Clare meets a group of passionate walkers responsible for the redesign and relaunch of the Shropshire Way long distance footpath.

Back in 2016 they got together, in collaboration with the local Council, to reroute it and improve the waymarking. And now they have a 200 mile footpath in a figure of eight, centred on Shrewsbury.

For Ramblings they met Clare at the Benthall Hall National Trust carpark and set off on a 5.5 mile linear route crossing the world famous Iron Bridge, onto Loamhole Dingle, Braggers Hill and Little Wenlock.

Leading the way were Amanda Hartley-Newton and Audrey Menhinick (who with her late Ramblers colleague, set up the Shropshire Way Association). They, along with a handful of fellow volunteers, tell Clare what a satisfying – if challenging – project this has been.

OS MAP: OS Explorer 242 Telford, Ironbridge and the Wrekin Grid Ref: SJ 657 024 https://shropshireway.org.uk/

Presenter: Clare Balding

Clare meets a passionate proponent of walking today on a hike around Capel y ffin and the Twmpa in the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park. Andrew Green has just published a book called Voices on the Path, a History of Walking in Wales and for him it’s not just a case of putting one foot in front of the other and admiring the scenery, it’s “an activity loaded with all kinds of social, cultural and economic associations”.

Their immediate surroundings have long attracted writers and artists from across the generations including William and Dorothy Wordsworth, JMW Turner, Bruce Chatwin and Allen Ginsberg. Also drawn to the beauty of Capel y ffin was the poet and painter, David Jones, described in 1965 as the 'best living British painter' by the then Director of the National Gallery. Peter Wakelin's book 'Hill Rhythms' tells Jones' story, which he wanted to share with Clare on the walk but a twisted ankle meant he had to remain at base, however he used the time to seek out the potential location of one of Jones's best loved paintings.

They met at the tiny Capel-y-ffin chapel on the Monmouthshire/Powys border and walked up the Twmpa - also known as Lord Hereford’s Knob - in the Black Mountains returning via the valley of Nant Bwch. A walk of just over six miles.

Grid Ref for where they met: SO253316

Presenter: Clare Balding

Clare is in the Kingdom of Fife today, hiking from Clatto Reservoir to Pitscottie. It’s a beautiful stretch of the Fife Pilgrim Way, a long-distance footpath that runs 65 miles from either Culross or North Queensferry (there’s a choice of starting places) and ends in St Andrews.

Joining her are three colleagues from the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, who helped to develop the route, and an Elder from the church in the village of Ceres who would like to see 'champing' (that's camping in churches) established as a way of providing good accommodation for Pilgrims passing through Ceres on their way to St Andrews.

The Fife Pilgrim Way was officially opened in 2019 and connects west to east Fife via routes traditionally used by religious pilgrims. The route is divided into seven sections, ranging from 8 to 11 miles in length. You can find more information here: https://fifecoastandcountrysidetrust.co.uk/walks/fife-pilgrim-way/

Presenter: Clare Balding

Clare Balding is celebrating a listener’s birthday today. Not something we’ve done before, but when we heard that Lynda Pettit was marking her 60th birthday by walking 60 different routes with 60 different people, and that the idea was partly inspired by Ramblings, well we just had to join in, especially as it’s Clare’s 25th year on Ramblings (double celebrations!). Lynda and several friends took Clare for a hike on the Stoney Path walk in the Pentland Hills near West Linton, about 20 miles south of Edinburgh.

They met outside The Gordon Arms Hotel on the A702 and went up into the southern Pentlands. It’s a route that takes in the Old Roman road that heads up to Edinburgh; Stoney Path, also known as Thieves Road, an ancient droving track used by cattle reivers herding stolen livestock through the hills; and Baddinsgill Reservoir. They also ascended Mount Maw, catching sight of a beautiful cloud inversion on the way. Views from the top stretched around 80 miles to a snow-capped Ben Lomond, Scotland's most southerly Munro.

