joy our minds cast, New beginnings both, carpe diem, life goes so fast, One foot in front of the other.

Conclusions - I have a few, Appreciate each day and what you learn, Make new friends, be generous but make time for yourself to discern, Invite new experiences and try them out, Now is the time, without a doubt, and… Oh, just put… one foot in front of the other.

On Clare’s last day of walking sections of the Camino, she arrives into Santiago de Compostela with a wonderful group of friends who have been following the Portuguese route, starting in Vigo.

The women became friends after meeting in their local gym, and discovered they were all working their way through challenging personal issues. They decided they wanted to do something for themselves to celebrate both fitness and friendship… and their Camino adventure began. The route they chose was from Vigo to Santiago which is entirely in Spain, but forms the last 104km/65 miles of the Camino Portugues Coastal.

This is the What3Words location for where Clare met the group: ///petitioning.spokes.snail

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare is walking on the Camino Inglés today with Jannine Stoodley who is pushing her mother, Sally, in an off-road wheelchair. This entire series of Ramblings is themed around the Camino de Santiago, a network of pilgrimage trails that stretch across western Europe and converge on the world famous Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, in northern Spain.

The Camino Inglés, or the English Way, is one of these trails. It has two starting points, either at Ferrol which is 119km, or A Coruña which is 75km from Santiago de Compostela. Because the distance required for a Compostela certificate is 100km, the Ferrol route is most popular.

Jannine and Sally are taking the path from A Coruña, and hope to finish their adventure at the Cathedral on Sally’s 85th birthday. Sally suffered a debilitating stroke in 2023, and had been admitted to a hospice for end of life care. But, incredibly, Sally rallied and recovered saying “I’m not ready to die yet” and was eventually able to return home. However she could no longer walk for long distances, which had always a passion, so Jannine found a robust wheelchair that Sally could be pushed in, and set off to walk the Camino.

They have already completed the Reading to Southampton route in England, which is an officially recognised section of the Camino; it’s a 68mile/109km path so when they complete the A Coruña, they will have surpassed the 100km needed to gain the coveted ‘Compostela’ completion certificate.

Clare met Jannine and Sally outside Restaurante Mar de Esteiro (What3Words: ///sweeter.jazz.lazing) which is around 11km out of Santiago de Compostela. They walked together on an often challenging route - especially when pushing a very heavy wheelchair across uneven terrain and up steep hills - for approx 10km.

Jannine and Sally let us know that they successfully completed the final stretch of their walk the following day, reaching the Cathedral on Sally's birthday. They are keen to make the kind of off-road wheelchairs that Sally uses available to others through Adversity to Adventure, see the 'related links' section on the Ramblings webpage.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare meets a man who completely changed his life after walking the Camino de Santiago. Andrea Abbatemarco is originally from Milan, and first completed The Way in 2005 in memory of a friend who died a year earlier in the Indian Ocean tsunami. A few years later, he walked it again with his girlfriend and just a matter of months after returning to Italy, they packed up their lives, bought a house along the Camino, and now run a hostel for pilgrims.

The Camino de Santiago is a network of footpaths that run across western Europe, all converging upon the Cathedral at Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. One of these trails is the Sanabrés which begins in Granja de Moreruela and stretches for around 225 miles to Santiago de Compostela. Clare met Andrea on the Sanabrés, around 30km out of Santiago where he runs Casa Leiras, an Albergue, or hostel, specifically designed for Camino pilgrims. Joining them is Manni Coe, a guide who leads walks on the Sanabrés, who's known Andrea for years. Manni also featured in episode one of this series which is entirely themed around the Camino.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare walks with Reverend Maggie McLean today on a stretch of the Camino de Santiago, the world famous pilgrimage route that concludes at Santiago de Compostela’s glorious Cathedral in northern Spain. The Camino can be completed in numerous ways, with one of the most popular routes being the French Way otherwise known as the Francés. It begins in the French town of St. Jean Pied de Port and ends 790km/490miles later in Santiago. Maggie is trekking part of this route and Clare joins her at Triacastela to hear her story as they make their way to the Benedictine Monastery at Samos, which is about 150km from Santiago itself.

Maggie is a lifelong keen walker, and was one of the first women to be ordained in the Church of England. She works as a Canon at York Minster, and would like to see some kind of pilgrimage established there, so her time on the Camino is not just a spiritual journey, it’s also a way of conducting some research. On their walk she tells Clare about her life and journey in faith, including working in homeless centres, probation hostels and a seafarers’ mission in Australia. En route Clare and Maggie bumped into Arthur, a pilgrim who has spent several weeks every year for seven years on the Camino, which he started by walking out of his front door in Switzerland. Despite suffering cancer three times, and having one quarter of a lung removed, he still carries a 10kg backpack and never plans where he’s going to stay overnight.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

This is a very special series of Ramblings. To mark Clare’s 25th year of presenting Radio 4’s walking programme she is off to Spain to fulfil her long held desire of hiking one of the world’s most famous pilgrimage footpaths, the Camino de Santiago. Translated roughly as The Way of St. James, the Camino isn’t just one route, rather it’s a network of trails across western Europe converging on Santiago de Compostela, the reputed burial place of St. James. Clare's first companion is Manni Coe. He first walked the Camino 22 years ago with his brother Reuben, following the Francés, or French, path. This is probably the most famous route, which starts in the French town of St Jean Pied de Port. Reuben has Down’s Syndrome and Manni recalls their journey together as the most magical yet challenging time of their lives.

Manni now lives in Spain and works as a tour guide, including leading pilgrims along the Sanabrés which begins in Granja de Moreruela and stretches around 225 miles to Santiago. Manni is also an author about to publish his second book, ‘Little Ruins’. As he explains to Clare, the simple act of walking has been invaluable in enabling him to complete this personal project which is about recovery from childhood trauma.

This is the second time Clare has walked with Manni: search in our episodes list for ‘Brotherly Love in Burton Bradstock’ to hear Manni and Reuben walking in Dorset. For this episode, Manni and Clare walked from Bendoiro (What3Words: tuxedos.unwed.enjoys) to Silleda (W3W: expecting.shortcuts.outsells)

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare meets a group of passionate walkers responsible for the redesign and relaunch of the Shropshire Way long distance footpath.

Back in 2016 they got together, in collaboration with the local Council, to reroute it and improve the waymarking. And now they have a 200 mile footpath in a figure of eight, centred on Shrewsbury.

For Ramblings they met Clare at the Benthall Hall National Trust carpark and set off on a 5.5 mile linear route crossing the world famous Iron Bridge, onto Loamhole Dingle, Braggers Hill and Little Wenlock.

Leading the way were Amanda Hartley-Newton and Audrey Menhinick (who with her late Ramblers colleague, set up the Shropshire Way Association). They, along with a handful of fellow volunteers, tell Clare what a satisfying – if challenging – project this has been.

