Living Adventurously

Dan Raven-Ellison is an explorer of ideas, landscapes, and what’s possible. As the founder of Slow Ways, he’s building a grassroots national walking network to connect every town and city in Britain. Before that, he spearheaded the campaign to make London the world’s first National Park City, challenging how we perceive urban nature. A self-described guerrilla geographer, Dan blends creativity, activism, and deep curiosity to explore big questions: What makes a place wild? Who gets to access it? And how do we make everyday adventure more accessible?

This is Dan’s second appearance on the Living Adventurously podcast (check out episode 49 for our first chat). In this conversation, we dive deeper into Dan’s mission to reimagine geography, walking, childhood, and cities. From rewilding Britain to the future of Slow Ways, we cover bold ideas, tough trade-offs, and the power of imagination in driving real change. Whether you're a walker, parent, teacher, or dreamer, there’s something here for you.

Topics We Cover in This Episode

1. Big Picture: What’s the Real Mission?

• What unites Dan’s unconventional and eccentric projects
• Why he’s called a “guerrilla geographer” — and what he’s rebelling against
• Times his imagination outpaced reality
• “Isn’t geography just colouring in?”
• The weirdest project he’s ever done
• Walking as activism and creative tool

2. Slow Ways – Do We Really Need This?

• Why we might need more walking routes, not fewer
• What makes Slow Ways different from existing maps and platforms
• Competing with tech giants on a shoestring
• How walking can reshape how we think about place
• Connection vs. convenience — what Slow Ways is really for
• Who’s actually using the network
• The Right to Roam: field margins, farmers, and fairness

3. Childhoods as Places

• Seeing childhood as a place, not just a phase
• The dangers of over-sanitised, safety-first childhoods
• Designing adventure for urban kids
• Screens vs. mud: what kids today are missing
• Why he wants children to get (safely) lost
• The Exeter Citizens’ Plan — involving kids in civic imagination

4. Rewilding Britain: Wildlife, Housing, and Adventure

• Can we have more homes and more wildlife?
• Housing vs. green belt vs. public access — what comes first?
• Whether we need to rethink the green belt
• Is rewilding compatible with human life and housing needs?
• Do people really want to live near wild animals and untidy land?

5. Cities as National Parks – Serious or Symbolic?

• Is London as a National Park a policy or just a metaphor?
• Can cities ever be wild in an ecological sense?
• Do urban nature movements distract from protecting rural wilderness?
• Who gains — and who doesn’t — from the National Park City label?
• Is this a branding gimmick — or a mindset shift?
• Do commuters feel like they’re in a National Park?

6. Slow Ways – The Future Vision

• Building local networks through schools and charities
• What a scaled-up version of Slow Ways might look like
• The challenge of going mainstream without losing charm
• Can volunteer-driven projects really shift national habits?
• What wild success looks like — and why it matters
• Could Slow Ways be part of school curriculums or health systems?

In this rich, wide-ranging conversation, Alastair Humphreys chats with Craig Mod about the overlapping worlds of adventure, creativity, and publishing. The two explore their different but kindred approaches to long walks — Craig’s meticulous, high-tech planning versus Alastair’s spontaneous, minimalist style — and how these journeys feed into their creative work. Craig shares the thinking behind his wildly successful newsletters, membership programme, and beautiful, obsessively designed books. They also dive into broader themes like cultural responsibility, self-discipline, nature connection, and why sometimes walking is just the best way to think deeply.

🧭 Topics and Themes

• Craig's long-distance walks across Japan (Tokaido, Nakasendo, Kumano Kodo)
• Comparison of walking vs. cycling as immersive travel tools
• Digital minimalism and “no teleporting” rules during walks
• High-tech vs low-tech navigation: Apple Watch Ultra vs. paper maps
• The joy and discipline of documentation: notes, photography, audio, video
• Daily synthesis as a creative practice while walking
• Books as tangible artefacts of ephemeral experience
• Craig’s reasons for walking: presence, routine, deadlines, synthesis
• Planning vs. spontaneity in adventures
• The special role of beautiful book design
• Making creativity sustainable: Craig’s membership model (Special Projects)
• Emotional and logistical tension between audience growth and creative purity
• Walk & Talk retreats with Kevin Kelly: structure, goals, dinner conversations
• Litter and cultural responsibility in Japan vs. the West
• The role of access in building care for the natural world
• The value of constraints, caps, and intimacy in building an audience

📚 Books Mentioned

• Things Become Other Things by Craig Mod (Random House edition)
• Kissa by Kissa by Craig Mod
• Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald
• Kevin Kelly’s essay “1000 True Fans”
• Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World by Irene Vallejo (mentioned by Alastair)

💡 Concepts & Quotes

• “Walking is a platform for other things to happen.”
• “Teleports” as anything that removes you from presence (phones, news, etc.)
• “I’ve never thought: I have to do this because my subscribers are expecting it. It’s all selfish.”
• “The best piece of technology ever invented is the book.”
• “Snickers bar logic”: why we’re fine carrying snacks, but not their wrappers
• “Make the ephemeral tangible”: the purpose behind bookmaking
• “You can’t walk with someone and do the thinking.”

