Ramblings

Brockley and Ladywell with Hana Sutch

12 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Clare Balding heads to Brockley and Ladywell for a leafy London wander with Hana Sutch, co founder of the walking app Go Jauntly. Growing up in a fam...

Terminal Hillness in the north Lakes

05 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Clare joins Ian Teasdale in the north Lake District for a very personal walk. Ian and his wife, Catherine, are on a mission to climb all 214 Wainwrig...

Ghosts of the Farm with Nicola Chester

29 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Clare joins writer Nicola Chester for a circular walk from her home in the village of Inkpen in West Berkshire. Despite recently breaking her leg in a...

Bredon Hill with Steve Boycott

22 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Clare hikes up Bredon Hill with Steve Boycott, founder of the Be You Programme, an outdoor‑based initiative that helps young people build confidence...

Adventurer Pom Oliver in the Low Weald

15 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Clare Balding meets the adventurer Pom Oliver for a woodland wander near her home in West Sussex. As they stroll amongst the trees, Pom recalls extrao...

Walking Back to Happiness

08 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Clare joins Glenn Meyer in Surrey’s Happy Valley for a walk that celebrates resilience and recovery. During lockdown, Glenn suffered a serious spina...

The Gower Peninsula to Antarctica

20 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Clare Balding joins Rob Curtis for a walk across the dramatic landscape of Rhossili Bay on the Gower Peninsula. Rob, an electrician with a passion for...

India in the Cotswolds with Corinne Fowler and Raj Pal

13 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Clare is walking in the Cotswolds with author Corinne Fowler and historian Raj Pal, whose family has roots in both Britain and India.Corinne is leadin...

Whispering Rocks with Anjana Khatwa

06 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Clare joins Earth Scientist and author Anjana Khatwa for a cliffside walk in Dorset exploring the landscapes that shaped her life, and her book The Wh...

Nick Wilson - the Disabled Adventurer

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Clare joins Nick Wilson for a circuit around Pitsford Reservoir in Northamptonshire. A former soldier, Nick now uses a powerchair after a spinal injur...

Crime and Punishment in the Peak District

23 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Clare joins writer Kate Morgan on a walk from Monsal Head to Tideswell in the Peak District. Along the way, they explore how the use of gallows and gi...

Walk for Wendy - Chater Valley

16 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Clare explores a six-mile loop of the Chater Valley in this week’s Ramblings. Her companion is Will Hetherington who wrote to the programme inviting...

Clare Balding's in Town!

09 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Clare Balding’s In Town! To kick off the new series, Clare is walking in Rutland with comedian Mark Steel. Since they’re in the same place at the...

Camino Memories with the Ciao Ciao Girls

03 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Camino Memories in Penicuik

26 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 f...

Arriving in Santiago de Compostela with Sharon, Shirley and friends

19 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 follo...

Camino Inglés with Jannine and Sally

12 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Living on the Camino de Santiago

05 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Clare meets a man who completely changed his life after walking the Camino de Santiago. Andrea Abbatemarco is originally from Milan, and first comple...

Camino Francés with Maggie McLean

29 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Camino de Santiago with Manni Coe

22 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Rerouting the Shropshire Way

13 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Clare meets a group of passionate walkers responsible for the redesign and relaunch of the Shropshire Way long distance footpath. Back in 2016 they go...

Capel y ffin and the Twmpa

06 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 Pa...

Fife - Clatto Reservoir to Pitscottie

30 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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...

60-60-60 in the Southern Pentlands

23 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 60...

Trees in Winter near Abergavenny

16 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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, ...

Clare's 25th Year! Bakewell with the RamSoc

09 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Chief Scout Dwayne Fields in Epping Forest

21 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

The Old Lags - Bristol

14 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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,...

River Itchen - Hampshire

07 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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. ...

Lise Wortley - Woman with Altitude

31 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clare meets ‘Woman with Altitude’ Lise Wortley who recreates the adventures of overlooked and forgotten female explorers. As Lise takes Clare on ...

Alan Titchmarsh on the Isle of Wight

24 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 t...