OS MAP: OS Explorer 242 Telford, Ironbridge and the Wrekin Grid Ref: SJ 657 024 https://shropshireway.org.uk/

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare meets a passionate proponent of walking today on a hike around Capel y ffin and the Twmpa in the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park. Andrew Green has just published a book called Voices on the Path, a History of Walking in Wales and for him it’s not just a case of putting one foot in front of the other and admiring the scenery, it’s “an activity loaded with all kinds of social, cultural and economic associations”.

Their immediate surroundings have long attracted writers and artists from across the generations including William and Dorothy Wordsworth, JMW Turner, Bruce Chatwin and Allen Ginsberg. Also drawn to the beauty of Capel y ffin was the poet and painter, David Jones, described in 1965 as the 'best living British painter' by the then Director of the National Gallery. Peter Wakelin's book 'Hill Rhythms' tells Jones' story, which he wanted to share with Clare on the walk but a twisted ankle meant he had to remain at base, however he used the time to seek out the potential location of one of Jones's best loved paintings.

They met at the tiny Capel-y-ffin chapel on the Monmouthshire/Powys border and walked up the Twmpa - also known as Lord Hereford’s Knob - in the Black Mountains returning via the valley of Nant Bwch. A walk of just over six miles.

Grid Ref for where they met: SO253316

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare is in the Kingdom of Fife today, hiking from Clatto Reservoir to Pitscottie. It’s a beautiful stretch of the Fife Pilgrim Way, a long-distance footpath that runs 65 miles from either Culross or North Queensferry (there’s a choice of starting places) and ends in St Andrews.

Joining her are three colleagues from the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, who helped to develop the route, and an Elder from the church in the village of Ceres who would like to see 'champing' (that's camping in churches) established as a way of providing good accommodation for Pilgrims passing through Ceres on their way to St Andrews.

The Fife Pilgrim Way was officially opened in 2019 and connects west to east Fife via routes traditionally used by religious pilgrims. The route is divided into seven sections, ranging from 8 to 11 miles in length. You can find more information here: https://fifecoastandcountrysidetrust.co.uk/walks/fife-pilgrim-way/

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare Balding is celebrating a listener’s birthday today. Not something we’ve done before, but when we heard that Lynda Pettit was marking her 60th birthday by walking 60 different routes with 60 different people, and that the idea was partly inspired by Ramblings, well we just had to join in, especially as it’s Clare’s 25th year on Ramblings (double celebrations!). Lynda and several friends took Clare for a hike on the Stoney Path walk in the Pentland Hills near West Linton, about 20 miles south of Edinburgh.

They met outside The Gordon Arms Hotel on the A702 and went up into the southern Pentlands. It’s a route that takes in the Old Roman road that heads up to Edinburgh; Stoney Path, also known as Thieves Road, an ancient droving track used by cattle reivers herding stolen livestock through the hills; and Baddinsgill Reservoir. They also ascended Mount Maw, catching sight of a beautiful cloud inversion on the way. Views from the top stretched around 80 miles to a snow-capped Ben Lomond, Scotland's most southerly Munro.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

This is Clare’s 25th year of making Ramblings and one thing she has always enjoyed is walking all year round, in any weather. No matter how windy, how cold or how wet she’ll be out recording in the company of an equally weatherproof interviewee. Winter is her favourite season for a stroll and today she’s found someone else who feels the same… Richard Shimell’s book, Trees in Winter, is about the healing properties of nature and walking especially during the coldest season. When the inclination for so many is to stay indoors, he’s out drawing inspiration for his detailed and beautiful lino-cut prints of winter trees. Although his book features many prints of Dartmoor trees, he now lives in Grosmont near Abergavenny in south Wales and this is where he leads Clare for a walk up the hill near his home. The Graig Syfyrddin, or just The Graig, is 423m/1388ft and is on the Three Castles walk. Clare and Richard had a wonderfully clear day with far-reaching views.

Find out more about Richard and his book on his website: https://richardshimell.co.uk

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

This is Clare's 25th year of walking and talking on Ramblings! To mark this, ahem, milestone her first hike of 2025 is with a group of students from the University of Nottingham who are all members of the RamSoc (The Rambling and Hiking Society) which has just celebrated its 90th anniversary.

All of today's walkers are under the age of 25, so weren't even around when Clare first stepped out with the Ramblings microphone. It's joyful to know that walking in the great outdoors continues as a rich part of our culture with young people like Theo, Amy, and others leading the way...

They met in Bakewell, Derbyshire on a rainy, windy, wintery Sunday morning and set off on a circular hike taking in the grounds of Chatsworth House.

Producer: Karen Gregor Presenter: Clare Balding

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Clare meets the founders of Walking Post on a hike from Oaks Park to Kingswood in Surrey. Walking Post is a not-for-profit website run by friends who have designed, mapped and now share multiple walking routes around London, Surrey, Kent, Essex and beyond. Every walk is accessible by public transport, something key to web-designer Lucy Maddison who doesn’t own a car.

The project has expanded from a personal project into what is now a free public resource, and even though Lucy and her friend, Emily Morrison, both have ‘proper’ jobs they even offer monthly walks to anyone who wants to come along.

Find them at walkingpost.co.uk

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare is in the Cotswolds this week with a fantastic group called Every Body Outdoors. They begin their walk in the village of King’s Stanley, Gloucestershire and complete a five mile circuit taking in a stretch of Stroudwater Canal, before heading up to the top of Selsley Common.

Co-founded by Steph Wetherell, Every Body Outdoors is a walking group specifically aimed at plus size people who want to build confidence in the outdoors. Many had tried to join conventional groups but either didn’t feel welcome or had bad experiences.

Another aim of the group is to work with outdoor brands and retailers to encourage them to provide better designed plus-size kit and clothing . Most technical gear, Steph says, stops at a size 16-18 and there’s little available above a size 20.

The group has been so successful they’ve recently trained a group of volunteers who now lead plus size walks all around the UK.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

In the second of two walks in the Republic of Ireland, Clare meets rock climber, mountain instructor and walking guide, Iain Miller, to explore a stretch of the wild, rugged and spectacular Atlantic coastline of County Donegal.

They meet at what Iain describes as the most remote place in Ireland, An Port, and the route they take from there affords them views over what he says is Ireland’s last great wilderness including some ‘monster’ sea stacks.

Iain is originally from Scotland, but has lived in Co. Donegal for years, making it his place of work as well as his – as he puts it – playground. The two are intertwined as Iain’s business involves leading rock climbing, hillwalking, and other outdoor adventures. The route he shares with Clare is more gentle coastal stroll than vertiginous technical climb but the experience and views are no less impressive.

If you want to look at their location on a map, they met here: WhatThreeWords: ///simplicity.school.escalates

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

In the first of two episodes recorded in the Republic of Ireland, Clare travels to Moyle Hill in County Donegal to meet adventurer and motivational speaker, Nikki Bradley.

Diagnosed with a rare bone cancer at just 16 years of age, Nikki (now in her 30s) has defied expectations by living a very active life. She was the first person on crutches to climb four Irish mountain peaks, which took her 32 hours. She scaled the Sólheimajökull glacier in Iceland, and has completed the Fan Dance, one of the toughest endurance challenges in the UK including two ascents of Pen y Fan.