🧾 Links & Recommendations

• Craig Mod’s website and newsletters
• Special Projects Membership
• Random House edition: Things Become Other Things
• Craig’s essay on British sandwiches 🍞
• Do Lectures
• Outrage + Optimism podcast
• Kevin Kelly’s “1000 True Fans”

Jack Thurston is a cyclist, a food lover, a photographer, a guide-book writer and an early podcast pioneer. He is the host of The Bike Show podcast and author of the Lost Lanes cycling guidebooks. We talked about adventures close to home and what the world of 'Adventure' looks like in the 21st Century.

THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY Trees for Cities, the only UK charity working at a national and international scale to improve lives by planting trees in cities.

(If your company or organisation is interested in sponsoring Living Adventurously, please get in touch!)

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE LIVING ADVENTUROUSLY PODCAST

(It’s completely free, zero hassle to do (click here), but very helpful for me. If you’re feeling extra kind, please leave a review on the app – that really helps.)

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn (“Alexa, please play the Living Adventurously podcast”) or on your favourite podcast platform such as Overcast, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Breaker, Soundcloud, Castbox, Castro.

• www.alastairhumphreys.com/podcasts

SHOW NOTES

• If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a "coffee" here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
• Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/newsletters
• Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
• @jackthurston - https://twitter.com/jackthurston
• Lost Lanes - lostlanes.co.uk
• The Bike Show podcast has been running since 2005 
• Alastair Humphreys on the Bike Show - http://thebikeshow.net/alastair_humphreys_part1/
• Podcasts don't usually make money. But you have to do something that you love - that is the price of entry.
• Bike Show tries to pick up sounds and experiences - the sonic colour - from outside the studio
• There are different kinds of audio perfection
• Asking open questions is important. Ask them how they feel. Get beyond the facts into the emotion.
• Conversation ought to be structured but also feel natural
• If you let silence happen, people will fill it with something interesting
• You need to give the audience what they are interested in
• Louis Theroux podcast - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p089sfrz/episodes/downloads
• Cheryl Strayed podcast - Sugar Calling - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sugar-calling/id1505881384
• There are so many different methods of cycling.
• Cycling is a great way to interact with the environment
• raphael kraft caribbean cycling podcast - https://thebikeshow.net/raphael-krafft-reportage-on-two-wheels/
• Cycling breaks down barriers, gets you unexpected places, and you are not cut off from the world. Therefore it is a good way to have experiences.
• The bicycle is a tool to take in the world at the right pace (and at the right price)
• Jack is a touring cyclist and a utility cyclist
• Takes kids to school on the bike. Does the shopping on the bike.
• You can travel further, for less effort, than walking. It's the perfect vehicle for travelling at the speed of the land and of my mind.
• fuchsia dunlop every grain of rice - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Every-Grain-Rice-Chinese-Cooking/dp/140880252X
• Jack's spice concoction for cycle touring - https://www.instagram.com/p/CDqv79llTaT/
• Jack takes tins of sardines, marzipan, parmesan, harissa on a bike tour
• I like a bike ride that starts and finishes at my front door
• Jack has done a lot of flying in his life, but now is repulsed by the connotations. It makes him feel queasy.
• Has committed to not flying for work
• Things (like not flying) which seem difficult to consider are actually not that hard once you do them
• There are a lot of issues related to 'adventure' that are problematic
• Adventure is a useful word for the sort of things we do - embracing the unexpected as a leisure activity
• To me 'adventure' has a lot of baggage from history
• 500 years ago adventure was the manifestation of privilege - colonial expansion right up to Edwardian's doing it for 'queen and country'
• Money, power, privilege, whiteness were the preconditions for adventure
• People doing adventure - voluntarily putting themselves in harm's way. If danger is a normal part of your life then you're probably unlikely to want to go bungee jumping
• Jack enjoys wild camping, but acknowledges that if he didn't look the way he does [white] then it would be a much more intimidating experience
• Cycling guidebooks over 100 years ago
• Wanted to make the Lost Lanes books seductive
• Make going out for a ride around London really appealing: nice photos, make it look appealing, eat oysters by the sea rather than get sweaty, evocative writing
• Living in London in the 90s Jack had to come up with stories / temptations to lure his flatmates to come out of the city and ride with him
• The book is supposed to fire up people's imaginations, and then the website has the technical details
• Emphasis of Lost Lanes is on very quite lanes and roads
• Yorkshire Wolds
• Beverley Minster
• Somerset Levels
• Samuel Palmer, artist
• What makes a good bike route? Needs a good sense of flow. You don't want all the climbing at the start/end, need different landscapes, good reveals, good vistas, hills are important for the views, try to...

Rhiane Fatinikun was a self-confessed fan of Netflix and raving when she spotted hikers getting off a train in the Peak District and, on the spur of the moment, decided to take up hiking! She set up the Black Girls Hike Instagram page and began leading groups of black women on hikes. Rhiane's mission now is to make the outdoors a safe and welcoming environment for people like her, breaking down barriers, broadening people’s horizons and empowering women to get outside their comfort zone.

THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY Adventurous Ink, the book club for outdoor folk. Life is too short not to fill it with adventure. An Adventurous Ink subscription will inspire more memorable experiences and help you reconnect with the natural world whilst you're out there. Each month you'll receive a new book or journal featuring writers, photographers and illustrators who really 'get' the great outdoors.

(If your company or organisation is interested in sponsoring Living Adventurously, please get in touch!)

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE LIVING ADVENTUROUSLY PODCAST

(It’s completely free, zero hassle to do (click here), but very helpful for me. If you’re feeling extra kind, please leave a review on the app – that really helps.)

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn (“Alexa, please play the Living Adventurously podcast”) or on your favourite podcast platform such as Overcast, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Breaker, Soundcloud, Castbox, Castro.

• www.alastairhumphreys.com/podcasts

SHOW NOTES

• If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a "coffee" here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
• Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/newsletters
• Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
• Black Girls Hike Instagram page
• Went on a 5 to 9 adventure to watch the Perseid Meteor shower - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perseids
• I hadn't done a midweek adventure before, but this showed I can fit more things in.
• Had a great night's sleep in a bivvy bag
• 4 years ago her aunty took her on a hike in Rivington, aged 28
• I used to come home and watched Netflix
• I loved raving, Carnival and reggae festivals
• Chronixx - https://chronixx.com/
• Buju Banton - https://www.bujubanton.com/
• When you admire someone you feel like if you meet someone you might cry.
• Was on a train journey from Barnsley to Manchester when she saw hikers getting on and off.
• Said to herself "I'm going to take up hiking this year", then a week later set up @bgh_uk
• The day before my first hike I went and bought a raincoat and new boots
• I was late for the first hike and there were 13 people waiting for me
• Followed a route she found in the Manchester Evening News
• On that first hike I was winging it a bit, but I managed to get us back to the start. I was an imposter
• I don't have a favourite hill yet as I haven't done enough
• Likes Mam Tor
• Chooses places to go from what she sees on Instagram
• Anyone can get out in the hills. You don't need all the gear. Try to find a community.
• Start small, start local.
• When you don't have experience in something you lack confidence and you need someone cheering you on. It's just about finding a community.
• Don't live in the prism of other people's opinions
• Bouji - https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bouji
• Black Girls Hike is a safe space for black women to explore the countryside together
• Not connected to the other BGH groups worldwide - just doing her own thing
• Her idea of building a community came straight away - "This is great - you need to come!"
• Delegating her 'baby' is hard. The other group leaders she met via Instagram. It felt natural to try to target the UK
• I don't always want to be in the spotlight, just because I'm the founder. I'm just leading the spirit.
• Safe space: you experience so much racism in the UK that you want to be around people who have the shared experience.
• Good to go where people don't ask "stupid questions about your tan / hair" and everyone is in the same boat as you.
• You can be your authentic self in a safe space. 
• In her work she senses people have lots of negative perceptions about black people from TV. She is always code-switching so as to not conform to the ideas they have about her.
• Conversations in the hills - people are more focussed on their well-being. Positive energy.
• BGH is a way to connect people. Friendships form.
• Manchester is a transient city so this is place for people to form relationships.
• A chance for people to be their best selves
• Over 100 people came to the first hike in London
• Most of them were new to the outdoors and had never really considered going hiking
• 99% of the time everyone is really happy to share the outdoors and see you enjoying what they are enjoying.
• Marketing the outdoors to black people is not being done right.
• The management of National Parks, brands etc are too white and cannot relate. 
• They want you to be involved but they don't want to include you in the decision making.
• Need more than just having the odd black person in the marketing.
• It's quite exhausting when people seek her opinion as representative of all black people. 
• The girls that come to the Black Girls Hike events do not come to the other ones that Rhiane organises - they want to be in that safe space
• @talesofahiker - https://www.instagram.com/talesofahiker/?hl=en
• https://www.humansofnewyork.com/
• By the time I was 33 I should be married with a mortage, but I'm not like other people my age. I don't want to get old before my time.
• Don't compare your journey to anyone else's.
• We are supposed to have an abundance mindset.

Karen Darke is an adventurer and Paralympian handcyclist. It is lucky that Karen has what she describes as “an adventurous gene”, as life in a wheelchair is full of the unexpected. Karen was a keen runner and climber (she had climbed Mt Blanc and the Matterhorn), but fell off a cliff and became paralysed from the chest down at age 21. Whilst initially she thought “I’d rather be dead than paralysed”, Karen soon learned that with friends, creativity and perseverence most things are still possible. She says, “it is thanks to those ingredients that I have a pretty extraordinary life.” 

Continuing her adventures, Karen has handbiked the Silk Road through Central Asia, through the Indian Himalaya from Leh to Manali and the length of Japan. She has kayaked the ‘Inside Passage’ from Vancouver to Alaska and also paddled on an expedition in Patagonia. Karen crossed Greenland's ice cap whilst sitting on skis using her arms and poles to cover the 372-mile crossing. She even returned to climbing, summiting the iconic El Capitan in Yosemite. 

