Ramblings

David Sedaris, the American author and comedian, takes Clare Balding on a litter-picking walk in West Sussex.When David Sedaris was a child he would clear up around the house, and keep his own bedroom perfectly tidy. This obsession has, in recent years, been transferred to the outdoors and Sedaris is now a devoted daily litter-picker, cleaning the roadside verges of Pulborough and the surrounding area.Clare imagined that this edition of Ramblings might take her across the South Downs, occasionally reaching for a stray bottle or piece of paper. In reality it involved walking less than two miles, and filling six bin bags full to bursting with all manner of filthy rubbish. All while wearing a fetching hi-viz jacket. A very unusual edition of Ramblings!

Actress and singer, Toyah Willcox, takes Clare Balding for a walk in rural Worcestershire.The theme for this series of Ramblings is 'self-improvement' and for Toyah - who has always had problems with her joints, including a recent hip replacement - walking is the perfect exercise. She says it helps her keep her weight down and remain active. Clare met Toyah at Croome Landscape Park, a National Trust Property famous for its stunning grounds designed by Capability Brown. Unfortunately Toyah was injured - 97 pantomime performances over Christmas had taken their toll - but, crutch in hand, the ramble went ahead. By the end of the walk, during which Toyah discussed her serendipitous route into show business and forthcoming performance in a 'bawdy' show called Hormonal Housewives, she actually felt better. Proof, she said, that walking is one of the best ways to remain healthy.Producer: Karen Gregor.

Clare Balding explores the beautiful Longdendale Trail in Derbyshire, joining long -term friends, Tracey Standring and Christine Valentine. They explain the vital role walking has played in their lives, cementing their friendship and keeping them sane and healthy. They've been walking together for over a year now and they explore new places each week. Neither are keen or particularly competent map readers and Clare tries to convert them with her own expertise, although with a gale blowing along the valley, it's not all that easy. Producer Lucy Lunt.

Clare Balding is walking for self improvement in this series of Ramblings and today she hopes to find a new inner calm with the help of Dr Kate Kirkwood. Kate attempts to lead Clare on a path of spiritual renewal by teaching her to walk silently. Silence is not a state that comes naturally to Clare but as she and Kate walk where the mood takes them, in the Herefordshire countryside just outside Hay on Wye, they discover why walking can be one of the bet forms of stress relief. Producer: Lucy Lunt.

Clare Balding is walking for self improvement in this new series of Ramblings; in six weeks time she hopes to be smarter, fitter, calmer and cleverer. In this first programme she joins a walking book group in North London, who find wandering on Hampstead Heath much more conducive to discussing literature than sitting round a coffee table. The walking book group is the brainchild of Emily Rhodes from the local Daunt book shop.Emily explains to Clare how she chooses the books each month and why she thinks the group attracts a growing and enthusiastic following. The book under discussion today is Elizabeth Taylor's Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont. Clare, an English graduate, joins in enthusiastically with her opinions on the novel as well as discussing with fellow group members the issues of aging, loneliness and retirement homes. Archie, her Tibetan Terrier accompanies Clare but is sadly, not improved by the experience. Producer: Lucy Lunt.

Clare Balding walks with naturalist, author & TV presenter, Steve Backshall. Together they stroll along his favourite stretch of the Thames from Bourne End to Boulter's Lock in Buckinghamshire.Steve is best known for presenting CBBC's 'Deadly 60', and has recently started writing children's fiction - his first book is 'Tiger Wars', about a group of renegade children who become involved with tiger poaching in India.He spends a lot of time filming abroad so Clare was lucky to catch up with him on his home patch. As they wander along the Thames, Steve explains that his love of the outdoors began when - as a child - his parents sent him and his sister out to play and told them not to come back until it was dark. This kind of 'feral' (as he put it) freedom developed in him an enduring passion for the natural world.Producer: Karen Gregor.

Clare Balding walks with Simon Evans and his family along a tributary of the Usk, in the shadow of the Sugar Loaf. Simon is a passionate fisherman and river conservationist who works for the Wye and Usk Foundation.Simon's wife Hazel and their two children - Freya and Arlo - also joined in... Freya contributing musical accompaniment (Peter Rabbit had a fly upon his nose...) and Arlo narrowly avoiding tree-branches from his elevated position in Simon's backpack. A highlight was discovering otter spraint under a bridge - concrete evidence of recent otter activity. It's lilac-scented although perhaps not (as Clare pointed out) enough to warrant taking it home and putting it in her chest of drawers...An extraordinary 1000 year old sweet chestnut tree loomed into view towards the end of the walk... one of the boughs as big as a sizable tree. Clare's attempts to create a human circle ended in tears.. not her's... rather Freya's nose got rather too close to the trunk.We started at the Red Lion pub in Llanbedr, the walk took us along a tributary of the River Usk...(with a small trout leaping upstream) to our end point at The Bell in the village of GlangrwyneyProducer: Karen Gregor.

Clare Balding walks with the actor, and passionate bird-watcher, Samuel West around one of his favourite birding spots, the RSPB reserve at Rainham Marshes in Essex.Currently in rehearsals for a West End production of Uncle Vanya, Samuel West takes a day off to share with Clare Balding his deep love of birding.He's drawn to birdlife because, he says, it reflects human-nature so well, "birds interact with the world through colour and song, both of which we - as humans - really get."A trip to Kenya at the age of 14 ignited this passion; "In Britain, birds were 3 inches long and brown.. in Kenya they were 7ft tall and couldn't fly, or bright blue... they were easy to tell apart... that's where it all started".Producer: Karen Gregor.

Clare Balding continues her series of wildlife walks with a visit to the Irish Coast. Today it's "Ramblings reunited", as she is joined again by Irish naturalist and broadcaster Eanna Ni Lamhna and her husband John Harding. Clare Balding last walked with her on a 'holiday hike' in the Wicklow mountains in September 2002. Today expert naturalist and broadcaster Eanna, takes her on a beautiful tour of the diverse wildlife havens of her home city, Dublin. They dig for lugworms and talk Ulysses in Sandymount strand. They discover the unlikely winter stopover of flocks of thousands of Brent geese - Fontenoy Football Club (the geese have a taste for the well mown turf!)On they walk to Ringsend Nature Reserve. In this a wonderful elevated wooded area, built on reclaimed builders rubble, they find a haven for linnets, goldfinches, blackbirds, wrens, curlews and egrets in the surrounded by wonderful views of the Dublin mountains and city spires.As they walk, they revisit their walk, conversations and friendship built in the rainy Wicklow Mountains ten years ago, and explore how much their lives, and their walks, have changed since Clare's last visit.

Environmentalist and well-known broadcaster Eanna Ni Lamhna takes Clare into the fabulous walking country of the Wicklow Mountains. She's a mine of information on many subjects and keeps Clare entertained as they climb - to be rewarded by a view of the lakes of Glendalough.