Her latest enormous challenge has been to undergo a very unusual leg amputation. The damage caused by the cancer led to two hip replacements in her twenties, but her pain and discomfort continued so ultimately her medical team suggested a procedure known as a rotationplasty. Her upper leg was removed, and her lower leg was turned 180 degrees, raised and attached to the top of her thigh to become her ‘new’ upper leg. Her foot faces backwards at knee height, with the idea that it acts as the knee joint itself. It’s been emotionally very difficult coming to terms with her change of appearance and the pain associated with the procedures and rehab.

But, in characteristic spirit, she has continued to push forward and after many months of recovery is now back walking again.

Producer: Karen Gregor Presenter: Clare Balding

David Almond marks 25 years of his extraordinary book, Skellig, with a walk from Seahouses to Bamburgh in Northumberland. As he tells Clare, it's a landscape that has long inspired his imagination and writing.

Skellig tells the tale of Michael, a young boy who befriends a magical creature - part owl, part angel – that needs Michael’s help to survive. The book has won multiple awards, been adapted for stage, film, radio and opera and translated into 40 languages.

As they walk, David tells Clare how his childhood in the north-east shaped both his character and writing, and discusses why walking is a necessary pleasure. The stretch of coastline they’re exploring is rich with historical, religious and cultural significance and the entire region has provided inspiration for David’s writing over the years.

They met at Seahouses Harbour and walked through sun, rain and wind to the most dominant man-made feature in the area - Bamburgh Castle.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare walks to a glorious display of bluebells to capture them in watercolour in the company of artist Shelly Perkins.

On a beautiful day in mid-May they set off into Mortimer Forest near Ludlow to find several acres of bluebells that stretch across high meadlowland.

Shelly is an artist and while Clare is not known for her painting prowess, they take a moment to stop, take in the bluey purply haze and capture it in vivid watercolours en plein air.

Clare and Shelly met at the Black Pool Car Park and hiked a roughly five mile circular loop through a conifer plantation, into open hay meadow with skylarks hovering overhead, and then onto a huge field full of bluebells. You can see their artwork on the Ramblings instagram page: @bbcramblings

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Nadeem Perera is not your conventional image of a birdwatcher. In fact growing up in inner city London he was not raised as or encouraged to be a 'nature boy'. But dropping out of school as a troubled teen he had a revelation. One day he was sitting in woodland and saw a green spotted woodpecker in front of him and his passion for birds was born. Now he can be seen on BBC 1 on the One Show talking about birds and has moved to Bristol to further his career in wildlife presenting. He takes Clare for a walk along the River Frome starting in Eastville Park. It's a grey Winter's day but they are overjoyed to be accompanied along the river by kingfishers lighting up the landscape. Along the way he talks about the project he runs called Flock Together and about his passion for combining young people of colour with the outdoors and nature. They walk from Eastville Park to Snuff Mills and the Stoke Park Estate

Producer: Maggie Ayre

When author Annabel Abbs suffered a series of bereavements she found herself unable to sleep. Eventually she began getting up and walking around her garden and neighbouring fields around 3am. But when she heard about Caroline Whiteman who runs guided walks at night without head torches, she just had to go along on one. Caroline began the walks as an experiment in overcoming her fear of the dark. She has found other people keen to get out at night and experience the dark in a totally different way under her care and supervision. Although Clare is walking on a winter's night with barely any moon visible it's amazing how quickly the landscape lights up and the chalk cliffs stand out against the sea. They walked in a loop starting and ending at South Hill Barn Car Park BN25 4JQ near Seaford

Producer: Maggie Ayre

The beautiful Borders of Scotland is the location for Clare’s walk this week. She’s exploring the area around Innerleithen with Stewart Wilson. After a career in finance Stewart made a handbrake turn in his early 40s and became a tour guide and travel blogger. He says most visitors to Scotland bypass the Borders for Edinburgh or the Highlands and Islands but – in doing so – are missing out on gorgeous scenery and fascinating history.

So today Stewart wants to share what it is about the Borders, and Innerleithen in particular, that should make people want to stop and explore. He grew up there in a family who, for generations, had worked in the textile industry. It’s a sector that has all but disappeared, apart from a few high-end makers, so the area has to try and develop a new identity. History, mountain biking, and of course hiking are all a draw, including the challenging long distance Southern Upland Way which passes nearby.

Stewart begins today’s walk at Innerleithen Parish Church on Leithen Road. From there he then leads Clare over Leithen Water at Cuddy Bridge and, after a couple of stiff climbs through a forestry plantation with trees creaking in the wind, arrives at the disused relic of Kirnie Law reservoir. It's a great view point, which thanks to the rainy, sunny, sleety weather, created a full rainbow over the heathery hills beyond. It's a circular route that takes them back down to Innerleithen, just over five miles in total.

Producer: Karen Gregor Presenter: Clare Balding

Clare joins Hannah Engelkamp and her donkey, Chico, for a ramble in the Dyfi Valley a few miles east of Machynlleth in Powys.

On the way Hannah tells Clare about the extraordinary adventure she shared with Chico when they walked 1000 miles around the perimeter of Wales. She did this despite having no previous experience of donkeys, or horses, or any animals really. It took twice as long as she intended and was much harder than she ever imagined. The idea of 'carrot or stick' doesn't work, Hannah says, so the first thing she learned was when a donkey stops you just have to wait and stand and look and wait until the moment seems right to move off again.

Hannah also tells Clare about her involvement with 'Slow Ways'. It’s a Community Interest Company whose aim is to map, improve, and promote walking routes between Britain’s towns, cities and villages.

Clare and Hannah met at Grid Ref: SH 850 027, and walked a section of a Slow Way known as ‘Maccar One’ near Chico’s home at Dyfi Donkey Woods. Maccar One is 23 miles long and connects Machynlleth with Carno. Slow Ways are named for the first three letters of the place at either end of a route e.g. Mac for Machynlleth and Car for Carno.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

A cliff edge walk at St. David's in Pembrokeshire with artists Jackie Morris and Tamsin Abbott who are creating a book of illuminated folk stories. Jackie is writing the words and Tamsin is creating original pieces of stained glass for the book's artwork.

Jackie is an artist and writer possibly best known for her illustrations in The Lost Words, a large and beautiful book about language and nature. Tamsin is an established stained glass artist and illustrator inspired by the natural world.

As they ramble along the coast, Clare hears about their new project - Wild Folk: Tales from the Stones - seven ‘fables of transformation and power summoned from the ancient stones beneath our feet’. Inhabiting the pages are selkies and salmon, a great white raven, a huge black fox and a woman who lives as an owl.

Wild Folk doesn’t exist quite yet… It’s being crowd-funded and will be available in 2025.

