The Outdoors Fix

By Liv BoltonSports Health & Fitness Mental Health Leisure Wilderness Hobbies

The Outdoors Fix episodes

July 26, 2019 Zahrah Mahmood, aka ‘The Hillwalking Hijabi’
Today’s guest is Zahrah Mahmood, known as @the_hillwalking_hijabi on Instagram.
Zahrah is a hiker who lives in Glasgow. She only got into hiking three years ago when a friend took her out for a walk to reduce the stress of her chartered accountant exams.
Since then, the outdoors has transformed her previously city-orientated life.
She now spends dozens of weekends in the hills, highlands and on the Munros of Scotland and counts down the hours for her next adventure.
Zahrah is hugely motivated in encouraging other Muslim women to get into the outdoors and experience the physical and mental benefits that she’s felt from it.
She says that she noticed early on in her hiking life “how few people like her” were in the hills having adventures and she wants to change this.
Through her social media Zahrah puts particular emphasis on showing how accessible hiking can be, offering advice for beginners and answering any questions for those intrigued but perhaps too unsure to start.
She hopes that by showing that a hijab-wearing woman can have adventures outdoors, more women will follow in her footsteps, and the hiking community will become more representative.
I went to visit Zahrah at her home in Glasgow to hear more about how hiking has changed her life and how it’s inspiring her to get others outdoors too.
I hope you enjoy the podcast! You can see photos of Zahrah and her adventures on theoutdoorsfix.com or on Instagram, @theoutdoorsfix
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The Outdoors Fix is a podcast hosted and produced by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk on Instagram.
48 min
July 13, 2019 Cooking in the fells with…Fell Foodie aka Harrison Ward
The Outdoors Fix is a podcast to inspire you to make the outdoors a bigger part of your life. It’s produced by Liv Bolton.
In 2016, Harrison Ward lived in York, was 22 stone and drank around 20 pints a day.
He admits that he was deeply depressed, lived a sedentary lifestyle and his drinking was having a huge impact on his life.
Harrison now lives in the Lake District, is passionate about hiking, fell running and wild-camping, he’s sober and has created a buzz around his cooking while in the outdoors.
Steak with a roasted pepper salad, or pancakes, maple syrup and berries, they’re just some of the dishes that he makes while out camping in the fells.
He’s such an interesting guy and the journey to his current life has been extraordinary.
I went up to the Lake District to hear how he’s turned his life around and why the outdoors has been so important in his transformation.
If you're interested in hiking, wild camping, cooking, hearing about great Lake District routes, this episode is for you!
* Note: There is more information and support about depression and alcohol addiction on the Mind and NHS websites. *
The Outdoors Fix is a podcast hosted and produced by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk
The post Cooking in the fells with…Fell Foodie aka Harrison Ward appeared first on The Outdoors Fix.
36 min
March 23, 2019 Jessie Leong: The life of an adventure photographer
Adventure photographer Jessie Leong captures people in the outdoors, whether hiking in Switzerland, winter climbing in Snowdonia or at outdoors festivals.
She’s also now a Get Outside champion for Ordnance Survey and encourages more people to have fun in nature.
When she discovered a passion for rock climbing and hiking, Jessie realised that she could combine those activities with her career!
I went to see Jessie at her house on the edge of the Peak District to find out how she transitioned her career from studio/corporate photography to adventure photography.
She also had some great tips on how to use your camera when on a cliff face, what equipment you need and how to get the perfect adventure shot.
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The Outdoors Fix is a podcast hosted and produced by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk
35 min
March 16, 2019 Clare Dyson: Adventuring with a dog and pony
Clare Dyson has been fanatical about horses since she was a child. Pony-trekking around the whole of the Lake District was an adventure that Clare had dreamed about for a long time.
In May 2018, having worked relentlessly to get the time off from her job working with the Lake District National Park in community engagement, she made the trip a reality.
Clare trekked and wild camped for a month with fell pony Pansy and dog Finn. They started in Staveley-in-Cartmel and took a clockwise direction around the Lake District.
In this podcast episode, Clare speaks movingly about what the trip meant to her, and how being outdoors has been a huge help with her mental health. She articulates so well the importance of the outdoors that many of us feel.
Clare also has lots of advice for those who want to make a dream adventure happen - a hint - one tip involves drawing!
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The Outdoors Fix is a podcast hosted and produced by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk
38 min
March 09, 2019 Rory Southworth: The trail-running outdoors addict
Rory Southworth can often be found jumping over tree roots on a hill run in the Lake District or hopping over rocks on a scramble.
The trail runner, rock climber, hiker and all-round outdoors addict is bubbling with energy and is known for his love of a backwards cap.
Rory has a full-time job as a designer, but uses every available moment outside of work to be in the outdoors adventuring.