Always eager to challenge herself, in 2009 Karen became World Paratriathlon Champion and is now a full-time athlete. She was a silver-medallist in the London 2012 Paralympics and became Paralympic Champion in the Rio 2016 Paralympics. At London 2012 Karen missed out on a second medal by a whisker. After crossing the finishing line holding hands with team mate Rachel Morris, both in a time of 1:43:08, Morris was awarded the bronze medal. Karen is currently training for her third Paralympic Games. 

THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY The Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, a small charity doing big things to protect & enhance a very special place & enable everyone to enjoy it.

(If your company or organisation is interested in sponsoring Living Adventurously, please get in touch!)

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE LIVING ADVENTUROUSLY PODCAST

(It’s completely free, zero hassle to do (click here), but very helpful for me. If you’re feeling extra kind, please leave a review on the app – that really helps.)

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn (“Alexa, please play the Living Adventurously podcast”) or on your favourite podcast platform such as Overcast, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Breaker, Soundcloud, Castbox, Castro.

• www.alastairhumphreys.com/podcasts

SHOW NOTES

• If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a "coffee" here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
• Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/newsletters
• Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
• https://www.karendarke.com/
• Perhaps I'm an expert in reframing things to see them in a positive light
• I wouldn't choose to be paralysed, but my life has been special and interesting since then.
• The one thing we always have control over is our perspective and how we view things.
• I try to bring more possibility to life.
• Aged 21 when a climbing accident paralysed her
• The impact of realising the paralysis was about a month later when she saw other people in wheelchairs in hospital
• I had a couple of weeks when being asleep was far more attractive than being awake
• But there were people around her in a far worse condition. Her perspective shifted from "this is the end of the world" to "come on..."
• Thought differently about herself after the accident - she was very judgemental about herself. Embarrassed to be in a wheelchair.
• Her whole body image changed totally
• Early on she realised that there are "helpful but over-helpful" people, and then other people who didn't know how to respond to her.
• When you meet someone in a wheelchair: just be yourself. But don't launch in with personal questions straight away. "Do you need a hand?" is nice. Just be a nice human being.
• At first it felt too painful to go back into the mountains so she considered totally changing her lifestyle. 
• But what are the elements of being attracted to adventure? Uncertainty, nature, being with friends. She learned that it was possible to still get all those things.
• She got a special tandem so that she could share adventure with people. She misses that "shared" side of adventure now she is a professional athlete.
• Cats only have 7 lives in Spain, not 9
• Not always good at mitigating risk!
• I do actually quite like being alive...
• Hard to say what is the 'best' adventure, because they are all different.
• It's about the people, the landscapes, the lessons.
• Spent a few months seakayaking up the coast of Alaska. Had to leave her wheelchair behind. Group of 9 people, living in harmony with the tides and moon, looking out for bears.
• Suresh Paul - https://www.equaladventure.org/
• "I wonder how good you could be if you just applied yourself to one thing"
• I believe that if you put enough hours work in, if you like it enough to put the hours in, then we can all get surprisingly good at things.
• Karen has won gold and silver medals in the Paralympic games
• It's much easier to focus when there's a clear timescale
• Every day makes a difference. Every thought makes a difference. The devil is in the detail.
• My future self will be disappointed if I make excuses and skip things.
• Karen and Rachel Morris crossed the line together, holding hands, at London 2012 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUeTQcbxl74
• Who really cares who can ride a handbike faster? It's ridiculous. And yet it's also very special.
• Rivals don't motivate me, but they inspire me.
• One of my first races I came last - the finish line didn't even exist by the time I got there! They'd all packed up.
• Alongside the physical challenge of paralysis, there was also a mental journey. Karen went to study Chinese acupuncture.
• There is an invisible, hard to define element to life. Connecting with nature is a part of that.
• I'm not into stuckness. Everything is possible.
• Before Rio she bought gold shoes and a gold phone case - total commitment to Gold. It shifted her mindset.
• Feeling free does not necessarily equate to being able to go to physical places. There are many levels to freedom.
• Our freedoms are all different. Our prisons are all different.
• Karen's thoughts on freedom -

David Elliott is Chief Executive at Trees for Cities, having previously cleared landmines around the world. Trees for Cities is the only UK charity working at a national and international scale to improve lives by planting trees in cities. David has overall leadership responsibility for the organisation. He has worked in the non-profit sector for a number of international organisations, prior to which he was a management consultant.
He is a Commissioner for the London Sustainable Development Commission, a Trustee for the African Conservation Foundation and previously for the International Tree Foundation.
He holds BSc degrees in Biological Sciences from Edinburgh University and Politics & International Relations from LSE, and an MBA from Cambridge University.

THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY Happy People Hike who believe in the power of fresh air and camaraderie of strangers. The genuine joy experienced on the side of a mountain is a feeling they try to bring back to everyday life. Being outdoors can lift even the lowest of spirits and their apparel is meant to remind you of how great life can be when you spend your time truly experiencing it.​

(If your company or organisation is interested in sponsoring Living Adventurously, please get in touch!)