They began their walk at Whitesands carpark and walked cliff-side towards the Coetan Arthur burial chamber on St. David's Head.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare joins PE Teacher Julie Ford for a bracing walk on the Seven Sisters near Eastbourne. It's a walk with a difference. Following a brush with breast cancer Julie was keen to keep fit but no longer wanted to go to the gym. As a passionate walker she was getting good exercise but needed to maintain her upper body strength. So through a process of trial and error Julie has created a way of walking with resistance bands. She takes Clare on a walk on the South Downs on a beautiful sunny Winter's day to show her how to tone her arms while she walks as well as to appreciate health and fitness in the outdoors.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

A joyful hike up Castle Hill near Huddersfield with We In Front, an inspirational group of walkers.

Leading the way is Errol Hamlet who, having retired, felt bored, unhealthy and wanted a new challenge. He spotted a neighbour out walking during the pandemic and decided to join her. Then, one by one, more people joined until they eventually had a decent sized group. Most are senior citizens from the local West Indian community and they can often be heard singing as they disappear into the countryside surrounding Huddersfield.

As they walk Clare hears about Carriacou, the Caribbean island where nine of the walkers spent at least some of their childhood. Apparently everyone on that island knows someone in Huddersfield... the two places are closely linked. There's also an unexpected conversation about the niche hobby of bottle-top collecting...

The group started today's walk at grid reference SE155152 from where they followed a circuitous route up to Castle Hill.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare chooses some favourite moments from her Ramblings year:

Join brothers Manni and Reuben Coe who amble down to Hive Beach in Dorset on a calm summer's day. On the way they recall the emotional story of how Reuben, who has Down's Syndrome, was nurtured back to health partly by walking that very route. Head to Orkney where Clare battles 60mph winds in one of the wildest episodes we've yet recorded. Hike up Shutlingsloe with Frank Milner, in training to climb Kilimanjaro on his 82nd birthday. Hear David and Iain recall some youthful misadventures as they stroll along the cliffs towards Portpatrick on the remote Rhins of Galloway. And meet Sam and Roger by the waterfall in south Wales where their romance began thanks to an online walking group.

Boff Whalley of Chumbawamba leads his Commoners Choir in song as they march up to Gaddings Dam in Calderdale. On the Thames Path, Tina and Cas share how their adopted son's way of coping with the world is by long distance hiking. The inspirational Halifax Hikers lead Clare on their favourite local route. And Ali Allen, in Herefordshire, takes time out from running her tiny walking shop to march with Clare up to a section of the Offa's Dyke footpath.

Please scroll down to the 'related links' box on the Ramblings page of the Radio 4 website for links to all these individual episodes.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

In 2019 Anita Sethi was on a trans Pennine train journey when she was racially abused by a man who later pleaded guilty to the offence. During the attack he told her to go back to where she belonged. Having been born and raised in Manchester Anita feels very strongly that the North of England is where she belongs and as a way of working through the shock and trauma of the incident she began a journey through the Pennines on foot beginning at the uplifting and positively named Hope in the Peak District. Clare joins her for a hike in the steep countryside to Edale taking in Mam Tor and Kinder Scout.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Rose Mac moved to the North West from London a year ago and is constantly delighted by the nature and walking possibilities of her new home. Ainsdale Nature Reserve houses a rare species of sand lizard as well as natterjack toads. A walk through the pine woodland close to the town's railway station brings you out into beautiful sand dunes and a massive expanse of beach with views of Blackpool Tower to the North and on a clear day the Isle of Man to the west. Rose enthusiastically shows Clare her new home territory and gives her an impromptu boxing lesson on Ainsdale Beach. She says people are becoming increasingly drawn to exercising on UK beaches. Tai chi and yoga work particularly well outdoors and Rose says there's something magical about watching the sunset whilst exercising. The long walk along the beach is a workout in itself because of the sand underfoot.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Clare walks with Mike Gunton, the man in charge of Planet Earth III, another blockbuster series from the BBC’s Natural History Unit. Mike’s a passionate walker and he takes Clare on a favourite local route around Oldbury on Severn where he courted his wife, and once filmed a sequence in a graveyard about the grim sounding ‘burying beetle’. He also shares stories of his many years working with Sir David Attenborough, and what it’s like making some of the most beautiful and memorable TV shows of recent years. Oldbury on Severn is, as it sounds, near the banks of the longest river in the UK which runs 220 miles from its source in the Cambrian Mountains in mid-Wales to where it meets the sea at the Bristol channel. They meet at St. Arilda's Church and head off on a circular walk of around five miles ending back in the village, at the local pub.

Map: OS Explorer 167 Thornbury, Dursley and Yate

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

On a beautiful late summer's day Clare and guests explore a coastal walk on a remote peninsula in southern Scotland - the Rhins of Galloway.

Walking with her are Peter Ross, who runs a walking for health group, and Margaret Hughes who is one of the members. They start their hike in Portpatrick and head along the coast for a few miles before dropping down into Sandeel Bay and returning to Portpatrick on an inland path through woodland.

Margaret is registered blind due to an acquired brain injury, and has had a tough time recovering. Walking is a huge part of her life, and Peter’s group plays a significant part in this especially as Margaret needs a sighted guide to help her along the way.

This is the second of two walks on the Rhins of Galloway: last week's episode was with two friends who are taking what could be the longest, slowest route between Land's End and John O'Groats.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare joins two friends on what could possibly be the slowest walk between Land's End and John O'Groats. Hiking one week at a time (with a gap of several years when the Welsh coastline wasn't fully navigable) it's taken Iain McHenry and David Rowe 18 years to reach the coast of Dumfries and Galloway. That's where Clare joins them, on a beautifully sunny day, as they approach the village of Portpatrick on the remote Rhins of Galloway.

This is the first of two episodes recorded in the area: next week Margaret Hughes and Peter Ross take Clare on a section of the Southern Upland Way, starting in Portpatrick and heading north.

Producer: Karen Gregor Presenter: Clare Balding

Sunshine and summer downpours on a hilly Cheshire hike with great views. On the way Clare hears from two friends about how walking has helped them cope with life changing events.

Linda Ashworth only discovered walking after her children left home but it became a stress-relieving necessity when her husband suffered a serious accident. Her love of putting one foot in front of the other grew to such an extent that she went onto gain hill and moorland leadership qualifications and set up a business leading walks for ‘ladies of my age’.

Tracey was diagnosed, age 40, with acute myeloid leukaemia. The treatment, she says, 'turned my bones to sugar' and she broke her back in five places. This left her unable to walk properly for years, relying on a mobility scooter to get her into the countryside. However, as she slowly recovered, she discovered rambling was a good way to rebuild strength, balance and coordination. To mark her 50th year she went with a group of supportive friends and family on a celebratory three day hike around the Lake District. Linda led the way.

For today’s walk, Linda and Tracey take Clare along a section of the Sandstone Trail. It’s a 34 mile long route stretching from Frodsham in Cheshire to Whitchurch just over the Shropshire border. They started at grid ref SJ494526 and headed north. The map they used: OS 257 Crewe and Nantwich.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Ali Allen takes Clare for a sunny hike just outside Kington, a town she would like to be renamed 'WalKington' because it's such a magnet for ramblers.

