The Outdoors Fix

By Liv BoltonSports Health & Fitness Mental Health Leisure Wilderness Hobbies

The Outdoors Fix episodes

November 07, 2020 Debbie North: Wheelchair adventuring all over the UK
My guest in this episode is Debbie North. She’s an extraordinary woman who has overcome so many challenges to pursue her outdoors life.
A passionate hill walker when she was younger, Debbie was diagnosed with spinal degeneration a few years ago, meaning that she is now in a wheelchair.
But losing her mobility didn’t stop her determination to be able to explore the outdoors. She just found a motorised wheelchair that can take her over hills and up mountains!
I travelled to Nateby in Cumbria to meet Debbie and we went for a walk in the hills near her farm house. I wanted to hear about the journey to her current outdoors life, her 190 mile coast-to-coast adventure in her wheelchair, and how she thinks the countryside can become more accessible.
Debbie’s is a story of extraordinary resilience and determination - and the power of the outdoors.
The Outdoors Fix is a podcast produced and hosted by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk
It is proudly supported by Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports – stores nationwide and online offering everything you need to equip you for the best outdoors experience.
The post Debbie North: Wheelchair adventuring all over the UK appeared first on The Outdoors Fix.
59 min
October 24, 2020 Rehna Yaseen: Life as an outdoors instructor in the Peak District
Imagine getting to take teenagers hiking, canoeing and winter climbing in Scotland for your full-time job.
My guest in this podcast episode is Rehna Yaseen - she’s an outdoors instructor and youth and community worker who spends many of her days giving city-based teenagers fantastic outdoors adventures that they wouldn’t normally get to experience.
Rehna lives in Greater Manchester but her outdoors role in based in the Peak District.
I travelled to the Hollowford Centre in Castleton in the Peak District to meet Rehna and we also took a hike up Mam Tor together.
Having only gone on her first hike aged 16, I wanted to find out how Rehna came to be an outdoors instructor and youth worker, what it’s really like to lead teenagers on adventures in the outdoors and why she thinks it’s important that women like her are visible in the outdoors community.
The Outdoors Fix is a podcast produced and hosted by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk
It is proudly supported by Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports – stores nationwide and online offering everything you need to equip you for the best outdoors experience.
The post Rehna Yaseen: Life as an outdoors instructor in the Peak District appeared first on The Outdoors Fix.
40 min
July 18, 2020 Gilly McArthur: The Lake District’s ice swimmer and rock climber
If you’ve ever wanted to go and live in the Lake District, this episode might be just the motivation you need!
My guest is Gilly McArthur and she’s a wild swimmer, rock climber, illustrator and organiser of outdoors events, who lives in Kendal in the Lake District.
An ambassador for the outdoors community Wonderful Wild Women, Gilly also runs the Women’s Trad Festival for people interested in rock climbing. And for the past couple of years, Gilly has gone wild swimming every day in January to raise money for the mental health charity Mind. She’s even swum in lakes covered by ice!
It’s all a long way away from her previous life working in corporate business in New York.
I wanted to ask Gilly about how she navigated her way to an outdoors life and career, why she loves ice swimming so much and how the outdoors has helped her during two unbelievably difficult moments in her life.
The Outdoors Fix is a podcast produced and hosted by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk
It is proudly supported by Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports – stores nationwide and online offering everything you need to equip you for the best outdoors experience.
The post Gilly McArthur: The Lake District’s ice swimmer and rock climber appeared first on The Outdoors Fix.
50 min
July 04, 2020 Matthew Bannister: Walking around the UK for the Folk on Foot podcast
What if you could combine your passions into your dream outdoors job?
My guest in this episode, BBC radio presenter Matthew Bannister, has done just that.
Late on in his broadcasting career, Matthew has managed to merge his love for walking, the outdoors and folk music into his work. The result is his podcast, Folk on Foot.
Matthew has been on walks all over the UK for the podcast, from Sandwood Bay in northwestern Scotland to Port Isaac in Cornwall and he’s had some spine-tingling encounters with wildlife during some of his recordings.
Why did Matthew want to move his work outdoors? How did he did it? And why has walking been so important to him throughout difficult periods of his life?
The Outdoors Fix is a podcast produced and hosted by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk
It is proudly supported by Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports – stores nationwide and online offering everything you need to equip you for the best outdoors experience.
The post Matthew Bannister: Walking around the UK for the Folk on Foot podcast appeared first on The Outdoors Fix.
37 min
June 20, 2020 Frit Sarita Tam: How a charity walk led to an outdoorsy life and career
My guest in this episode is Frit Sarita Tam - she’s an adventure filmmaker and photographer, rock climber, hiker, paddle boarder and more!
Frit’s introduction to the outdoors was by no means gentle - a 50km, 16 hour charity hike on the South Downs Way with no previous hiking experience.
But it sparked a fascination with spending time outside and since then, she’s consciously taken baby-steps (as she calls them) towards a more outdoorsy career and life.
Those small moves forward have led her to taking up micro adventures after work, new outdoor hobbies, filming a documentary about a paddle boarding record and working for the Bear Grylls Survival Academy.
Frit is a British Chinese lesbian and she’s also passionate about trying to help other people in marginalised groups feel that the outdoors is for them too.
I hope you enjoy this episode and Frit’s story. Listen out for her tips for an outdoorsy life and don’t forget that at the end of the podcast there's the relaxing minute of sounds from nature, recorded by some of you!
The Outdoors Fix is a podcast produced and hosted by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk
It is proudly supported by Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports – stores nationwide and online offering everything you need to equip you for the best outdoors experience.
The post Frit Sarita Tam: How a charity walk led to an outdoorsy life and career appeared first on The Outdoors Fix.
36 min
June 06, 2020 Jen Benson: Adventure guidebook writing and camping around the UK for a year
What if you could go camping all over the UK for a year and write books off the back of your outdoors adventures?