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE LIVING ADVENTUROUSLY PODCAST

(It’s completely free, zero hassle to do (click here), but very helpful for me. If you’re feeling extra kind, please leave a review on the app – that really helps.)

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn (“Alexa, please play the Living Adventurously podcast”) or on your favourite podcast platform such as Overcast, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Breaker, Soundcloud, Castbox, Castro.

• www.alastairhumphreys.com/podcasts

SHOW NOTES

• If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a "coffee" here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
• Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/newsletters
• Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
• https://www.treesforcities.org/
• After uni began working for big corporations because he didn't really know which direction he wanted his career to go. He just fell into it.
• There's not always a grand career plan for people. Need to test the water a bit.
• What I really wanted to do was travel, explore, and break out of the city.
• Clearing landmines with the HALO Trust - https://www.halotrust.org/
• Moved to Cambodia
• Turned down corporate career ladder to go and clear landmines. Quite an extreme change!
• Famiy were a little concerned. Friends not so surprised. 
• Good for young people to chop and change, try things out to work what the right path was.
• I had no qualifications whatsoever to clear landmines. The main qualification was the desire.
• Straight in at the deep end, learning to clear mines.
• It was one of the most amazing, grounding experiences of my life
• Cambodia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Kosovo, Guinnea Bissau, Liberia
• The first time you dig up a landmine is terrifying - like anything in life the first one is hard. You come to realise that the greatest fear is fear itself
• You get a one-metre lane to clear - first mine took about 5 hours to do
• MBA at Cambridge
• Landmine clearing, management consultancy and MBA all combine to really help with the role of CEO at Trees for Cities. You draw on them all in very different ways
• Non-linear career - everything is useful. Variety is not something to be embarrassed about.
• http://www.100yearlife.com/
• Trees for Cities is a charity that originally began by hosting parties then planting trees. The founders were DJs, so they put on parties for their friends and then planted trees
• National charity with some international projects
• The least green areas often overlap with social deprivation.
• Initially people liked trees for the aesthetics, but they are vital for carbon storing, trees absorb heat, provide shade, prevent flooding, filter pollutants.
• Green space is vital to the infrastructure of cities, and integral to the design of cities
• TfC have planted a million trees
• Not so much about lots of trees, but finding the most effective place to plant trees in cities
• Tree planting is not always right - you don't want to convert peat bogs to forest, for example. 
• Even a single tree planted strategically in a city can have hundreds of years of benefits for that community, to be engaged and care for it.
• The benefits on air quality and aesthetics.
• Trees get people outdoors and experiencing the outdoors, to get them engaged, loving and cherishing the outdoors
• Nature is thought of as a rural thing, but 80% of us live in cities so we need to make this available on our doorsteps
• COVID has shown the importance of local green spaces
• Many urban green spaces are poor quality - just muddy grass. 
• Green Recovery in the UK - https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-commits-350-million-to-fuel-green-recovery
• Many local authorities are really trying to make positive changes
• GB is one of the most nature-depleted countries on the planet
• We need to think more radically about transforming our environment
• There are a lot of under-used green spaces. Sections of society don't use them at all. Make them safer, greener, healthier
• Green belt is mostly farmland. It can be used better for nature and for people to use. 
• We have crazy rules about wild camping in Britain - we do so much to stop people enjoying the outdoors. This might be part of the reason why there was so much camping littering after lockdown
• The Young People they work with have limited engagement with nature. At first there is repulsion with soil / worms etc. But once they plant something this really can transform their lives. 
• TfC Volunteer Planting days - volunteers do most of the planting. Helps them engage with their community. Hundreds of people from all walks of life come along and join in.
• They have great diversity in the people who join in and participate.
• A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. 
• Favourite tree = bee...

Sabrina Pace-Humphreys is an ultra-runner, a businesswoman, a mother of four and a grandmother of two. She is very clear which is the toughest of these challenges...! We talked about becoming a teenage mother, taking up running to lose weight, training for the Marathon des Sables, enduring rural racism, and the launch of Black Trail Runners whose mission is to increase the inclusion, participation and representation of black people in trail running.

THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY The Outdoor Swimming Society which has spearheaded significant cultural change in the way outdoor swimming is viewed and the number of people who take part in it. Full of doers, thinkers and creatives, The OSS team uses its talents and personal time to drive change. Over the last 15 years we have had a direct impact on individuals’ swimming habits, inland access, social swimming networks and open water events, all of which has contributed to the lido revival, and the current art, science and culture around swimming.

(If your company or organisation is interested in sponsoring Living Adventurously, please get in touch!)

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE LIVING ADVENTUROUSLY PODCAST

(It’s completely free, zero hassle to do (click here), but very helpful for me. If you’re feeling extra kind, please leave a review on the app – that really helps.)

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn (“Alexa, please play the Living Adventurously podcast”) or on your favourite podcast platform such as Overcast, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Breaker, Soundcloud, Castbox, Castro.

