Ramblings

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 GregorA 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 parkPresenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen GregorA 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 walkIf 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 GregorA 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 walkPresenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen GregorA 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.tweedPresenter: 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 GregorHere's a poem Nick wrote about his time on the Camino in 2016:Santander a Muxia, Camino 2016Come, 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.snailPresenter: 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