He’s known for his evening excursions in the Lake District, exploring places when everyone else has gone home.
He shows that you don’t necessarily have to quit your job or flip your life to have some extraordinary adventures.
Rory took me on a hike for the podcast in the woodland and moorland of Anglezarke in Lancashire.
We even recorded some of it in a den in the woods!
I hope you enjoy the podcast - listen out for the three people Rory says have inspired his adventures as well as the minute of the sounds of nature at the end!
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The Outdoors Fix is a podcast hosted and produced by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk
44 min
March 02, 2019 Nic Hardy: The hiking adventure club queen
A short walk to the pub with friends was about the extent of IT programme manager Nic Hardy's adventures two years ago.
Today she leads an adventure club of 100 people who go hiking, wild camping, rock climbing in the Lake District most weekends.
She also bagged all 214 Wainwrights in a year!
But how did she do it? What was the spark to make the change? What effect has it had on her life and finances? And why does she feel like the outdoors has given her another lease of life?
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The Outdoors Fix is a podcast hosted and produced by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk
39 min
February 23, 2019 Ross Bowyer: Bushcraft to Bear Grylls
Watching Bear Grylls drink reindeer blood in northern Norway is just part of the day job for Ross Bowyer.
He’s been working with and advising Bear on his TV shows for nearly nine years.
Ross scouted out the islands off the coast of Panama that contestants try and survive on for The Island with Bear Grylls TV show.
He’s also worked with Ray Mears, been on a remote expedition in the Brazilian rainforest with James Cracknell and spent weeks surviving using traditional skills in Alaska.
When he’s not on expeditions around the world advising TV crews on safety and survival, Ross lives in Kendal in the Lake District.
He runs wilderness and bushcraft courses there.
In this podcast, Ross reveals how he got started in his extraordinary career and why at London's Euston station he realised his life had to be outdoors. He also has a ton of fascinating anecdotes from his adventures.
It hasn’t always been plain sailing though. As someone without military training, unlike many of the people who work in his industry, Ross had to work extra hard to be accepted into the survival and bushcraft community and prove himself.
He describes how this experience and the resilience he gained from it have helped him throughout his career.
Listen out for the calming minute of the sounds of nature at the end of the podcast - this week it's walking on a snowy mountain in Snowdonia!
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The Outdoors Fix is a podcast hosted and produced by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk
40 min
February 15, 2019 Annie Ross: How 52 challenges can change a life
Back in 2015 Annie Ross was a banker, restless sitting at a desk all day, but still feeling chained to it.
So she decided to take on 52 challenges in 52 weeks alongside her job.
Ranging from triathlons to swimming in seven lidos in seven days, Annie pushed herself out of her comfort zone and encouraged others to take on the tasks with her.
She had a huge year of experiences and it changed her outlook on life.
As a result, she quit banking in 2016.
Encouraging others to embrace challenges and get exercise has led her to setting up Team 52 - an organisation to help others complete active challenges and meet people with similar interests.
How and why did she make the big decision to leave a stable, handsomely paid banking job and pursue a life revolving around the outdoors?
What have been the best and worst challenges? Has it affected relationships?
And what advice would she give others wanting to do the same thing?
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The Outdoors Fix is a podcast hosted and produced by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk
45 min
February 09, 2019 James Michael Forrest, aka ‘Mountain Man’
Five years ago James Michael Forrest had an office job, lived in Birmingham and occasionally went on strolls at the weekend. He admits that he wasn’t a happy man.
Today he’s a record-breaking hiker, having walked all the mountains in England, Wales and Ireland in the quickest ever time. For the record, that is 719 mountains! He’s also now a travel writer and lives in the Lake District.
But how did he do it? What was the spark to make the change? What effect has it had on his life and finances? And why does he feel like the outdoors has given him another lease of life?
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The Outdoors Fix is a podcast hosted and produced by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk
38 min
February 09, 2019 Listen to a teaser for The Outdoors Fix
Hi, I’m Liv Bolton. Do you ever sit at your desk wishing you were outside adventuring? If you’re nodding your head, The Outdoors Fix is for you. It’s a podcast to inspire people who want to make adventures outdoors a bigger part of their life!
In this series I speak some incredible people who have lots of tips and advice on how to do it.
Interviewees in this series include:
- James Michael Forrest - record-breaking hiker and travel writer
- Ross Bowyer - survival specialist and survival consultant on Bear Grylls' TV shows
- Annie Ross - Team 52 Challenge co-founder
- Jessie Leong - adventure photographer
You can find the podcasts and more info on The Outdoors Fix website, which is www.theoutdoorsfix.com - I hope you enjoy it!
3 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…