Ali runs a tiny walking shop where her dog, Roo, keeps a look out from the window display full of boots and socks and maps. She lived in Utah for thirty years, working as a nurse, but returned six years ago with no firm plan. Somehow she landed in the tiny town of Kington in Herefordshire where she opened her shop which now has a B&B above it, mostly serving ramblers trekking along Offa's Dyke. On today's walk she leads Clare up Bradnor Hill - crossing the highest 18 hole golf course in England - and onto a stretch of Offa's Dyke. On the way she shares her story of life and love in Utah, making a home back in the UK, and coping with rheumatoid arthritis which, despite the problems it causes, doesn't stop her outdoor adventures.

The starting grid reference is SO297566

Clare joins a group of friends as they climb Shutlingsloe as part of their preparation for the much bigger adventure of trekking up Kilimanjaro later this year. Known as the 'Matterhorn of the Peak District' Shutlingsloe is around 500 metres high, where Kilimanjaro is closer to 6000 metres, but it's not a bad training ground with its steep incline as well as the reward of beautiful views from the top.

Leading the group is former Royal Engineer, Sean Milner, who has arranged the Kilimanjaro trek for his adventurer father, Frank Milner, who plans to reach the summit on his 82nd birthday. Although unable to join the Ramblings hike, also going up Kilimanjaro will be two of Frank's grandsons, making it a three generation event.

The starting grid reference for today's walk is SJ 952 715 which is just by the Leather's Smithy pub in Langley, about 15 mins drive from Macclesfield.

Producer: Karen Gregor

Martin Hügi is taking an unconventional approach to his long distance hike from Land's End to John O’Groats. He’s planned the route so he can visit as many ancient and veteran trees as possible. It’s a busman’s holiday as his day job is with the Woodland Trust and it's their Ancient Tree Inventory, created in collaboration with the Ancient Tree Forum and the Tree Register, that he’s using to guide him.

He’s taken a four month sabbatical from work and Clare is joining him in the early stages of his trek near Marlborough in Wiltshire.

Producer: Karen Gregor

Two friends, Karen and Emma, who say they met when both were post-Covid slumped on the sofa and doing no exercise, take Clare for a walk along the Thames Path near Reading in Berkshire. Their friendship is based on walking and they’re notching up the miles, including the Grand Union Canal (188 miles), the Ridgeway (72 miles) and 150 miles of the Portuguese Camino.

Karen says that “Emma has gone from a neighbour I sort of knew to my very best friend. We have laughed so hard together we could barely stand; we have howled with pain together; we have picked each other up when the other could barely go on; we have gotten so grumpy with each other that we could barely speak to each other but always found a way back to friendship”.

Clare hears their inspirational story of building a supportive and healing friendship as they ramble riverside one morning in late Spring. They start at the end of the Kennet and Avon canal and walk for around 9 miles to Henley on Thames. This is a section of a long distance route the friends are completing, coast to coast, from Bristol to the Isle of Grain on the Thames Estuary.

Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare joins brothers Manni and Reuben Coe as they amble for a mile and a half to Hive beach at Burton Bradstock in Dorset. Reuben has Down’s Syndrome and enjoys short, slow walks something that Manni, a professional walking guide more used to long hikes at an active pace, has learned to enjoy.

Manni lives between Spain and Dorset and, during Covid, was in Spain while Reuben was in a care home in the UK. This took its toll on Reuben who became isolated and lonely. It all came to a head when, one day, Manni received a text from Reuben saying simply “brother do you love me”. Manni knew this was a cry for help, and as soon as he could returned to the UK to visit Reuben who had become very depressed, insular and had stopped talking. As Manni puts it he “broke Reuben out of his care home” and went to live with him in the cottage where today’s walk starts. There he gradually saw Reuben’s mental health improve, and says that love, nature and walking was key to this.

Producer: Karen Gregor

The group Clare walks with see Ashdown Forest as a national treasure in its own right – and largely an unsung one. They think it’s remarkable that this ten square miles of open access land has survived, only thirty miles south of London. Estate agents in the past even described it as ‘Scotland in Sussex’. A local resident and podcaster Eka Morgan is keen to reconnect visitors from far and wide back to the natural world of Ashdown Forest. Many of the 1.5 million annual visitors don’t understand that it’s actually not a forest at all, but a heath – one of the rarest habitats in the world, rarer than tropical rainforest. So, she is using audio to tell stories of the Forest with a podcast. Joining Eka on the walk are Tom Forward a wildlife guide and bird mimic, James Adler of the Conservators of Ashdown Forest and Kari Dunbar, whose new job focuses on raising dog owners’ awareness of the impact of dogs in wildlife habitats.

In memory of James Adler Chief Executive Officer Ashdown Forest

Producer: Maggie Ayre

When Freddie was adopted by Tina and Cas he was not in a good way. The first three years of his life left him with anxiety, trauma and PTSD. Tina and Cas discovered that walking is a great way of relieving some of the symptoms and in the six years he has been with them they have already completed several long distance routes including the West Highland Way - twice! They are currently walking the Thames Path - 185 miles of the river from sea to source in preparation for walking the Portuguese Camino this Summer. Clare joins the family on a stretch of the Thames Path in Oxfordshire. Meeting at Wallingford just over the border from Berkshire they follow the path to Dorchester-on-Thames as Freddie talks about his knowledge of trees and plants and introduces her to his amazing assistance dog Garlic.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Retirement villages, recently made very famous by the Thursday Murder Club series of books, are becoming a popular choice for older people who want to, and can afford to, live within a supportive community environment but still retain their independence. For this episode of Ramblings, Clare is walking with Stephen Walsh and his partner, Pat, who live at Great Alne Park retirement village not far from Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire. Along with the village’s visiting fitness instructor, Tania Skerritt, they lead Clare around a four mile route directly from the centre of the village into the local countryside.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Walking your dog in the countryside can be tricky: What if you need to cross a field of cattle or horses? Should you let your dog off the lead or keep it on? Is it best to poo-pick or ‘stick and flick’ in a remote area? Steve Jenkinson has a unique job, having studied the psychology of people and their pets he now works with a range of organisations helping them develop a harmonious relationship with dog walkers who use their land. He lives on Orkney where Clare met him and his dog, Teal, for a coastal walk which passes by the Broch of Gurness. This Iron Age settlement is around 2000 years old and is on the north eastern edge of Orkney’s west Mainland. The St. Magnus Way, a 58 mile long-distance walking route passes by. This is the third of three consecutive walks that Clare recorded on Orkney where she explored its landscape, rich history and archaeology.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer, for BBC Audio in Bristol: Karen Gregor

On a windy hike from the Stones of Stenness to the Ring of Brodgar, Clare discovers Orkney's standing stones are as impressive and mysterious as Stonehenge. Her guide is Sandra Miller from Historic Environment Scotland. Their route takes them past the Watchstone and across the Brodgar Peninsula which has a fresh water loch on one side, and a salty one on the other. Sandra, born and brought up on Orkney, shares her love of the landscape and its history on a dramatic wintery day of high winds and hail storms.

