Ramblings

Sound Recordist, Ellie Williams, takes Clare for an audio-rich wander at Abbots Pool in North Somerset. Walking, she says, is as essential to her as food and sleep and – whether she’s recording, or not – she’s always super-aware of the richness of the sounds around her. En route she contemplates why her profession is still so male-dominated and how it can be opened up to more women. Grid Ref for Abbots Pool Car Park: ST 537 730Producer: Karen Gregor

Do big cats roam the British countryside? It’s a long running debate, one that’s never far from the headlines. A few years ago on Ramblings, Clare saw what she described as an “enormous black cat” on a walk near Ross on Wye. Several newspapers followed this up, as did the ‘Big Cat Conversations’ podcast which is hosted by Rick Minter: he set up a camera trap close to Clare’s sighting and made contact with Ramblings. So, for today’s walk, Clare and Rick explore the area around Selsley Common in Gloucestershire and discuss why he’s so sure big cats do exist in rural Britain.Grid Ref for the layby where we parked: SO830027Producer: Karen Gregor

How many times have you been out for a walk and spotted intriguing shapes in the landscape? Your instinct tells you that these dips, hollows, lumps, bumps and oddly shaped stones aren’t natural features, but what on (and under) the earth are they? Mary-Ann Ochota is an anthropologist who writes about these curious archaeological forms and how to understand them. In her book, Hidden Histories, she shows how anyone can become a landscape detective, and start to read the history of the countryside from the clues around them. On today’s Ramblings she takes Clare Balding for a walk around the Pegsdon Hills on the Hertfordshire-Bedfordshire border, and through 6000 years of British history. Grid Ref for where we parked: TL133301 Producer: Karen Gregor

Simon Gudgeon is one of our leading sculptors, but he didn't practice his art until his mid 40s. He'd worked as a solicitor, a photographer, and a landscape gardener before, one day, picking up a lump of clay to see what he could create. It wasn't long before he knew that sculpting was all he wanted to do. His distinctive creations, often inspired by the natural world, are showcased at his own venture, Sculpture by the Lakes in Dorset. Set in 26 acres and featuring over 40 lake and riverside works of art, establishing Sculpture by the Lakes proved a financially risky labour of love. Simon tells his story to Clare Balding on a walk from the historic St. Nicholas Church in Moreton, to his home at the sculpture park in Pallington, Dorset.Grid Ref for St. Nicholas Church: SY805892 Grid Ref for Sculpture by the Lakes: SY786912Producer: Karen gregor

The Oscar winning producer of The King’s Speech, Gareth Ellis-Unwin, takes Clare on one of his regular rambles from Pangbourne in Berkshire to Goring on Thames in South Oxfordshire. Gareth had an unusual route into film-making and now works with the charity, ScreenSkills, which is trying to make it easier for people of all backgrounds to join the industry. Walking - Gareth says - is vital for the creative process, and he has a lot bubbling under: including a project about the extraordinary Georgian explorer, Lady Hester Stanhope. We started in Pangbourne at Grid Ref: SU636767 and walked along the Thames Path to Goring on Thames. Our final landmark was Goring Lock, Grid Ref: SU596808Producer: Karen Gregor

Anneka Rice is a self-declared obsessive rambler who says she feels out of sorts if she doesn’t walk every day. Today she takes Clare on her favourite route along the banks of the Thames where she discusses how the river ‘tethers’ her, something she needs following a childhood that left her feeling ‘untethered’. Anneka became a household name in the 1980s thanks to the TV series Treasure Hunt, which followed her zipping about in a helicopter and racing against the clock to find clues on behalf of studio-bound contestants. Next came Challenge Anneka where she led groups of volunteers in the creation of community-based projects. At the height of her TV success, she took time out to study at Chelsea College of Art and now spends much of her time painting. Clare and Anneka start the walk at approx Grid Ref: TQ215764, and walk along the Thames Path in the direction of Kew Gardens, then return on the opposite side of the river ending at Dukes Meadows Bandstand, Grid Ref: TQ214767Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare Balding walks with Anita Rani on Hackney and Walthamstow Marshes. They also explore Walthamstow Wetlands, an internationally important nature reserve opened to the public in 2017. The Countryfile presenter recalls her outdoorsy upbringing in Yorkshire and how much she values London's green spaces. She also discusses her plans to write a childhood memoir; how appearing on 'Who Do You Think You Are' changed her life; and the intriguing story behind her choice of name for a new puppy.Clare and Anita started their walk in Millfields Park, Grid Ref: TQ353862Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare goes beachcombing on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent with author Lisa Woollett. Lisa is fascinated by what we throw away and how it reflects our changing lifestyles. Her new book ‘Rag and Bone’ tells the story of her discoveries in beachcombing and mudlarking and how it links to her family history: her great grandfather was a scavenger and her grandfather was a dustman. Clare and Lisa begin their walk (crucially, at low tide) at grid reference TQ954737.Producer: Karen Gregor

David Wilson is a well known criminologist and former prison governor. Clare meets him in the village of Wicken on the Northamptonshire/Buckinghamshire border near to where he lives for a walk to the nearby village of Leckhampstead. This is one of David's regular routes. He has been walking around 50 miles a week since lockdown began in March. He does it to keep his weight down and to help process the horrors he often faces in his work dealing with murderers and serial killers. Clare talks to him about a case in his hometown in Scotland which he has recently written a book about. In it he reexamines the brutal murder of a young woman in 1973. Many people in the town believed the wrong man was tried and convicted. With the help of his sisters, David revisits the case and tracks down the man he believes to be the real killer. Producer: Maggie AyreThe route starts on OS Landranger 152 Grid Ref SP 745394 Wicken to Leckhampstead

Barry Farrimond, who plays Ed Grundy in The Archers, takes Clare Balding for an adventurous hike across Dartmoor. As they navigate the granite boulders of Wistman's Wood and scramble cross the West Dart River, Barry discusses the challenges of recording The Archers during lockdown, the knot he invented a few years ago (the Farrimond Friction Hitch) and Open Up Music, an organisation he co-founded to ensure that orchestras are accessible to young disabled musicians; this led to the establishment of the National Open Youth Orchestra, the world's first disabled-led national youth ensemble. Barry and Clare began their walk at Two Bridges, in the car park for Wistman's Wood: grid reference SX609750.Producer: Karen Gregor