Ramblings

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 231Presenter: 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