This is the second of three consecutive Orkney walks within this series of Ramblings, next week Clare is off to the Broch of Gurness.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer, for BBC Audio in Bristol: Karen Gregor

Clare explores the wild and stormy west coast of mainland Orkney in the company of beachcomber, conservationist and former Polar-guide, Martin Gray. Their plan to walk along the cliffs between Yesnaby and Marwick Bay were stymied by consistently high winds of around 60mph. Instead they watched the churning ocean at Yesnaby, drove to the Bay of Skaill for a walk along the rocky beach, then headed up to Birsay for a very slightly more sheltered walk to the Earl's Palace.

This is the first of three consecutive Orkney walks. Next week Clare is with Sandra Miller of Historic Environment Scotland walking from the Stones of Stenness to the Ring of Brodgar.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer, for BBC Audio in Bristol: Karen Gregor

Sam and Roger met through a walking group on social media. Both were already keen walkers and Sam posted on the Walking In Wales page looking for a walking companion for a walk she wanted to do. Roger offered to go with her... and the rest is history. Reader, they got engaged. They take Clare on one of their favourite walks in Waterfall Country in the Brecon Beacons in South Wales on a beautiful frosty sunny February day.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Sara Rickard takes groups of local people on a walk through the forest to write, draw and take photographs and simply observe their surroundings. Canopy Arts was set up during Covid when the artists who live in the forest found themselves especially isolated and now runs monthly or fortnightly walks for both seasoned artists and walkers who want to be creatively inspired by the magical atmosphere of this part of the world. Sharon who moved there a year ago is fascinated by what she calls the edgeland that this area is. Sandwiched between the River Severn and the River Wye, the Forest of Dean is actually in Gloucestershire but sometimes feels as though it should be in Wales. It has a long history of free mining and Foresters are traditionally independent in spirit. Clare taps into her own artistic side and joins the group painting with feathers, writing about the landscape and rubbing gravestones.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Clare joins three walkers from the village of Timsbury in Somerset who have created several books detailing100 walks for local people to enjoy in the area. Peter Bradshaw, Larry Cunningham and Sue Fraser stress the books are very much a community project with any proceeds going back into the village. On an extremely wet and windy winter day they take Clare from the village centre around the valley to explore the area's little known coal mining history. All the former mines are obviously closed and the slag heaps are now covered over rich green hillocks which make for safe and easy walking.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

David Falk is Green Access Manager on the Public Rights of Way Team for Suffolk County Council. He works hard to encourage people to enjoy walking in the beautiful Suffolk countryside. Along with fellow walker former local radio presenter Leslie Dolphin he takes Clare on a walk along part of the Icknield Way starting at Stow Country Park just north of Bury St Edmunds. . It is claimed to be the oldest road in Britain (5,000 years old!). This section goes through a large pine forest and open heathlands and is lovely walking terrain.

Producer Maggie Ayre

Boff Whalley is best known for Tubthumping with the band Chumbawamba but now he’s a core member of the Leeds based Commoners Choir which he founded. They sing about the world around them, about inequality and injustice, and they also love to walk. Cath Long, a fellow member, wrote to Ramblings to ask Clare to join them on a hike in the South Pennines near Todmorden in Calderdale, West Yorkshire. So, on a chilly, wet and blustery Saturday in early January, they met by the Shepherd’s Rest pub and headed into the hills to ramble and sing. Boff created a choir manifesto, and one aim was to 'rehearse until we're brilliant' and they really are. Their Skelmanthorpe Flag Song, which they performed at the historic Basin Stone, was heard by fellow walkers at least two miles down in the valley. On a circular hike, which began and ended at the pub, they stopped off at Gaddings Dam, often described as the highest beach in the UK, where some choir members took the plunge and sang out from the wind-blown waves of the reservoir.

Grid Ref for start of walk: SD 945 231

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

The final listener's walk of the series is with Harriet Thomas who wrote to the programme to invite Clare to share her regular walk to The Trundle near Goodwood Racecourse in West Sussex. When lockdown struck and Harriet decamped from London to be near her elderly father she began walking regularly. Sadly her father passed away in Spring 2020 and Harriet kept up the walking as a way of processing her grief. She never returned to London and now immerses herself in the Sussex landscape on her daily rambles. They meet and start out from near the village of West Dean and do a 6 mile circular walk that takes them up to The Trundle an ancient hillfort that provides a spectacular view down into Chichester and beyond to Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Clare goes to Halifax to walk with a group of Muslim men who came together to support each other to become mentally and physically fitter through walking in the countryside around Halifax. One of the things the group enjoys about their town is the ability to be out into beautiful countryside within ten minutes - albeit up some very steep hills! The group's leader is Zaheer Khalil. He is passionate about the benefits of fresh air and walking. He also believes walking is a way of connecting with other people outside of their immediate community. They are a group of professional men who started to find their lives becoming stressful, unhealthy and at times overwhelming. The walks have helped them come together to keep fit and also share problems. They are all passionate about their town and keen to give back to the community in many different ways. They are proud of Halifax's industrial heritage, the contributions made by their elders and their own place in its history. Their walk begins and ends at the town's magnificent centrepiece The Piece Hall. All together it's 6.2 miles and takes them from the town centre up Trooper Lane to Beacon Hill before they walk along the ridge and drop down into Shibden Valley through the grounds of Shibden Hall, former home of Anne Lister (Gentleman Jack). After a break at the Shibden Mill Inn nestled amongst the trees by a stream, another steep climb takes the group up Lee Lane to Ploughcroft, which offers another panorama of Halifax. There is then a gradual descent back towards the town centre, via Claremount and North Bridge, finishing off in the opulent Georgian splendour of the Piece Hall plaza for the guys' customary chai and samosas.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Listener Jo Forrest got in touch inviting Clare to walk with her and a group of fellow walkers with T1 Diabetes who discovered the beautiful lush landscapes around Epsom Downs Racecourse during their lockdown walks. Jo, Chiara, Nicole and Denise are keen to share awareness of Type 1 Diabetes and how they manage it in their every day lives. Their walk takes them beyond the racecourse to Langley Vale Wood scene of Lord Kitchener's inspection of the troops in 1915. Wooden sculptures of the soldiers haunt the landscape and even on a Summer's day the stillness and solemness make for a poignant reminder of the Fallen.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

A sunny hike, with added party tricks, in the pretty countryside around East Worldham. Led ably by members of Walk Alton, Clare discovers the beauty of this part of east Hampshire.

Every episode in this series has been suggested by a Ramblings listener. Helen Dudley and Ian Fleming from Walk Alton wrote to the programme and invited Clare to discover more about this very active organisation and the national scheme to which it belongs, Walkers Are Welcome. For its small size, a population of around twenty thousand, Alton has a disproportionately large number of walking groups and two walking festivals, all run by committed volunteers.

