The Outdoors Station

Lord Smith of Finsbury is now well known as the President of the Ramblers’ Association, but in 1997 - as plain Chris Smith MP - he became Culture Secretary in Tony Blair’s incoming government. Working with colleagues he paved the way for the introduction of the Access legislation that is now well used by ramblers and hillwalkers throughout England and Wales. In this interview we talk to Lord Smith about the 100 year fight to introduce a right to roam, consider how these laws might be extended further and how we can best give young people better opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors.

Guidebooks can provide the reader with far more than just a route description. A good guide has essential background information for travel, accommodation, alternative routes, difficulty and above all, provides inspiration. Cicerone have been publishing guides for forty years, and the current team are as enthusiastic as ever as they describe what’s involved in making a great guidebook. Sponsored by Cicerone Press.

An Alpine walk from Lake Geneva to Nice, and the legendary GR20, reputedly Europe’s toughest trek. Paddy Dillon has walked both of these routes at least twice, and has written guidebooks to them both. Here he discusses both routes, and looks at how they can be combined to create a trek to excite you for the entire summer. Sponsored by Cicerone Press.

One of the keys to unlocking the hills and countryside is to have the ability to navigate confidently using a map and compass. Having this ability is a liberating experience, and we talk to navigation expert Pete Hawkins about what is involved in learning these skills. Sponsored by Cicerone Press.

Becky Alison talks us through a more gentle approach to her Gap Year travel. As someone more cautious about traveling so far from home, she chose to go through established companies and contacts, slowly building up her confidence before returning to Australia a second time and really going for it!

The West of Ireland is an attractive destination for sea kayakers, with its deeply indented coastline and challenging weather patterns. Jim Kennedy of Atlantic Sea Kayaking has a passion for this area and talks to Simon Willis regarding his top three routes, around Skibbereen in West Cork.

We meet Basha O'Reilly once again and discuss the planning and preparation for her forthcoming 2008 trip, the world's first circumnavigation on horseback. Gear, safety, health, planning, fitness and good old fashioned luck, will all play a part.

In this show Simon Willis talks to well know sportsman Nigel Dennis turned Kayaker, and finds out when, where and what turned him onto this sport.

In this travel show we meet Beth who tells us of her 2006 Gap Year in Peru where she mixed it with traveling around neighboring countries for several months. Of course this included Machu Pichu, Lake Titicaca and a mountain bike ride down Death Road, sand boarding and the Nascar lines all formed part of this adventure!

One form of traveling we haven't covered so far on The Outdoor Station is horseback. Mainly because we assumed that very few, if any, people still travel this way. However, how wrong we were! We are fortunate to meet a member of The Long Riders Guild. Lightweight horse riders out to see the world, and boy do they travel some miles!