Presenter: Clare Balding

This is Clare’s 25th year of making Ramblings and one thing she has always enjoyed is walking all year round, in any weather. No matter how windy, how cold or how wet she’ll be out recording in the company of an equally weatherproof interviewee. Winter is her favourite season for a stroll and today she’s found someone else who feels the same…

Find out more about Richard and his book on his website: https://richardshimell.co.uk

Presenter: Clare Balding

This is Clare's 25th year of walking and talking on Ramblings! To mark this, ahem, milestone her first hike of 2025 is with a group of students from the University of Nottingham who are all members of the RamSoc (The Rambling and Hiking Society) which has just celebrated its 90th anniversary.

All of today's walkers are under the age of 25, so weren't even around when Clare first stepped out with the Ramblings microphone. It's joyful to know that walking in the great outdoors continues as a rich part of our culture with young people like Theo, Amy, and others leading the way...

They met in Bakewell, Derbyshire on a rainy, windy, wintery Sunday morning and set off on a circular hike taking in the grounds of Chatsworth House.

Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare rambles around Epping Forest with the new Chief Scout, Dwayne Fields. He was appointed in September 2024, taking over from Bear Grylls, and has a wealth of adventure experience under his belt.

Dwayne was born in Jamaica and came to the UK at the age of six. He grew up in inner city London and says his formative years were wrapped up in social stigma, and he became a victim of both knife and gun crime. He managed to break away from this culture by spending time in outdoor spaces like Hackney Marshes, rediscovering a love of the outdoors he had felt deeply as a youngster in Jamaica.

He remembers watching a TV interview with James Cracknell and Ben Fogle who were looking for a third team member to join a polar expedition. Although by the time he applied he was too late for selection, Dwayne did eventually join another trip and became the first black Briton to trek to the north pole.

For Ramblings he leads Clare from the Scout Centre at Gilwell Park into and around Epping Forest.

According to the Epping Forest Heritage Trust, it’s the largest open space in London at just over 6000 acres stretching from Manor Park in east London to just north of Epping in Essex.

Presenter: Clare Balding

Clare joins a long established group as they embark on their 100th walk. Their route takes them from Leigh Woods, under the Clifton Suspension Bridge, and into the heart of Bristol.

They call themselves The Old Lags, and every member was responsible during their careers for keeping our lights on and our kettles boiled as employees of the Central Electricity Generating Board.

They’re all retired now and David Miller, who runs the Old Lags, is certain they’d have lost touch had it not been for their shared love of a good stomp.

Presenter: Clare Balding

Clare explores the banks of the River Itchen in Hampshire with Andrew Simkins who has just completed walking around the coast and borders of England. It’s taken him eight years, and it’s been an extraordinary journey in more ways than one. His beloved daughter, Alice, died age 28 in 2016 and he discovered that devoting himself to the process of walking helped him deal with the grief; it gave him a feeling of solace and a sense of connection with her. When people asked him if he was walking alone, he would reply 'I’m often in the best of company’.

This isn’t a sad episode of Ramblings, though, it’s very much about the positive impact of walking even in the most awful circumstances, and Andrew is a cheery companion.

The route Andrew is sharing with Clare isn’t part of the coast OR borders, but he explains that he chose to divert away from the coast at this point as the Itchen Way appealed to him so much.

Presenter: Clare Balding

Clare meets ‘Woman with Altitude’ Lise Wortley who recreates the adventures of overlooked and forgotten female explorers.

As Lise takes Clare on a walk around her childhood village of Boxford in Suffolk, she tells Clare why she doesn’t just follow in the footsteps of these incredible women but even wears the same kind of clothing and footwear. Her latest expedition, in woollen skirts and specially made hob-nail boots, was an attempt to climb Mont Blanc on the same route as the French adventurer, Henriette D'Angeville. In 1838 Henriette was the first woman to summit Mont Blanc unaided, in other words without being lifted across the tricky parts as a previous female walker had done.

Lise's adventure didn't work out quite as expected and led to her taking a long and unexpected diversion up a completely different and less well known mountain.

Find out more about Lise on her website: www.womanwithaltitude.com/

Presenter: Clare Balding