Jen Benson is my guest in this episode and she and her husband Sim are outdoor adventure guidebook authors, travel writers and long-distance runners.
They have two children and outside of this coronavirus period, they travel to places like the Cairngorms, the Lake District and the Isles of Scilly to research running and walking routes for their books.
The couple have worked tirelessly to create this outdoors lifestyle for their family and they’ve had to make a lot of big decisions to get there. Including living in a tent and camping for a year!
I wanted to find out why Jen and her husband decided to pursue a more outdoors lifestyle, how they got into adventure guidebook writing and how it all works around family life.
The Outdoors Fix is a podcast produced and hosted by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk
It is proudly supported by Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports – stores nationwide and online offering everything you need to equip you for the best outdoors experience.
The post Jen Benson: Adventure guidebook writing and camping around the UK for a year appeared first on The Outdoors Fix.
47 min
May 23, 2020 Ben Dolphin: Life as a countryside ranger in Scotland
Fancy switching up your life, moving to the countryside and becoming a ranger, like Ben Dolphin?
Ben is a countryside ranger in Scotland, an outdoors writer and blogger and he’s just finished his term as President of Ramblers Scotland.
He used to work for a bank but a few years ago he got chatting to a fellow walker on the top of a hill and that chance meeting changed the course of his life.
I wanted to find out how and why Ben moved from a corporate career to becoming a countryside ranger and what the job involves. I also wanted to hear what he learnt from hiking all over Scotland over three years with 54 Ramblers Scotland walking groups.
The Outdoors Fix is a podcast produced and hosted by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk
It is proudly supported by Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports – stores nationwide and online offering everything you need to equip you for the best outdoors experience.
The post Ben Dolphin: Life as a countryside ranger in Scotland appeared first on The Outdoors Fix.
47 min
May 09, 2020 Sophie Pavelle: The zoologist and hiker who’s obsessed with British wildlife
My guest today is Sophie Pavelle!
Sophie is a zoologist, science communicator, environmental advocate and the Youth Ambassador for the Wildlife Trusts.
She’s incredibly passionate about the wildlife we have in the UK and through her work she tries to encourage others to appreciate it and therefore want to protect it.
How did she get here? It involved a 300 mile hike around the coast of Cornwall!
Sophie and I went for a walk before the lockdown on Woodbury Common in Devon.
I wanted to ask Sophie how she got involved in her outdoors career, why she thinks getting people outside is more important than ever and her tips for spotting and identifying the creatures around you!
The Outdoors Fix is a podcast produced and hosted by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk
It is proudly supported by Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports – stores nationwide and online offering everything you need to equip you for the best outdoors experience.
The post Sophie Pavelle: The zoologist and hiker who’s obsessed with British wildlife appeared first on The Outdoors Fix.
47 min
April 25, 2020 Becky The Traveller: From banking to hiking 950 miles across the UK
Would you like to walk 950 miles across the UK and write about your hiking adventures?
Today’s guest has done exactly that. She’s also turned hiking and adventure blogging into her career! It’s Becky Angell, also known as Becky The Traveller!
A few years ago, Becky was made redundant from her job in banking. Seeing it as an opportunity, she decided to try and completely change her life and make the outdoors her job.
In non-coronavirus times, she’s usually found on hikes and wild camps around the UK, writing up the best walks and adventures for her popular website.
Becky also completed a huge hiking challenge in 2019 – walking 950 miles across the UK for charity.
We went for a walk in the Peak District (before the coronavirus lockdown) and recorded the podcast on a hill overlooking Mam Tor.
I wanted to ask Becky about her huge hike, how she made the transition to a more outdoorsy career and life and what impact it’s had on her lifestyle. She also reveals how crucial the outdoors has been to her mental health over the years.
I hope you enjoy the podcast and Becky’s story. Listen out for her tips at the end of the podcast, as well as the relaxing minute of sounds from nature, recorded by some of you, the listeners!
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You’ll find Becky on Instagram @beckythetraveller Her website is Becky The Traveller
The Outdoors Fix is on Instagram and Facebook @theoutdoorsfix
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If would be fantastic if you could rate, review and subscribe to the podcast – it really helps other people discover it – and please feel free to spread the word to your family and friends!
Thanks!
Liv x
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If you have been affected by any of the issues in the podcast episode, there is more information and support in the links below:
Mind – the mental health charity
NHS – mental health
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The Outdoors Fix is a podcast produced and hosted by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk
It is proudly supported by Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports – stores nationwide and online offering everything you need to equip you for the best outdoors experience.
49 min
February 29, 2020 Jo Moseley: Midlife adventuring and paddleboarding coast-to-coast
In her late forties, Jo Moseley found herself crying in the biscuit aisle at Tesco.
She was caring for her parents who were both going through cancer treatment and she was a working mum looking after her two sons. Jo says she was feeling exhausted and overwhelmed.
After a friend persuaded her to take up exercise, Jo started spending more time in the outdoors. Over a few years, those activities have helped transform her life.
Jo took on a big adventure and paddleboarded 162 miles along canals from Liverpool to Goole in the summer of 2019 – all while on her annual leave from work!
She’s become a passionate advocate of adventures in midlife and encouraging others to find joy and achieve their goals whatever their age!
How did she turn her life around and why does she think it’s so important to keep adventuring as you get older?
You’ll find Jo on Instagram at @healthyhappy50
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The Outdoors Fix is a podcast produced and hosted by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk
53 min

About The Outdoors Fix

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The award-winning podcast to inspire you to make the outdoors a bigger part of your life. Do you ever sit at your desk wishing you were hiking, wild camping, rock climbing or wild swimming? If…