Ramblings
BBC Radio 4
Clare Balding and guests share inspiring conversations while walking in the great outdoors.Fresh air and nature, wonderful views and uplifting chat, each week Clare hikes in a different part of our glorious countryside. Walking side by side is the perfect way to cover a huge range of subjects: literature, art, wildlife, nature, taking on personal or physical challenges, dealing with grief, confronting preconceptions about the kind of people who love to ramble. The conversations are as varied as the landscapes we find ourselves in. If there's a recurring theme, it's the accepted truth that 'solvitur ambulando' - 'it is solved through walking': The sense of wellness, the benefits to mental health, easy companionship, or sometimes just the sense of solitude that being alone in nature brings.Few things are better than going for a good walk. That's what we aim to share each week on Ramblings with Clare Balding.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jun 25, 2011 • 24min
Alderley Edge - Alan Garner
Alan Garner spent his early childhood in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, England, and he remains associated with the area. Many of his works, including The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Moon of Gomrath, are drawn from local legends and locations. Clare Balding walks with him to hear more about the area and how it inspired his writing.
Jun 18, 2011 • 25min
Daphne Du Maurier - Fowey
Daphne Du Maurier lived and worked in Cornwall and the area surrounding Fowey features in many of her novels. Today the town is home to the annual Daphne Du Maurier festival and this year is it's 10th anniversary. Clare Balding discovers how the area inspired many features of Du Mauriers work and meets local experts including Du Maurier's son.
Jun 11, 2011 • 24min
Darwin - Quantock Hills
Inspired by Richard Dawkins book 'The Ancestor's tale: a pilgrimage to the dawn of life' the 'Ancestor's Trail' is intended as a celebration of evolution. Darwin's Tree is represented by footpaths over the Quantock hills and whilst some walkers will begin the 13 mile hike representing the human journey others may join as elephants, reptiles or even jellyfish further down the line. Clare Balding meets those taking part in the celebrations and finds out why they feel evolution itself should be celebrated.
Jun 4, 2011 • 24min
Malcolm Saville - Shropshire
Clare Balding joins walkers and members of the Malcolm Saville society in the Shropshire Hills where the author of children's fiction based his Lone Pine series.
May 28, 2011 • 24min
Hereford - Bruce Chatwin
Clare Balding walks on the Black Hill near to Hereford in the footsteps of novelist Bruce Chatwin who explored the border between Wales and England for his eponymous novel. She's joined by local writer and walker Bill Laws.
May 21, 2011 • 25min
Heptonstall - Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath
Clare Balding is back with a new series of walks with a literary theme, beginning in Heptonstall, the childhood home of poet Ted Hughes, and the burial place of his wife, Sylvia Plath. The rugged landscape influenced not only their work but many other poets. Clare joins John Billingsley a keen rambler and Hughes enthusiast, as well as other writers and walkers to experience the harsh beauty of Bronte Country.
Mar 12, 2011 • 24min
Birmingham - Lickey Hills
In the last programme of the series, Stuart Maconie walks the Lickey Hills overlooking Birmingham with a group of first time walkers, from the inner city.
Mar 5, 2011 • 25min
Manchester - Marsden
Stuart Maconie takes in the Manchester skyline with poet Simon Armitage on his home turf.
Feb 26, 2011 • 24min
Wales - Garth
Continuing his series of short walks for winter days that take in city skylines, Stuart Maconie walks the Garth outside of Cardiff with a group who call themselves Welsh Women Walking. As they admire spectacular views of the city and over the Bristol Channel to Somerset and Devon, Stuart hears from one woman who says these walks with her friends, saved her life and sanity after the death of her son.
Feb 19, 2011 • 25min
Lancaster - Slyne
Broadcaster, journalist and keen walker Stuart Maconie continues this series of Ramblings, finding walks that are perfect for short winter days and which offer skyline views of British cities. Today, he's setting out from the village of Slyne in Lancashire and heading to look over the historical city of Lancaster.Producer: Helen Chetwynd.
