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Clare is in Northumberland today for the final episode of this Camino de Santiago themed series. She’s walking along a section of Hadrian’s Wall with a fabulous group of women - the Ciao Ciao Girls - celebrating the 10th anniversary of their pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Since then, they've become a tightly bonded unit who gather every year to complete another walking challenge. For today’s joyful, windy and very rainy hike they met at the Steel Rigg car park, and completed a circular walk including the remains of the tree at Sycamore Gap. As they wander they reflect on their first adventure together on the Camino, what that experience brought them, and continues to bring them ten years on.
Steel Rigg Car Park, NE47 7AW / What3Words: teacher.spelling.tweed
Presenter: Clare BaldingProducer: Karen Gregor
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Clare is in Penicuik for the penultimate episode of this Camino de Santiago themed series. The first five programmes were recorded in Spain, and the final two episodes are in the UK with people reflecting on their past experiences of The Way. Today Clare meets a true Camino veteran: Rev. Nick Bowry has walked it seven times, and on different routes, including when he was making the decision to give up his long-standing career to become a Priest.
Joining Clare and Nick on today's walk are Nick's friends, Cat and Liz, who share their own Camino memories as they enjoy the beautiful local scenery on a fine day.
They completed a circular walk starting at Nick's church, St. James the Less, taking in the River North Esk, Serpentine Wood, and views of the Pentland Hills.
Presenter: Clare BaldingProducer: Karen Gregor
Here's a poem Nick wrote about his time on the Camino in 2016:
Santander a Muxia, Camino 2016
Come, it's been a while,And walk, talk, sing, and pray,My way, your way, our way,In silence, in company, together, apart, each day,Never lonely, I'm pleased to say,One foot in front of the other.
Consciously clearing clutter from my mind,Allowing time to forgive, seventy times seven and once again,Making friends with myself and letting go what drains,I feel my load lighten, less and less remains,New days dawn and the true self gains, One foot in front of the other.
Conversations words and gestures,All allow acquaintances to grow,Many mark a mile, some many more - going with the flow,Intimate confessions and burdens off loaded, I know,Now I have time and patience to listen, to help the speaker let go,One foot in front of the other.
Calmed and caught in the cadence of walking,Applied compeed, insect repellent and sun cream,Mass at noon - seeing it swing - has it been a dream,Indisputably not, my calf muscles know where they have been,Now with great anticipation, mi amigo is seen,One foot in front of the other.
Companions on the way, four between us,And now we start our one at last,Minding all that has gone on, the past,In perspective, in sorrow and joy our minds cast,New beginnings both, carpe diem, life goes so fast,One foot in front of the other.
Conclusions - I have a few,Appreciate each day and what you learn,Make new friends, be generous but make time for yourself to discern,Invite new experiences and try them out,Now is the time, without a doubt, and…Oh, just put… one foot in front of the other.
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On Clare’s last day of walking sections of the Camino, she arrives into Santiago de Compostela with a wonderful group of friends who have been following the Portuguese route, starting in Vigo.
The women became friends after meeting in their local gym, and discovered they were all working their way through challenging personal issues. They decided they wanted to do something for themselves to celebrate both fitness and friendship… and their Camino adventure began. The route they chose was from Vigo to Santiago which is entirely in Spain, but forms the last 104km/65 miles of the Camino Portugues Coastal.
This is the What3Words location for where Clare met the group: ///petitioning.spokes.snail
Presenter: Clare BaldingProducer: Karen Gregor
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Clare is walking on the Camino Inglés today with Jannine Stoodley who is pushing her mother, Sally, in an off-road wheelchair. This entire series of Ramblings is themed around the Camino de Santiago, a network of pilgrimage trails that stretch across western Europe and converge on the world famous Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, in northern Spain.
The Camino Inglés, or the English Way, is one of these trails. It has two starting points, either at Ferrol which is 119km, or A Coruña which is 75km from Santiago de Compostela. Because the distance required for a Compostela certificate is 100km, the Ferrol route is most popular.