• www.alastairhumphreys.com/podcasts

SHOW NOTES

• If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a "coffee" here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
• Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/newsletters
• Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
• @blacktrailrunners
• @sabrunsmiles
• Being a mum of 4 is harder than being an ultrarunner or a businesswoman
• Being a mum is good ultramarathon training - the pain, the exhaustion etc.!
• Jasmin Paris - winner of the Spine Race
• Being a teenage mother means you have energy, you don't have competitive pressure or comparisons
• A firm believer that life happens for a reason. You take the path that is in front of you. 
• Put on 5 stone (31kg) after giving birth. This was what prompted to her to begin running
• I was so ashamed of my body that I didn't dare go to the gym
• Symphisis pubis dysfunction
• Began running purely to shift weight
• Being overweight with a baby, a toddler and a business to run meant that she could not move quick enough for everyday life. Needed to be more mobile
• Managed half a mile on her first run. A friend said "it looks like you are breathing out of your arse." I was as red as a beetroot.
• Gave up alcohol 5 years ago. 40th birthday decided to set a huge challenge, an adventure, something out of her comfort zone. Signed up for the Marathon des Sables. 
• Took up trail running to get the rough terrain training needed for the MdS
• MdS - have to carry all your clothes, food etc.
  James Cracknell MDS film - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0Qak8e4vYA - That looks horrendous - I have to get an entry to that race!
• Dean Karnazes - Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner
• Committed to the race by immersing herself in the MdS, learning everything she could. 
• Every adventure I do I want to taste it before committing to it by researching as much as I can
• Coached by Elisabet Barnes - http://lessonsinbadassery.com/elisabet-barnes-queen-desert-ultra/
• Training had to fit into my life, not life had to fit into training: lots of 4am runs
• I couldn't afford to break myself in the Sahara as I had a family back home
• Family acknowledges that running helps manage her mental health
• Mission is to be the best version of myself
• There's a lot of pressure on females that training is being selfish
• Luxury item on the MdS - pictures and photos from her family
• Silly MdS decision not to take running poles
• Succeeding at this enormous event brought deep satisfaction... for about 2 hours! And then came the "what next"
• Depressed for about a month afterwards
• Once you've achieved the impossible, where do you go from here?
• She knew she needed to commit to another challenge to pick herself up again
• Needs goals in her life
• I don't know if I'll ever find that pinnacle, and now feeling fulfilled and able to move on to crochet knitting or whatever!
• I believe we are all here for a specific purpose
• Enduring rural racism since childhood and adult microagressions has had an impact on her mental health
• Living in a small minority means she feels she needs to prove her existence.
• Racism prods and pokes at self-esteem
• Microagressions in the running community; access to wild places
• https://www.instagram.com/blacktrailrunners/
• The countryside is a very white place. She feels like an oddity.
• Running up a hill listening to music - people looking in a disapproving way
• Become very sensitive to microaggressions when you live with them day in, day out.
• People jumping out of the way to avoid her
• Running places do not always feel like safe places
• You can't be what you can't see (https://www.instagram.com/p/CEl2wRTnBpr/)

David Hanney is the Co-founder and CEO at Alpkit, an outdoor and bike brand for enthusiasts and adventurers. We chatted about buying and selling stuff, what makes a good adventure film, the community of working in an outdoor brand, taking the elitism out of adventure, the need for a new approach to adventure, sustainability, and Blue Peter annuals.

THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY WildBounds, who deliver both exceptional kit from independent brands and inspiration for your next adventure.

(If your company or organisation is interested in sponsoring Living Adventurously, please get in touch!)

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE LIVING ADVENTUROUSLY PODCAST

(It’s completely free, zero hassle to do (click here), but very helpful for me. If you’re feeling extra kind, please leave a review on the app – that really helps.)

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn (“Alexa, please play the Living Adventurously podcast”) or on your favourite podcast platform such as Overcast, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Breaker, Soundcloud, Castbox, Castro.

