Emily Coates is a North Wales based Mountain Leader both summer and winter. She also has a Geography degree from Oxford, a Master’s in Sustainability from ImperialCollege, and six years’ experience as a secondary geography teacher. Emily now works as a freelance leader in North Wales and beyond. She runs her own company, Visit Wild Wales, founded on strong ethical principles, and also works with Leading Edge and the Field Studies Council, while enjoys the odd shift at Joe Brown’s outdoor shop.

In 2025, Emily had a tense adventure in the Himalaya. What began as a trekking trip to a remote part of the range turned into a full-scale mountaineering expedition as Emily and her team were forced to extricate themselves from a serious situation.

The expedition was badly reported in the mainstream media, with Emily and her friends being targeted rather than celebrated. It’s a fascinating story.

Ron spent over ten years working for North Yorkshire footpath team. He was recruited for his skills as a historian. We have a great chat about Public Rights of Way, the definitive map and how it all works. Ron is also a former police officer, support member of Swaledale Mountain Rescue team and a volunteer for Mountain Rescue Search Dogs England.

Emma Shipley is an experienced outdoor leader and thefounder of Yorkie Talkies Outdoors. Holding Mountain Leader, Lowland Leader and Paddle Sport Leader qualifications, Emma is passionate about leading people in the outdoors and helping them build confidence, achieve personal goals, andexperience the life-changing benefits of adventure. Her business offers a wide range of accessible outdoor activities, including guided group walks, bespoke hikes, paddleboarding days, navigation courses, challenge events such as the Yorkshire Three Peaks, and corporate and charity events, catering to everyone from beginners to experienced walkers. Yorkie Talkies Outdoors also runs year-round events, including regular walking, trail running and paddleboardingsessions. Alongside this, Emma is the creator and host of The Yorkie Talkies Talk podcast, where she shares conversations about outdoor adventures, wellbeing, walking challenges and community stories.

We find out all about how she’ bubbles with enthusiasm and her passion for the work she does. I think you’ll find her quite inspiring.

Monty is a former geography teacher and mountaineeringinstructor. He taught at several well-known schools, including Gordonstoun. He was a student on Tim Jepson’s first Outdoor Education PGCE course at Bangor University, when the course was still run by Barbara Roscoe.

Monty has volunteered for the Association of MountaineeringInstructors and Mountaineering Scotland. After finishing his work as a teacher, he spent a few years on the freelance team at Glenmore Lodge. He is now settled near the Lake District and has taken on the role of trustee and secretary forthe BMC’s Mountain Heritage Trust.

I wanted to find out more about the MHT…

Mark Reeves is an old friend of mine - a climber, climbingcoach, and author whose passion and enthusiasm always shine through. In this episode, we talk about his time working in Antarctica for the British Antarctic Survey. Mark took the job during a personally difficult period, and while not everyone would choose Antarctica for a more social lifestyle, that’s xactly what he did - and it worked.

He’s perhaps best known as the author of the Rockfax guides to North Wales, covering walking, scrambling, and rock climbing. After chatting about his books, we dive into his current and future projects. I think his enthusiasm and honesty will really resonate with you.

Simon will, in 2026, become the Restore Nature Manager forthe same area. The National Trust owns large swathes of Eryri, as well as many of the other places where we walk and climb, so it’s always interesting and informative to speak with the people who work for them.

Simon is incredibly enthusiastic and passionate about thework he does, and he’s a great communicator - which makes this a really good podcast for all walkers and climbers, and especially for those leading and instructing others. Hope you enjoy it.

Eben Muse – a Welsh writer and campaigner, he works asCampaigns and Policy Officer for the British Mountaineering Council in Wales. His job is to represent the political interests of hillwalkers, climbers, mountaineers (and ski mountaineers) in Wales. He’s also an ambassador for the Campaign for National Parks, and a member of the Ramblers’ Cymru steering group.

Climbing and mountains have shaped his life since he was ateenager. He grew up in the foothills of Eryri (in Dyffryn Nantlle) but has now been resident in Cardiff for a little more than a decade now.A fascinating, passionate and wide-ranging conversation…

Tim Cain MBE is a veteran Mountain Rescue Search DogHandler and former British Army infantry officer. After a 29-year military career, Tim dedicated himself to mountain rescue, serving with Swaledale MRT for over two decades.

A qualified Mountain Rescue Search Dog Handler since 2014,Tim works with Mountain Rescue Search Dogs England alongside his team of border collies - one retired, one active, and one enthusiastic but “strictly a pet.”

He’s also an outdoor first aid trainer, leadership mentor,and highly experienced responder with qualifications in remote and wilderness medicine, swift-water rescue, and mountain leadership. When he’s not trainingsearch dogs, you’ll find him outdoors - or occasionally in a canoe or a cinema.

Tim lives with his wife, Helen, and their grown sons in thecompany of their three collies.

Tim's webiste is https://www.medicrec.com/

Dan Raven-Ellison describes himself as a guerrilla

Check out Slow Ways and see how you can contribute: https://beta.slowways.org/. The movement needs support in reviewing mountain routes. Could you incorporate Slow Ways into the routes you plan? Sign up for emails and follow them on social media to stay updated.

In this conversation, we also talk about walking with a

Tim Jepson is best known for working the Bangor University