Ramblings

Psychotherapist, Dr. Ruth Allen, explains how outdoor counselling works. She takes Clare Balding on a walk near Kelstedge in Derbyshire to discuss the healing power of walking & talking. In this series of Ramblings, Clare Balding is exploring the impact that walking in nature can have on our inner lives. She’s been up Glastonbury Tor with Druids, walked the Wilberforce Way with a Methodist minister, been on retreat in Winchester and rambled across the Malverns with the Herefordshire Interfaith Group. Scroll down to the 'related links' box for more information.Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare Balding visits the ancient and mysterious labyrinth on top of St. Catherine's Hill in Winchester. Leading the walk is Brian Draper, who runs soulful retreats in nature.Throughout this series of Ramblings Clare is exploring how walking affects our inner life. She is hiking with people of differing beliefs and none to discover how the simple act of being in the natural world can change how we feel. Today, she joins a retreat run by Brian Draper - you may recognise his voice from Thought For The Day on Radio 4 - who encourages the group to slow down and be a part of nature, and discusses the benefits this can have. Together they climb St. Catherine’s Hill to discover the meaning and purpose of labyrinths, a kind of spiritual maze-like path used for walking meditation. Scroll down to the 'related links' box for more information.Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare Balding walks with Sikh-turned-Methodist, Inderjit Bhogal, along part of the Wilberforce Way in East Yorkshire. Inderjit created this long distance walking route to honour Wilberforce who led the campaign against the slave trade. They start at Pocklington School, where Wilberforce studied, and ramble canal-side to Melbourne Ings. Inderjit Bhogal has an extraordinary personal story: Born in Kenya he and his family fled, via Tanzania, to Dudley in the West Midlands in the early 1960s. He couldn’t find anywhere to practice his Sikh faith so started attending his local Methodist chapel where he became an unusual sight, a Christian worshipper in a turban. He went on to become a leading figure in the Methodist church and was awarded an OBE in 2005. He discusses feeling fearful while walking alone in the countryside, because of the colour of his skin, despite having lived here for over 50 years.Please scroll down to the 'Related Links' box for information about the guide book mentioned in the programmeProducer: Karen Gregor

Clare Balding explores Glastonbury with Druids Penny and Arthur Billington. Throughout this series of Ramblings, Clare is finding out how walking affects our inner life. She is hiking with people of differing beliefs and none to discover how the simple act of being in the natural world can change how we feel. As Penny and Arthur explain, Druids live their lives closely connected to nature and the changing seasons. Glastonbury Tor and the surrounding area is steeped in rich mythology which draws Druids to what they regard as a sacred landscape.Producer: Karen Gregor

Steve Backshall and Helen Glover walk with Clare Balding on Winter Hill in Berkshire.Throughout this series of Ramblings Clare Balding is exploring how walking affects our well-being. She is hiking with people of differing beliefs and none to discover how the simple act of being in the natural world can change how we feel. Today, she’s climbing Winter Hill in Berkshire with the Olympic rower Helen Glover and her husband, the wildlife broadcaster and adventurer, Steve Backshall. They spend their working and waking lives outside and know more than most how joyful and beneficial this can be. They had their first child, Logan, in 2018 and are expecting again very soon. They discuss how important they feel it is to raise children with a love of the outdoors, and all the benefits that brings.Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare walks with Jon Whitley and James (Jay) La Bouchardiere, two childhood friends born and bred in Dorset who moved back there after university and began playing folk music. Jon’s father had run a folk club so it was in his blood so to speak as is the Dorset countryside. When they started writing songs it was a natural process to incorporate the landscape and folklore of the county and this eventually led to them producing a book of the walks that they have enjoyed and written songs about. They perform as a duo called Ninebarrow, a hill near Corfe Castle. They’re walking one of their favourite and oldest walks of coastline, a circular walk beginning and ending in Worth Matravers. OS Ref SY 974 777Producer: Maggie Ayre

Clare Balding walks part of the Elan Valley pipeline: 73 miles of Victorian engineering running water from mid Wales into the city of Birmingham. Clare is walking with artist Kate Green who has spent the summer walking the pipe and getting to know people and places along the way. They're walking a stretch that runs around the town of Ludlow in the Welsh Marches. Joining them are Andy Holman who runs a horse rescue centre on his land which holds part of the pipelines, and Tim Hipkiss part of a group of walkers called the Laura Ashley Pate Spreaders who she encountered as they were walking the pipeline too.Producer: Maggie Ayre

David Blunkett takes Clare Balding for a walk across Beeley Edge in the Peak District. Joining them are his wife, Margaret, and his guide dog, Barley. Despite being blind from birth, Lord Blunkett has always been a keen rambler and is President of his local Ramblers group. En route they encounter half a dozen cattle, which have to be navigated carefully as David once had three ribs broken by a cow which, he recalls, came towards him with a 'primeval bellow' and knocked him over. They also pass the lakes that supply the extraordinary gardens at Chatsworth House, including the Emperor Fountain built to impress a visiting Russian Czar... who didn't turn up.Scroll down to 'related links' for information about the local area.Location Producer: Tom Bonnett Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare is climbing Cleeve Hill near Cheltenham in today’s Ramblings. At 330 metres above sea level it’s the highest point in Gloucestershire, and of the Cotswold Hills. With her are Chas and Sue Howes who live at the foot of the hill, and have a strong connection to it. Until 2012 Chas was the Finance Director of a major international clothing company. When he left he spiralled into a severe depression, something he now realises he had suffered from for many years. He says the business world is still a place where it’s very difficult to discuss mental health issues. Cleeve Hill and Common have been something of a lifeline for Chas: alongside medication, walking and running on the hill have improved his physical and mental health. He is now a trustee of its conservation body which raises money to protect and improve the hill and its surrounding land. Details of organisations offering information and support are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline Please scroll down to 'related links' for more information on the support available. Also for more information about Cleeve Hill.Location Producer: Tom Bonnett (Producer: Karen Gregor)

Clare Balding is with a group of young LGBT+ ramblers who meet once a month to explore the green spaces close to Manchester. Run by The Proud Trust, the outdoor adventures group is for 18-25-year-olds and is designed to combat social isolation and build both confidence and physical fitness. They always meet within striking distance of public transport and, today, are starting on the Chester Road in Stretford which is a mile from Trafford Park station. From there they walk partly along the River Mersey to Chorlton Water Park. It’s a local nature reserve which was created during the construction of the M60 motorway, when gravel was excavated and the resulting pit flooded to create the lake. Please scroll down to 'related links' for information connected to the walk location and The Proud Trust.Location Producer: Tom Bonnett (Producer: Karen Gregor)