GM Ringway - a new 200-mile walking route

17 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 e...

Arsenic and Fish Weirs on the Edge of Dartmoor

10 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 sh...

Amar Latif - President of the Ramblers in North Yorkshire

01 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clare and the ‘blind adventurer’ Amar Latif explore a circular route in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire. As the current President of the Ramblers, Am...

Surrey - from Oaks Park to Kingswood

25 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clare meets the founders of Walking Post on a hike from Oaks Park to Kingswood in Surrey. Walking Post is a not-for-profit website run by friends who...

Every Body Outdoors in Gloucestershire

18 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clare is in the Cotswolds this week with a fantastic group called Every Body Outdoors. They begin their walk in the village of King’s Stanley, Glou...

Donegal with rock climber and mountain guide Iain Miller

11 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the second of two walks in the Republic of Ireland, Clare meets rock climber, mountain instructor and walking guide, Iain Miller, to explore a stre...

Donegal with Nikki Bradley - Adaptive Adventurer and Amputee

04 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the first of two episodes recorded in the Republic of Ireland, Clare travels to Moyle Hill in County Donegal to meet adventurer and motivational sp...

Blowy Bamburgh Beach with David Almond

27 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

David Almond marks 25 years of his extraordinary book, Skellig, with a walk from Seahouses to Bamburgh in Northumberland. As he tells Clare, it's a l...

Painting Bluebells in Shropshire

20 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clare walks to a glorious display of bluebells to capture them in watercolour in the company of artist Shelly Perkins.On a beautiful day in mid-May th...

Kingfishers on the River Frome with Nadeem Perera

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nadeem Perera is not your conventional image of a birdwatcher. In fact growing up in inner city London he was not raised as or encouraged to be a 'nat...

Walking at Night on the South Downs near Seaford

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When author Annabel Abbs suffered a series of bereavements she found herself unable to sleep. Eventually she began getting up and walking around her g...

Creaking Trees and a Full Rainbow at Innerleithen

28 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The beautiful Borders of Scotland is the location for Clare’s walk this week. She’s exploring the area around Innerleithen with Stewart Wilson. ...

On the Hoof with Hannah and Chico

21 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

The Wild Cliffs of St David's

14 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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. J...

Walking with resistance bands on the South Downs with Julie Ford

22 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clare joins PE Teacher Julie Ford for a bracing walk on the Seven Sisters near Eastbourne. It's a walk with a difference. Following a brush with breas...

We in Front!

15 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A joyful hike up Castle Hill near Huddersfield with We In Front, an inspirational group of walkers.Leading the way is Errol Hamlet who, having retired...

Clare's Highlights

25 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Clare chooses some favourite moments from her Ramblings year:Join brothers Manni and Reuben Coe who amble down to Hive Beach in Dorset on a calm summe...

Hope Valley with Anita Sethi

26 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 at...

Boxing on the beach at Ainsdale

19 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rose Mac moved to the North West from London a year ago and is constantly delighted by the nature and walking possibilities of her new home. Ainsdale...

Oldbury on Severn and Inside Planet Earth

12 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Clare walks with Mike Gunton, the man in charge of Planet Earth III, another blockbuster series from the BBC’s Natural History Unit. Mike’s a pas...

Out of Portpatrick on the Rhins of Galloway

05 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On a beautiful late summer's day Clare and guests explore a coastal walk on a remote peninsula in southern Scotland - the Rhins of Galloway.Walking wi...

Into Portpatrick on the Rhins of Galloway

28 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Clare joins two friends on what could possibly be the slowest walk between Land's End and John O'Groats. Hiking one week at a time (with a gap of sev...

Sandstone Trail

21 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sunshine and summer downpours on a hilly Cheshire hike with great views. On the way Clare hears from two friends about how walking has helped them co...

WalKington, Herefordshire

29 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ali Allen takes Clare for a sunny hike just outside Kington, a town she would like to be renamed 'WalKington' because it's such a magnet for ramblers....

Training for Kilimanjaro in Cheshire

22 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Clare joins a group of friends as they climb Shutlingsloe as part of their preparation for the much bigger adventure of trekking up Kilimanjaro later ...

