Ramblings

A cliff edge walk at St. David's in Pembrokeshire with artists Jackie Morris and Tamsin Abbott who are creating a book of illuminated folk stories. Jackie is writing the words and Tamsin is creating original pieces of stained glass for the book's artwork.

Jackie is an artist and writer possibly best known for her illustrations in The Lost Words, a large and beautiful book about language and nature. Tamsin is an established stained glass artist and illustrator inspired by the natural world.

As they ramble along the coast, Clare hears about their new project - Wild Folk: Tales from the Stones - seven ‘fables of transformation and power summoned from the ancient stones beneath our feet’. Inhabiting the pages are selkies and salmon, a great white raven, a huge black fox and a woman who lives as an owl.

Wild Folk doesn’t exist quite yet... It’s being crowd-funded and will be available in 2025.

They began their walk at Whitesands carpark and walked cliff-side towards the Coetan Arthur burial chamber on St. David's Head.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

In 2019 Anita Sethi was on a trans Pennine train journey when she was racially abused by a man who later pleaded guilty to the offence. During the attack he told her to go back to where she belonged. Having been born and raised in Manchester Anita feels very strongly that the North of England is where she belongs and as a way of working through the shock and trauma of the incident she began a journey through the Pennines on foot beginning at the uplifting and positively named Hope in the Peak District. Clare joins her for a hike in the steep countryside to Edale taking in Mam Tor and Kinder Scout.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Clare crosses the famous ‘Bridge over the Atlantic’ for a ramble on the island of Seil. Her guide is the writer, educator, and director of the Scottish Centre for Geopoetics, Norrie Bissell. Geopoetics is described as “creatively expressing the earth” and is critical of the western way of thinking which separates humans from the rest of the natural world. Norrie has also published a novel, ‘Barnhill’, about George Orwell’s final years on the relatively nearby Island of Jura where he wrote 1984.

Approximately twelve miles south of Oban, Seil is a small island separated from the mainland by the narrowest of sea channels. It became known as one of the ‘slate islands’ thanks to its slate rock deposits which were quarried and used to ‘roof the world’. Norrie and Clare begin their walk on the mainland side of the bridge, at Grid Ref NM 785 196.

Please scroll down to the 'related links' box on the Ramblings webpage for more info.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Karen Gregor

Clare joins Hannah Engelkamp and her donkey, Chico, for a ramble in the Dyfi Valley a few miles east of Machynlleth in Powys.

On the way Hannah tells Clare about the extraordinary adventure she shared with Chico when they walked 1000 miles around the perimeter of Wales. She did this despite having no previous experience of donkeys, or horses, or any animals really. It took twice as long as she intended and was much harder than she ever imagined. The idea of 'carrot or stick' doesn't work, Hannah says, so the first thing she learned was when a donkey stops you just have to wait and stand and look and wait until the moment seems right to move off again.

Hannah also tells Clare about her involvement with 'Slow Ways'. It’s a Community Interest Company whose aim is to map, improve, and promote walking routes between Britain’s towns, cities and villages.

Clare and Hannah met at Grid Ref: SH 850 027, and walked a section of a Slow Way known as ‘Maccar One’ near Chico’s home at Dyfi Donkey Woods. Maccar One is 23 miles long and connects Machynlleth with Carno. Slow Ways are named for the first three letters of the place at either end of a route e.g. Mac for Machynlleth and Car for Carno.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Clare Balding continues her series exploring epic walks, by joining four women as they take their final training walk before they set off to complete the eighty-two mile Essex Way, in just three days. Rebecca Rose and her friends have been training since Christmas to walk from Epping to Harwich. They're walking in aid of a local charity close to their hearts, Essex and Herts Air Ambulance. Four years ago Rebecca's daughter Katy's fiancé was involved in an accident at work, he was treated and air lifted to a London hospital by the local air ambulance. Although he sadly died, the family remain very grateful that they attended, as they know he received the best possible care. Katy was pregnant at the time and grandson, Oscar will be there to encourage the walkers at the beginning and end of the walk.

Producer Lucy Lunt.