• www.alastairhumphreys.com/podcasts

SHOW NOTES

• If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a "coffee" here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
• Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/newsletters
• Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
• https://twitter.com/alpkit
• https://alpkit.com/
• If a product we develop is something I want to take to the Alps, and if it works in the Peak District, then it's a good product.
• Years of buying far too much stuff teaches you to manage stock - to flow stuff in. 
• Good buying and retailing is about flowing stock.
• Being able to sell a t-shirt for £3 raises so many horrible issues
• SteepEdge - Video on Demand - https://vimeo.com/steepedge
• What makes a good adventure film - good narrative, good charaters, interesting people
• It's a very modern world when we all make films / social media about our holidays
• 52 Peaks adventure - https://www.matthewdickinson.com/52peaks/
• Lives on the edge of the Peak District deliberately - to be close to the outdoors
• Loves the community of working in an outdoor brand
• Alpkit doesn't see itself as 'hardcore' and therefore can help take the elitism out of adventure
• The queue on Everest - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/26/i-wont-be-joining-queue-everest-overcrowding-summit
• Can't justify flying to Nepal or Antarctica for "middle aged man going on holiday"
• Alpkit tries to make gear for UK conditions
• Arc'Teryx and Mountain Equipment are doing good jobs
• Patagonia have held good principles over 30-40 years
• Let My People go Surfing - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Let-People-Surfing-Education-Businessman-Including/dp/0143109677/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=58661334172&dchild=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwqML6BRAHEiwAdquMnZGqCfCRTFSF_lU9BV8YAsnvLebpFhO5Cpv4sp49YBSwmO7c_RyzNhoCfyAQAvD_BwE&hvadid=259100687418&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9044998&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=5075519006684598494&hvtargid=kwd-296089210690&hydadcr=18711_1817486&keywords=let+my+people+go+surfing&qid=1599130212&sr=8-1&tag=googhydr-21
• Alpkit founded by a group of friends who enjoyed the outdoors but were frustrated by the gatekeepers of the retail stores. 
• Listen to your customers. Make a really good product. Serve your customers.
• Alpkit moved from online to stores. Retailers just have an urge to have shops. Commercially it makes sense as the internet isn't the free democratic space it seems to be. Google and Amazon are the gatekeepers.
• Web sales are stronger in places that they have stores. The stores make a sense of place. Becomes a hub to do stuff.
• Half of product searches are on Amazon. 
• Rosie Watson's article: https://adventureuncovered.com/stories/building-a-sustainable-outdoor-community-after-covid-19/
• There's a contradiction of brands who make stuff claiming to be benefiting the environment
• Need to build a relationship with your equipment and make it last
• Blue Peter Green Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blue-Peter-Green-Book-Laminated/dp/0563208864
• Really hard to make a work environment a 'green' place
• Don't want to be all doom and gloom - a 'shouldist'
• The outdoors is a good place, it's where we want to be, it can play a crucial role in the revitalisation of our cities
• Us outdoor enthusiasts can lead by example
• Alpkit Foundation - https://alpkit.com/pages/foundation
• We need better infrastructure to help larger numbers enjoy the outdoors
• Circular economy - the Continuum project finds good homes for old gear: https://alpkit.com/pages/continuum
• Have a meaningful specific - don't try to please everyone
• If you want to do really quality work that only appeals to a niche - go for that. Do it.

Paul Sinton-Hewitt is the founder of Parkrun, the worldwide phenomenon that sees thousands rock up to local parks around the world every Saturday morning to run a timed 5k. Parkrun is a positive, welcoming and inclusive experience where there is no time limit and no one finishes last. Everyone is welcome to come along, whether you walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate.

THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY Outdoors Rocks, a well-curated collection of outdoor and adventure movies, from mountain biking to kayaking, extreme skiing to climbing the biggest mountains. Outdoorsrocks.com is the hub for outdoor video content.

(If your company or organisation is interested in sponsoring Living Adventurously, please get in touch!)

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE LIVING ADVENTUROUSLY PODCAST

(It’s completely free, zero hassle to do (click here), but very helpful for me. If you’re feeling extra kind, please leave a review on the app – that really helps.)

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn (“Alexa, please play the Living Adventurously podcast”) or on your favourite podcast platform such as Overcast, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Breaker, Soundcloud, Castbox, Castro.

• www.alastairhumphreys.com/podcasts

SHOW NOTES

• If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a "coffee" here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
• Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/newsletters
• Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
• ParkRun: https://www.parkrun.org.uk/
• https://twitter.com/paulsintonhewit
• People have even run ParkRun in Antarctica
• Don't pay a great deal of attention to the figures of ParkRun because it's never really been about the figures.
• Ambitious to have a ParkRun in every village
• Motivation has moved towards health and well-being more than sheer running
• Darren Wood has run almost 800 ParkRuns
• A few thousand people have done 250 runs
• Volunteering is not giving something back, it's doing something for yourself
• When you volunteer you come away energised and feel great
• The average time for ParkRun is going up - more people are getting involved
• Trying to take away the barriers so that everyone can get involved
• 5km for someone who has never done a 5km feels huge. Once you've done it, your perspective changes.
• For many people ParkRun is the one highlight of their week. They operate on Xmas Day because some people are very lonely that day.
• Paul began ParkRun at a time when his own life was not going very well. He wanted people to not only run, but mostly join him for coffee afterwards.
• 13 runners on the first day.
• 2 prizes that day - for the fastest and for the slowest
• ParkRun is not a race. It can be a race against yourself.
• There were volunteers on the first day, so that has been a core part of it ever since. 
• First ParkRun was at Bushey Park in London
• He needed community to help his own life - it was a key part of that first event
• The social communion is vital to ParkRun
• A well-functioning team can get almost anything done.
• You don't have to be competent yourself - surround yourself with good people.
• The first step is the hardest, the decision that "I am going to do this no matter what"
• In the first 10 years there were many times when he questioned whether it was worth it
• There are times when you know that what you are standing for is good and proper.
• Sleeping under the stars - a simple, lovely idea, but there is a lot of resistance. 
• Paul slept outside his van throughout a tour round France. Loved it.
• If I planned to create what we've got today I would have failed. 
• ParkRun has been a step at a time affair.
• It started gently, under the radar, so he could make mistakes and learn from them
• Malala - https://malala.org/malalas-story
• Greta - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMrtLsQbaok
• You've got to try and live every single day to the fullest - embrace the opportunities that exist and be as happy as you can about everything
• Very early on I realised my own limitations. I am a generalist. I need specialists around me. 
• Brought in experts to ParkRun - handed over control of ParkRun UK and then worldwide. Feelings of immense loss.
• The handover period was unpleasant and uncomfortable, but he knew that the right things were happening.
• Difference between being inclusive and actively targeting under-represented groups. ParkRun targets disadvantaged communities deliberately and tries to draw people out.
• ParkRun takes place in prisons
• Behavioural Insights: things need to be Easy, Attractive, Social and Timely.
• Everyone is welcome to ParkRun
• I was not looking for monumental growth. Began with 13. When it got to 100, Paul thought "oh my god!"
• Didn't ask anyone's permission to begin
• Good decision in life - try to understand yourself. Be honest about your weaknesses. Then be honest to those you love about your weaknesses. 