Tree to Tree Trekking

15 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Martin Hügi is taking an unconventional approach to his long distance hike from Land's End to John O’Groats. He’s planned the route so he can vis...

Riverside Rambling near Reading

08 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Two friends, Karen and Emma, who say they met when both were post-Covid slumped on the sofa and doing no exercise, take Clare for a walk along the Tha...

Brotherly Love in Burton Bradstock

01 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Clare joins brothers Manni and Reuben Coe as they amble for a mile and a half to Hive beach at Burton Bradstock in Dorset. Reuben has Down’s Syndro...

Ashdown Forest

25 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The group Clare walks with see Ashdown Forest as a national treasure in its own right – and largely an unsung one. They think it’s remarkable that...

The Thames Path in Oxfordshire with Freddie

18 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When Freddie was adopted by Tina and Cas he was not in a good way. The first three years of his life left him with anxiety, trauma and PTSD. Tina an...

Great Alne, Warwickshire

30 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Retirement villages, recently made very famous by the Thursday Murder Club series of books, are becoming a popular choice for older people who want to...

Hiking with Hounds

23 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Walking your dog in the countryside can be tricky: What if you need to cross a field of cattle or horses? Should you let your dog off the lead or keep...

To the Ring of Brodgar

16 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On a windy hike from the Stones of Stenness to the Ring of Brodgar, Clare discovers Orkney's standing stones are as impressive and mysterious as Stone...

High Winds & Hail on Orkney

12 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Clare explores the wild and stormy west coast of mainland Orkney in the company of beachcomber, conservationist and former Polar-guide, Martin Gray. ...

Four Waterfalls Walk, South Wales

08 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sam and Roger met through a walking group on social media. Both were already keen walkers and Sam posted on the Walking In Wales page looking for a w...

An Art Walk in the Forest of Dean

02 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sara Rickard takes groups of local people on a walk through the forest to write, draw and take photographs and simply observe their surroundings. Cano...

Villagers' Walks around Timsbury

17 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Clare joins three walkers from the village of Timsbury in Somerset who have created several books detailing100 walks for local people to enjoy in the ...

The Icknield Way

09 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

David Falk is Green Access Manager on the Public Rights of Way Team for Suffolk County Council. He works hard to encourage people to enjoy walking in...

The Hills are Alive! Commoners Choir in Calderdale

02 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Boff Whalley is best known for Tubthumping with the band Chumbawamba but now he’s a core member of the Leeds based Commoners Choir which he founded....

The Trundle Sussex with Harriet Thomas

06 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The final listener's walk of the series is with Harriet Thomas who wrote to the programme to invite Clare to share her regular walk to The Trundle nea...

Halifax Hikers

29 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Clare goes to Halifax to walk with a group of Muslim men who came together to support each other to become mentally and physically fitter through walk...

Epsom Downs & Langley Vale Wood

22 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Listener Jo Forrest got in touch inviting Clare to walk with her and a group of fellow walkers with T1 Diabetes who discovered the beautiful lush land...

Nightjar Impressions near the Hampshire Hangers

15 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A sunny hike, with added party tricks, in the pretty countryside around East Worldham. Led ably by members of Walk Alton, Clare discovers the beauty ...

Dovedale with Caravan

08 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Clare walks with a listener known as Caravan, who spent six years living homeless in the Peak District, an area he knows well thanks to his love of ou...

A Stunning Hike around Malham Cove

01 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our listeners are taking over Ramblings and guiding Clare on every walk of this new series. Today’s adventure is led by three women who all qualifie...

Tresco with Mike Nelhams

10 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mike Nelhams has recently retired as Head Gardener of the beautiful gardens on Tresco but remains very active and involved in island life. He meets C...

St Mary on the Isles of Scilly with Will Wagstaff and Lucy McRobert

10 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Starting her walk overlooking the harbour outside the Star Castle Hotel once a Civil War fortress Clare hikes around the largest of the Isles of Scill...

