Belinda Kirk is a researcher, campaigner, and author who is a huge advocate for adventure. When you tune into this episode, you will quickly realise that Belinda is a force of nature who is deeply passionate about what she does.

Belinda founded Explorers Connect, encouraging people to engage in life-changing outdoor challenges and she has written a book, Adventure Revolution which delves into why adventure is essential to our wellbeing.

Belinda talks to Kenton about her experience of adventure and what it has taught her including life-defining moments, turning fear into excitement, social prescribing, connecting with nature, and expanding comfort zones.

You will be planning your own adventure before the episode is over!

Recommended read: Atomic Habits and My Side of the Mountain

Recommended listen: Coldplay Live

Aged 19, Jude Kriwald cycled from England to India, a journey that he describes in vivid detail in this week's episode of Cool Conversations. From embracing Iranian hospitality to sneaking through Tibet, his first major adventure left him with many stories to tell, and a taste for more.

Jude Kriwald is an adventurer and a volunteer. He founded adventurementor.org to support others in their quest for adventure, and he was recently named 'Emerging Leader of the Year' by the British Exploring Society. Last year, Jude travelled to West Africa and followed an unmarked track through the Liberian jungle with his bicycle. His film about the experience, Alone Across Gola, has already won a Best Documentary Award and will be released later this year.

This is a fantastic conversation and reminds us all to not rest on our laurels, but to pick up our dreams and go out to find adventure!

What's Jude reading: Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

What's Jude listening to: Seek, Travel, Ride podcast. And he recommends checking out Owmi, a little known but brilliant musician

For most people, running a 100 mile race is an enormous undertaking, that requires months of diligent training. This week's guest, Basil Heaney, takes a different approach. He enjoys racing more than training, which means that he runs multiple ultra-distance races every year. Most recently, he ran the Winter Downs 200, the Winter Spine race (268 miles), and the Arc of Attrition (100 miles) within a seven week period. Some may call him crazy!

Kenton talks to Basil about why he chooses to do this and how he approaches it. They also discuss Basil's 'passion project', a charity called Into Ultra that he has recently founded to help people whose financial barriers prevent them from running ultras. Although Kenton has not run an ultra, he and Basil find common ground in a love for the outdoors, the joy of running, the freedom of ski touring and a shared appreciation of Italian refugios!

What's Basil reading: The Wasp Factory by Ian Banks

What's Basil listening to: The Tea and Trails podcast

In 2005, Lorraine McCall left her house to 'go for a walk' on her 40th birthday and didn't stop until she had walked up, and between, all 284 Munros in Scotland (2 Munros have since been downgraded, so there are now officially only 282!) This was a journey of 1,500 miles on foot. Ten years later, Lorraine tackled all 222 Corbetts to celebrate her 50th birthday, and most recently, Lorraine became the first woman to summit all 231 Grahams in a single push in 2024 (she's about to turn 60!)

We think you will agree that Lorraine is Kenton's most under-stated, humble, unassuming guest so far. She has walked, cycled and kayaked thousands of miles across Scotland purely for the love of it. She shuns technology and her footprint on social media is tiny.

In this episode we learn all about the classification of hills in Scotland and the challenges of getting up some of them, but mostly we come away with an appreciation for Lorraine who found her chosen adventures and embraced them wholeheartedly, overcoming the difficulties and continually finding joy in them.

What's Lorraine reading? Music in the Dark by Sally Magnusson

What's Lorraine listening to? Celtic Connections playlist

This week Kenton dives into (excuse the pun!) a fascinating conversation with wild swimmer, author and journalist, Ella Foote.

Ella has been swimming outside since her childhood, when her parents used to take her to the seaside and they spent hours in the sea. These days she is editor of Outdoor Swimmer magazine, she is founder of Dip Advisor - a company that takes people on swim adventures - and she is author of 'How to Wild Swim'. Kenton and Ella discuss everything from kit and equipment, to water quality and community.

Ella's love for swimming outdoors is quite simply infectious and we challenge you to not want to dip your toe in the water after listening to this episode.

What Ella's reading: Breaking Waves by Emma Simpson

What Ella's listening to: The Cure's new album, Songs of a Lost World

This week's podcast guest is Lise Wortley who has been on some fascinating journeys, conceived out of her curiosity about adventurous women from history.

Lise has chosen to follow in the footsteps of women who 'pushed the boundaries' in the world of adventure in the early 20th century and who unwittingly played a huge part in making adventure accessible to women today.

She tells Kenton about the depth of her research, the clothing she has sourced, and the people she has met whilst following in the footsteps of some remarkable women in India, Scotland, Iran and France.

What's Lise reading? Climbing Days by Dorothy Pilley

What's Lise listening to? Drum and Base, and The Guardian podcast every morning

It's the first episode of 2025 and we have a spectacular Tales from the Trails (TFTT) for you! Kenton recorded this whilst he was trekking to Everest Base Camp in November and it is the perfect way to brighten up a cold January day. 

Kenton shares colourful descriptions of the people, valleys, rivers, views, animals and landmarks that he passes as he treks from Namche Bazaar to Everest Base Camp with a small team of trekkers. From the evocative sounds of prayer wheels to the rushing of rivers and the breathlessness of hiking at altitude, you will get a real taste of life in the Khumbu Valley and we hope that it will set your tastebuds tingling for the adventures that lie ahead in 2025!

Whilst trekking in the Khumbu region recently, Kenton bumped into 'super guide' Lakpa Rita Sherpa, and took the opportunity to interview him for the podcast. Lakpa Rita was born in Thame, a small village high in the Himalayas, and followed in his father's footsteps becoming a mountain guide and Sirdar.

Lakpa Rita has lived in Seattle since 2000 and has led multiple expeditions all over the world. He first summited Everest in 1990 and has stood atop the world's highest mountain 17 times. Lakpa Rita now runs his own guiding company, Khangri Experience, and personally prefers to climb 'smaller' mountains these days, as well as leading treks in Nepal, the USA and elsewhere.

Kenton learns things about Lakpa Rita that he didn't know during this conversation, so we're sure that you will too. Enjoy!

Follow Kenton on Instagram: @kentoncool

Follow Lakpa Rita on Instagram: @lrsherpa

Find Lakpa Rita's guiding company here: www.khangriexperience.com

Melissa Arnot is a mountain guide, Everest summiteer, adventurer and co-founder of The Juniper Fund. More recently, she has taken up ultra-running and in this episode of Cool Conversations, Kenton talks to her about her experiences in the 450km Tor des Glaciers race a few months ago.

Melissa didn't finish the race and has taken a lot of learnings from her unfortunate DNF. She continued for far longer than many of us would believe possible yet still struggled to process her 'failure' for several weeks afterwards.

This is the second time that Melissa has been on the pod, and we think you will quickly understand why she is welcome anytime!

This episode of Cool Conversations is a very special one because Kenton sits down with his close friend and Number One Sherpa, Dorjee Gyelzen.

Dorjee grew up in Pangboche, Nepal which sits at 4,000m altitude. Life in the high Himalayas is challenging, but through hard work and commitment Dorjee has forged a career in mountaineering and Kenton rates him as one of the best!

Dorjee has climbed Mount Everest 23 times and he has summited Ama Dablam (his favourite mountain) an astonishing 27 times.

Listen now to hear about Dorjee's childhood and his journey into mountaineering, and to learn about his Buddhist faith and his deep love and sense of responsibility for his family.