David Lindo, also known as The Urban Birder, is a broadcaster, writer, naturalist, photographer, public speaker, tour leader and passionate birder. Born and raised in London, David loves anything to do with nature, but for as long as he can remember birds have been his particular obsession. David says, "You don’t have to wear green anoraks; you can look cool and fashionable, I find the birds prefer it too.
Get your friends involved.
Find a local patch to regularly visit.
Think that anything can turn up anywhere at anytime - that still works for me to this day.
Don’t go out expecting to see anything. That way you’ll never be disappointed but most likely be surprised. And remember: look up!"

THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY Offgrid Design Agency who want to work with people who aren’t scared to look at things differently, that want to make a difference and are willing to go a (little) Off Grid.

(If your company or organisation is interested in sponsoring Living Adventurously, please get in touch!)

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE LIVING ADVENTUROUSLY PODCAST

(It’s completely free, zero hassle to do (click here), but very helpful for me. If you’re feeling extra kind, please leave a review on the app – that really helps.)

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn (“Alexa, please play the Living Adventurously podcast”) or on your favourite podcast platform such as Overcast, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Breaker, Soundcloud, Castbox, Castro.

• www.alastairhumphreys.com/podcasts

SHOW NOTES

• If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a "coffee" here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
• Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/newsletters
• Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
• The Urban Birder - https://theurbanbirderworld.com/
• https://www.instagram.com/theurbanbirder/
• In Conversation With interviews - https://theurbanbirderworld.com/live-webinars/
• The Great Bustard (went extinct in the UK in 1840) - http://greatbustard.org/the-project/
• Birders make annual bird lists. A 'big year' is a personal challenge or an informal competition among birders who attempt to identify as many species as possible by sight or sound, within a single calendar year and within a specific geographic area. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_year
• 620 bird species seen in London, if only once.
• Possible to see 200 bird species in a year in London
• I remember watching a puffin from Hammersmith Bridge
• Been to 350 cities birding
• Almost nobody considers birding in cities - you become an urban explorer
• Wild places exist even inside your house. Nature surrounds you.
• Been birding since the devil was a boy
• Birding is my reason for being. It was my destiny.
• Birding makes me feel good. The moment you connect with nature you feel good. It's a great thing to do when you are in a tight corner
• Trying to 'sell' birding as a life choice, like meditation or yoga
• Some ornithogists think urban birding is not 'real' birding
• You have to work harder in a city to see birds. This hones your skills
• Anything can turn up at any time
• Trying to make birding more accessible worldwide. 
• Cleveland, US. Starting a birding project in an urban, African American neighbourhood.
• Urban birding is a way of helping people get to know their area
• Grew up in Wembley, used to explore the local park and wasteground. Exploring wilderness, making camps, making dens, studying the bird life. 
• The top of tall buildings - the same height as migrating birds
• Britain's national bird - the robin
• Homing: on Pigeons. 
• Did a talk in prisons about birding - everyone enjoyed it and was engaged.
• Takes urban kids on nature walks. There is a problem with inner city engagement - they don't think it is for them.
• TV always portrays nature as being out in the countryside, so people in cities think it's not for them.
• Need to get more nature in the curriculum.
• Media portrays nature via white middle-class men. That's a problem.
• Needs to be a wider range of nature programming - not just epic David Attenborough stuff.
• Nature TV is always about entertainment now. Becomes unattainable.
• Too much emphasis on jaws, claws and fangs
• I was born interested. I think I was born as a puma in a previous life.
• My interest in nature was instinctive. None of my friends and family were interested. 
• Good to keep areas of gardens wild. Don't over-manicure parks. Allow things to flourish.
• New housing estates should be built with more green and blue and less grey.
• Build new houses with holes in for swifts and bats. 
• You don't need to do a lot to be a birder. Have an open mind and wonderment.
• It's not that important to know what you are looking at. At first it's just about noticing that it is there. 
• You don't have to wear green and wellies - you can just go out and be cool
• If you're single it's great to tell people that you are a birder
• I'm addicted to custard
• Early Electric Light Orchestra
• Money buys you anything and nothing