Jannine and Sally are taking the path from A Coruña, and hope to finish their adventure at the Cathedral on Sally’s 85th birthday. Sally suffered a debilitating stroke in 2023, and had been admitted to a hospice for end of life care. But, incredibly, Sally rallied and recovered saying “I’m not ready to die yet” and was eventually able to return home. However she could no longer walk for long distances, which had always a passion, so Jannine found a robust wheelchair that Sally could be pushed in, and set off to walk the Camino.
They have already completed the Reading to Southampton route in England, which is an officially recognised section of the Camino; it’s a 68mile/109km path so when they complete the A Coruña, they will have surpassed the 100km needed to gain the coveted ‘Compostela’ completion certificate.
Clare met Jannine and Sally outside Restaurante Mar de Esteiro (What3Words: ///sweeter.jazz.lazing) which is around 11km out of Santiago de Compostela. They walked together on an often challenging route - especially when pushing a very heavy wheelchair across uneven terrain and up steep hills - for approx 10km.
Jannine and Sally let us know that they successfully completed the final stretch of their walk the following day, reaching the Cathedral on Sally's birthday. They are keen to make the kind of off-road wheelchairs that Sally uses available to others through Adversity to Adventure, see the 'related links' section on the Ramblings webpage.
Presenter: Clare BaldingProducer: Karen Gregor
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Clare meets a man who completely changed his life after walking the Camino de Santiago. Andrea Abbatemarco is originally from Milan, and first completed The Way in 2005 in memory of a friend who died a year earlier in the Indian Ocean tsunami. A few years later, he walked it again with his girlfriend and just a matter of months after returning to Italy, they packed up their lives, bought a house along the Camino, and now run a hostel for pilgrims.
The Camino de Santiago is a network of footpaths that run across western Europe, all converging upon the Cathedral at Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. One of these trails is the Sanabrés which begins in Granja de Moreruela and stretches for around 225 miles to Santiago de Compostela. Clare met Andrea on the Sanabrés, around 30km out of Santiago where he runs Casa Leiras, an Albergue, or hostel, specifically designed for Camino pilgrims. Joining them is Manni Coe, a guide who leads walks on the Sanabrés, who's known Andrea for years. Manni also featured in episode one of this series which is entirely themed around the Camino.
Presenter: Clare BaldingProducer: Karen Gregor
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Clare walks with Reverend Maggie McLean today on a stretch of the Camino de Santiago, the world famous pilgrimage route that concludes at Santiago de Compostela’s glorious Cathedral in northern Spain. The Camino can be completed in numerous ways, with one of the most popular routes being the French Way otherwise known as the Francés. It begins in the French town of St. Jean Pied de Port and ends 790km/490miles later in Santiago. Maggie is trekking part of this route and Clare joins her at Triacastela to hear her story as they make their way to the Benedictine Monastery at Samos, which is about 150km from Santiago itself.
Maggie is a lifelong keen walker, and was one of the first women to be ordained in the Church of England. She works as a Canon at York Minster, and would like to see some kind of pilgrimage established there, so her time on the Camino is not just a spiritual journey, it’s also a way of conducting some research. On their walk she tells Clare about her life and journey in faith, including working in homeless centres, probation hostels and a seafarers’ mission in Australia. En route Clare and Maggie bumped into Arthur, a pilgrim who has spent several weeks every year for seven years on the Camino, which he started by walking out of his front door in Switzerland. Despite suffering cancer three times, and having one quarter of a lung removed, he still carries a 10kg backpack and never plans where he’s going to stay overnight.
Presenter: Clare BaldingProducer: Karen Gregor
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This is a very special series of Ramblings. To mark Clare’s 25th year of presenting Radio 4’s walking programme she is off to Spain to fulfil her long held desire of hiking one of the world’s most famous pilgrimage footpaths, the Camino de Santiago. Translated roughly as The Way of St. James, the Camino isn’t just one route, rather it’s a network of trails across western Europe converging on Santiago de Compostela, the reputed burial place of St. James. Clare's first companion is Manni Coe. He first walked the Camino 22 years ago with his brother Reuben, following the Francés, or French, path. This is probably the most famous route, which starts in the French town of St Jean Pied de Port. Reuben has Down’s Syndrome and Manni recalls their journey together as the most magical yet challenging time of their lives.