Happy Valley

26 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s walk starts at Happy Valley in the Mourne Mountains about thirty minutes inland from the coast of County Down. Clare is walking with Kelly ...

Bloody Bridge

19 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the first of two back-to-back hikes in the Mourne Mountains Clare walks from Bloody Bridge near Newcastle, on the coast of County Down, up into the...

Mousehole to Lamorna with Jane Johnson and Abdel Bakrim

12 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Having grown up in Cornwall Jane Johnson has a deep love of the landscape of the south west. She and her husband Abdel take Clare on a coastal walk a...

Oliver Jeffers in Outer Space

05 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the first of a new series, Clare is in Derry-Londonderry to meet the celebrated children’s author and artist, Oliver Jeffers. As part of a free n...

The Saxon Shore Way in Kent

31 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Colleen Thirkell and her husband Richard have been walking stretches of the Saxon Shore Way with their friends Bev and John. In autumn 2020 Colleen ...

Old and New Winchelsea with historian Dr Matthew Green

24 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The walk begins on the shingle at Winchelsea Beach - the possible site of the drowned city that was engulfed by waves in the 11th century. Crossing t...

Around Dulwich Woods with Floella Benjamin

18 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Baroness Floella Benjamin DBE joins Clare for a walk around one of her favourite woodlands in London. Starting in Dulwich College where her mother wor...

95 Ethels in the Peak District

10 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From the Redmires Reservoirs near Sheffield, Clare walks up to Stanage Edge ('stone edge') a gritstone escarpment in the Peak District. Angela Lawrenc...

After Eunice - Guarlford, Worcestershire

03 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Clare explores a rural route near the Worcestershire village of Guarlford. Storm Eunice has just left, Franklin is underway and the River Severn is u...

Walking in all weathers with nature writer Melissa Harrison.

21 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Writer Melissa Harrison celebrates the joy of walking in every season of the year and in wet and dry weather. Given that we can count on it raining o...

To the World's End, north Wales

17 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Clare hikes through the Eglwyseg Valley in north Wales with two very different characters: Guy Kennaway and Hussein Sharif. The two men became fami...

The Golden Road, Pembrokeshire

03 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Clare explores part of a challenging route in the Preseli Hills taken by hardy cattle drovers who, over generations, would walk herds of two to three ...

The Slate Island of Seil

07 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 Sc...

Off the Beaten Track on the Island of Iona

04 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Clare is walking on the beautiful island of Iona in today’s Ramblings. One of the Inner Hebrides, Iona is just three miles long by around a mile w...

Slippy Rocks and Otter Spotting on the Island of Mull

23 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Clare takes on a challenging coastal route from Lochbuie to Carsaig on the island of Mull. Her guide is Wendy Lloyd who – like most islanders – ha...

The Turquoise Sea and White Sands of Ardnamurchan

16 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Clare explores a remote and beautiful stretch of coastline between Portuairk and Sanna Bay on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula. Ardnamurchan's far coastlin...

White Stags and Kidney Donation in Fife

09 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Clare is in Fife hiking with John Fletcher who, in 2009, was the first man in Scotland to donate a kidney to a stranger. In another pioneering first...

A Sunny Stomp on the Pentland Hills

02 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Clare hikes with the inspirational adventurers Hazel and Luke Robertson on the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh. They are mountain leaders, polar explor...

Urban Ambling in Cultural Coventry

10 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A fascinating wander through Coventry, the 2021 UK City of Culture. Ian Harrabin is a Trustee of the City of Culture so is the perfect guide to lead...

Mallerstang in Cumbria with Debbie North.

03 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Debbie North uses a motorised wheelchair and is a powerful advocate for making the countryside accessible for all. Debbie had always been a keen walk...

Tales of International Adventure on a Walk in Somerset

27 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Bex Band was not an outdoorsy person, but one day she decided to hike the length of Israel. Whilst there she noticed very few women walking the 1000km...

Screenwriter Kay Mellor at Harewood in Leeds

20 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kay Mellor is one of our most successful screenwriters. On today's ramble she takes Clare on her favourite route at Harewood House in her home city of...