Today’s route is around 7 miles long and starts in the village of East Worldham, two miles east of Alton. They follow the map south, along part of the Hangers Way (hangers are very steep, wooded slopes) to Binswood, an ancient area of woodland managed by the Woodland Trust. Next they head to Shortheath Common, an important area of heathland, before looping back via another part of Binswood and returning to East Worldham via King John’s Hill. Joining them en route is Elinor Newman of the South Downs National Park who discusses a rare habitat known as 'quaking bog', and surprises everyone with her uncanny impressions of both nightjars and beetles.

Scroll down on the Radio 4 Ramblings webpage to the 'related links' section for more info.

Presenter: Clare Balding Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Karen Gregor

Clare walks with a listener known as Caravan, who spent six years living homeless in the Peak District, an area he knows well thanks to his love of outdoor pursuits.

This series of Ramblings is being led by its listeners, people who have written to the programme with a story and a walk that they want to share. Caravan (not his real name) emailed to tell us about his experience of prolonged homelessness over thirty years ago. Central to his survival was the Peak District where he found both physical shelter, by way of railway stations, and also a feeling of sanctuary and anonymity during the most difficult years of his life.

They recorded this walk just after the intense July heatwave which meant their planned Kinder Scout hike was inaccessible, closed due to the risk of wildfires. Instead they met in the village of Hartington and followed a route through Dovedale.

Presenter: Clare Balding Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Karen Gregor

Our listeners are taking over Ramblings and guiding Clare on every walk of this new series. Today’s adventure is led by three women who all qualified as mountain leaders in their 50s. Linda Moran, Angie Jaleel and Bev England explain why they wanted to take their love of the outdoors to a professional level by gaining qualifications later in life. Linda wrote to Ramblings and asked Clare to join them on one of their adventures, so - on a July afternoon, not long after the intense heatwave - they set off on a challenging six-mile hike around Malham in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Starting at Malham Car Park, they walked towards the dramatic, natural amphitheatre that is Malham Cove before ascending the steps that rise alongside it. After a steep climb they arrived at the top and - as they were making their way across the gappy, wobbly limestone pavement - watched a natural drama unfold as crows failed to guard their nest against a persistent and hungry peregrine falcon.

From there they rambled east along part of the Dales High Way, taking in Gordale Scar (full of climbers scaling the almost sheer cliffs) before completing the loop via Janet’s Foss waterfall.

Grid Ref for Malham Car Park: SD 899 627

Presenter: Clare Balding Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Karen Gregor

Mike Nelhams has recently retired as Head Gardener of the beautiful gardens on Tresco but remains very active and involved in island life. He meets Clare off the boat from St Marys and takes her on a tour of the island explaining the appeal of life on one of the most beautiful islands in Britain. They walk through the gardens observing the red squirrels which were introduced ten years ago on the request of Prince Charles who owns the island leasing it to the Dorrien-Smith family. They are responsible for the upkeep of the gardens as well as managing life on the island where there's a thriving tourist industry that sees visitors returning year after year. Tresco has its own micro-climate and is on the Gulf Stream that makes ideal growing conditions for exotic plants from South Africa and New Zealand.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Starting her walk overlooking the harbour outside the Star Castle Hotel once a Civil War fortress Clare hikes around the largest of the Isles of Scilly in the company of Will Wagstaff and Lucy McRobert. Will came to the island in 1985 and began giving walking tours which he has done ever since pointing out the variety of flora and fauna encouraged by the mild climate. Lucy McRobert came to St Marys three years ago with her keen birdwatching husband and infant daughter. Lucy is now just as keen a birder and like every islander has different roles including taking care of stranded seal pups each winter. As they take in the diverse landscapes of this small island they discuss the appeal of life there.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Today’s walk starts at Happy Valley in the Mourne Mountains about thirty minutes inland from the coast of County Down. Clare is walking with Kelly Hargie who, for very personal reasons, launched Wild Women Events as a way of encouraging female walkers to explore the countryside of Northern Ireland. Kelly has long understood that escaping into the wild helped her greatly with postnatal depression and recovery from injury and she wanted to share this discovery with like-minded women. From Happy Valley they head steeply up towards the 7th highest peak in the Mournes, Slieve Meelmore, partly alongside the Shimna River.

This is the second of two back-to-back hikes in the Mournes, recorded on the same day. The first walk was broadcast last week and began – in great contrast to today’s route – at Bloody Bridge.

Grid Ref for their starting point: SB 379 857

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Karen Gregor

In the first of two back-to-back hikes in the Mourne Mountains Clare walks from Bloody Bridge near Newcastle, on the coast of County Down, up into the hills. Led by Alex Rose of the Northern Ireland Young Walkers, they begin at a stone sculpture which – from a certain angle – look like a human face in profile. This is the Smuggler’s Head which helps to tell the story of the ‘Brandy Pad’ a local smuggler’s route. It’s a history-rich Ramblings which continues by following the Bloody Bridge River, so called because bodies thrown into the water, following a massacre during the 1641 rebellion, turned it blood red. Soon they’re climbing steeply up to one of the Mourne summits, Chimney Rock, partly following an old quarry-rail track used to bring granite down to sea-level.

The Northern Ireland Young Walkers were formed in 2005 as a way of getting more youthful hikers out and about. It’s such a successful club that people don’t like to leave, so the age range has widened as the members have aged.

The second Mournes ramble – recorded on the same day - will be broadcast next in the series. It starts at a place whose name couldn’t be more of a contrast: Happy Valley.

Grid Ref for Bloody Bridge Car Park: SB472822

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Karen Gregor

In the first of a new series, Clare is in Derry-Londonderry to meet the celebrated children’s author and artist, Oliver Jeffers. As part of a free nationwide arts project called Unboxed, he’s created a 10 kilometre sculpture trail, designed as a scale model of the solar system. It starts at Bay Road Park and runs alongside the River Foyle. The trail, ‘Our Place in Space’, is there until 22 May 2022 before moving to Belfast, Cambridge, and the North Down Coastal Path.

Oliver says he’s a ‘pretty serious rambler’: he walked everywhere when he lived in New York City, and once led three-day hikes in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York.

Explaining his inspiration for the project, he says: “If we could look back at Earth from the vastness of the solar system, what would we feel? Wouldn’t squabbles look stupid from Saturn? Wouldn’t violence seem senseless from Venus? Forget about ‘Us’ and ‘Them’, from the perspective of Pluto, it’s just US!”

Oliver Jeffers collaborated with the Nerve Centre and Professor Stephen Smartt of Queen’s University Belfast to design the trail which has its own free interactive App to download.