Manni now lives in Spain and works as a tour guide, including leading pilgrims along the Sanabrés which begins in Granja de Moreruela and stretches around 225 miles to Santiago. Manni is also an author about to publish his second book, ‘Little Ruins’. As he explains to Clare, the simple act of walking has been invaluable in enabling him to complete this personal project which is about recovery from childhood trauma.
This is the second time Clare has walked with Manni: search in our episodes list for ‘Brotherly Love in Burton Bradstock’ to hear Manni and Reuben walking in Dorset. For this episode, Manni and Clare walked from Bendoiro (What3Words: tuxedos.unwed.enjoys) to Silleda (W3W: expecting.shortcuts.outsells)
Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor
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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 BaldingProducer: Karen Gregor
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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 BaldingProducer: Karen Gregor
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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 BaldingProducer: Karen Gregor
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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 BaldingProducer: Karen Gregor
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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… Richard Shimell’s book, Trees in Winter, is about the healing properties of nature and walking especially during the coldest season. When the inclination for so many is to stay indoors, he’s out drawing inspiration for his detailed and beautiful lino-cut prints of winter trees. Although his book features many prints of Dartmoor trees, he now lives in Grosmont near Abergavenny in south Wales and this is where he leads Clare for a walk up the hill near his home. The Graig Syfyrddin, or just The Graig, is 423m/1388ft and is on the Three Castles walk. Clare and Richard had a wonderfully clear day with far-reaching views.
Find out more about Richard and his book on his website: https://richardshimell.co.uk
Presenter: Clare BaldingProducer: Karen Gregor
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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 GregorPresenter: Clare Balding
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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 BaldingProducer: Karen Gregor
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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 BaldingProducer: Karen Gregor
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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 BaldingProducer: Karen Gregor
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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 BaldingProducer: Karen Gregor
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Alan Titchmarsh takes Clare Balding for his favourite stroll across Tennyson Down on the Isle of Wight. A keen and regular walker, Alan splits his time between the mainland and the Isle of Wight, and has a lot to share with Clare about this place that he loves. Best known as a TV gardener, interviewer and romantic novelist, Alan grew up in a family that took regular Sunday walks and as a young child developed an affinity for the natural world.
Presenter: Clare BaldingProducer: Karen Gregor
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Clare hikes along a section of the GM Ringway, Greater Manchester’s new walking trail. It’s a 200 mile route split into 20 stages, starting and ending in Manchester city centre. It goes around the edge of the county through all 10 boroughs of the region, and it’s linked with public transport so people can easily access the linear stages.
Joining Clare as she walks part of Stage 6, which is Strines to Marple, is Andrew Read whose brilliant idea this was. He was awarded £250k of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to make it happen.
The project also depends upon a legion of keen volunteers, several of whom join Clare for today’s walk. One of these is ‘Stage Guardian’ Roz Hughes who explains how important volunteer involvement is to keep the walk maintained in the long term.
The starting point of the walk, Strines Station, was described in The Railway Children. Craig Wright joined the group to share his enthusiasm for this classic children’s book, and - while reading a short section - points out aspects of a view that can be recognised from Edith Nesbit's descriptions.
Presenter: Clare BaldingProducer: Karen Gregor
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Clare explores the Lower Tavy Valley in Devon with Sharon Gedye a physical geographer who's spent years discovering how the area's rich history has shaped its landscape and people.
Sharon takes Clare on a circular walk starting on West Down, on the western edge of Dartmoor, heading down towards the River Tavy and eventually reaching Double Waters, the confluence of the Tavy and Walkham. On the way they see evidence of arsenic mines, copper workings and discuss long forgotten but fascinating fish weirs.One of these, Sharon discovered with the help of court records, was the focus of an unlikely battle in 1280.
Sharon is also interested in how humans shape landscape and how landscape shapes us. Thinking of her grandfather, she says: He was a quarry-man on Dartmoor and by picturing him working and polishing the granite, I feel closer to how he experienced the world.
Also on the walk are two of Sharon's friends who bring their own areas of expertise to their interpretation of the area: archeologist Chris Smart, and heritage consultant, Andrew Thompson
Sharon writes a blog which you can find at www.awalkinenglishweather.com They met at WhatThreeWords: grin.tend.negotiators / Grid Ref: SX479708
Presenter: Clare BaldingProducer: Karen Gregor
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