Grid Ref for their starting point: NV 611 818

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Karen Gregor

Having grown up in Cornwall Jane Johnson has a deep love of the landscape of the south west. She and her husband Abdel take Clare on a coastal walk along steep rocky footpaths that offer breathtaking views of the Cornish coastline around the Lizard to Lands End. It's a favourite walk for the couple who often see dolphins, whales and basking sharks along the way. They tell Clare the story of their extraordinary meeting in the foothills of the Anti-Atlas Mountains of Morocco and how a near death experience for Jane while climbing led to a love affair with a Berber restaurant owner who tried to rescue her. Seventeen years on the couple live mainly in Cornwall but try to divide their time between there and Morocco. Jane is a writer and publisher while Abdel is now developing his artwork.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Colleen Thirkell and her husband Richard have been walking stretches of the Saxon Shore Way with their friends Bev and John. In autumn 2020 Colleen fell seriously ill with a rare reaction to a flu jab. She was unable to walk and spent months in hospital. But she has slowly recovered and part of her rehabilitation has been to get out walking with her friends again. They invited Clare to walk one of the final stages of the 168 mile route they have been walking together when time has allowed. The ramble takes them from the village of Hamstreet to Appledore on the edge or Romney Marsh. Along the way they talk about their love of walking together as a group and how Colleen's recovery was aided by the thought of being outdoors with friends and family again.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

The walk begins on the shingle at Winchelsea Beach - the possible site of the drowned city that was engulfed by waves in the 11th century. Crossing the marshy fields inland Clare and Matthew climb the steep hill to the gate of the rebuilt and fortified town of Winchelsea that was once a thriving wine port. They walk through the town passing open wine cellars as they go. The town was built on a grid system and as with similar towns in France and Italy it became known as a medieval Manhattan. Trade with European ports in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal was vibrant and it was said that in the Middle Ages Winchelsea was close to becoming the wine capital of Europe. Fierce fighting took place between its citizens and bands of marauding pirates from across the Channel to protects its wealth and prosperity. Dr Matthew Green specialises in walking as a way of understanding history and gives wine and gin tours in London. He says he prefers to try and understand how people lived and felt at the time they were living rather than to focus on the politics and conflicts of the past. Crossing into fields on the south side of Winchelsea they walk over buried streets of houses, a hospital and the market place down to the stone towngate on the road to Icklesham. Having submerged the original town, the sea then played another cruel trick on Winchelsea. Large deposits of shingle amassed meaning ships could no longer enter the harbour. Trade dwindled and the town declined. Only around a third of the original settlement remains.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Baroness Floella Benjamin DBE joins Clare for a walk around one of her favourite woodlands in London. Starting in Dulwich College where her mother worked in the laundry and later her son attended, Floella and husband Keith head off into the woods on a rainy March day. Their walk takes them up from the College past the Golf range and into the woods where parakeets dart among the trees shrieking and providing a dash of bright emerald green on a grey day. Along the way Floella talks about her life and all her achievements. She was born in Trinidad and emigrated with her family in the 1960s settling in London. After leaving school she worked in a bank before becoming an actress and then getting her break into children's television in Play School. The education and wellbeing of children is one of her greatest priorities and she is hugely proud of all that she has achieved in this field. The walk takes them along routes she has walked for many years from when her own children were small. She and Keith are great walkers and love to hike in the Lake District but when that's not possible, a walk in these woods is a sanctuary in the middle of the city - a place to relax, think and destress.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

From the Redmires Reservoirs near Sheffield, Clare walks up to Stanage Edge ('stone edge') a gritstone escarpment in the Peak District. Angela Lawrence and Anna Jorgensen are Clare's guests and are retired fell-runners (an accident with a vacuum cleaner ended Angela's running career) but their passion for the hills of the Peak District, which they have run across many times, remains undimmed. They have simply slowed down a little, and are now committed walkers. They wrote to Ramblings to suggest that Clare hike with them up to Stanage Pole. Along the way, on a beautiful, clear-skied day, they take in stunning views, a sociable lunch in a stone bothy, and tell Clare about another of their passions: Argentine Tango.

During the walk they also talk about the "Ethels". In honour of the pioneering environmentalist, Ethel Haythornthwaite, 95 hilltops have been classified by the countryside charity, CPRE, as 'Ethels'. Clare, Angela and Anna delve into Ethel's fascinating life-story as they immerse themselves in the scenery that inspired her. The Ethels were recently created following an idea from Doug Colton.

The Grid Reference for Redmires Reservoirs is SK265858.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare explores a rural route near the Worcestershire village of Guarlford. Storm Eunice has just left, Franklin is underway and the River Severn is up so this is a last-minute change to the planned walk. Originally Clare and her guest, poet Catherine Swire, had planned to hike the first stretch of the Monarch's Way which runs along the banks of the Rivers Teme and Severn in Worcester but flooding has pushed them a little further south.

Catherine has recently published her first book of poetry, 'Soil', which takes the theme of historic trauma and explores how it is etched on our landscape. Worcester was the site of the first proper skirmish, and the last battle, of the English Civil War, something featured within Catherine's work.

The Monarch's Way is a long distance path which traces the very indirect escape route - from Worcester to Suffolk - of Charles II after his loss at the Battle of Worcester in 1651.

Guarlford (not on the Monarch's Way) is about two miles east of Great Malvern, and a good mile and a half west of the River Severn - hopefully far enough to keep their feet dry.

The grid reference for their starting point in Guarlford is SO 813 453. The map is OS Explorer 190 Malvern Hills and Bredon Hill

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Writer Melissa Harrison celebrates the joy of walking in every season of the year and in wet and dry weather. Given that we can count on it raining on many days of the year it's a good thing to learn to love being out in it. Melissa has written a book about rain and discovered that there are hundreds of different words and expressions for weather from around Britain. Clare and Melissa do a circular walk from Gidleigh on Darmoor to Scorhill and Shovel Down. Dartmoor is a place that holds a strong pull for Melissa dating back to childhood. She returns often to walk this wild country where stone circles and rocky tors dot the landscape.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

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.

Clare, Guy and Hussein walked for around three sodden, sleety miles through the Eglwyseg Valley to World's End at Grid Reference SJ229479

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

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 of the Preselis.

Nick spent childhood holidays in Pembrokeshire and remembers hearing stories of the Welsh Black cattle and their drovers. In the rain, steam could be seen rising from the hot animals whose feet were shod to protect them on their journey. Now retired and looking for new adventures, he decided to set himself this challenge which he started with a broken toe, and a tent which he hoped he wouldn’t have to use.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

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.

Approximately twelve miles south of Oban, Seil is a small island separated from the mainland by the narrowest of sea channels. It became known as one of the ‘slate islands’ thanks to its slate rock deposits which were quarried and used to ‘roof the world’. Norrie and Clare begin their walk on the mainland side of the bridge, at Grid Ref NM 785 196.

Please scroll down to the 'related links' box on the Ramblings webpage for more info.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Karen Gregor

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 the 'related links' box at the bottom of the Ramblings webpage for more info about David Allaway.

Presenter: Clare Balding Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Karen Gregor

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 but the rewards are immense with spectacular scenery and obliging wildlife.

Scroll down to the foot of the Ramblings webpage to the 'related links' box where there is further information available.

Presenter: Clare Balding Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Karen Gregor