Wishing all our listeners a happy and healthy holiday season and hope that we all travel into 2020 in a positive and relaxed manner.
This podcast was recorded on Christmas Day 2019 while walking on the local Malvern Hills with Rose and Pip the dog.
In it we review the 27 podcasts we have produced this year and discuss some of the key elements we’ve taken from each one.
Every person was a delight to talk to and the reason I enjoy doing the podcast is that I never stop learning from others. Expanding knowledge and understanding of all the fascinating aspects which go to make up outdoor life.
More exciting podcasts coming in 2020 and if you have time please leave a review on iTunes or wherever you get your downloads.
Content listing from 2019
479 Photoshow – March – Lowe Pro Bag, Phantom Flight School – Joby
480 John Gibbons – April – Environmentalist – One such powerful, eloquent and exceedingly well informed activist is John Gibbons. Based in Dublin, John has been writing and speaking about environmental and climate-related issues for the last decade and more. This included a two and a half year stint as weekly environmental columnist with the Irish Times. He also maintains an environmental blog at ThinkOrSwim.ie
481 Alastair Humphreys – May – Plugging his new book My Midsummer Morning – featuring some terrible violin playing and stories. Now he’s started a Podcast too!
482 Dermot Cosgrove – June – About to set off pulling a trekking cart 630km N to S Iceland. Epic plans and prep
483 Rowan Smith Training for mountains – July – He is one of a handful of specialist trainers who service the outdoor hiking niche for those who would like to build their strength and confidence before heading out to climb their mountain or take on a major personal challenge for the first time.
484 OTS – July – GP Batteries no recycling plant in UK – Vango project Hydrogen – Summit To Eat!
485 Eli Bishop – 2 Outdoors and Beyond – July – The mental health benefits of exercise are well documented, known to reduce stress and increase “feel good” hormones like dopamine. But many of us seeking better mind-body heath overlook the benefits found in simply spending time outdoors. It turns out the age-old adage is correct: fresh air is good for you!
486 Dermot recap – July – Iceland what went wrong.
487 Beth Wickes Coastal Walk – August – This podcast is an interview with Beth Wickes. Someone who has given up her home and possessions to walk around the coast of the UK for the benefit of three very important outdoor based organisations. Lowland Search and Rescue, The RNLI and Mountain Rescue England and Wales. Three organisations that all of us outdoor users appreciate being there, and hope that we never have to call upon their skills.
488 Katie Tunn Islands Project – August – You may remember the interview with artist Katie Tunn last year regarding her 40 day and 40 nights solo camp experience she did on a remote uninhabited island off the Scot west coast last year? No? Then go back and listen to No 476.
489 and 490 Jenny Wordsworth – August – You may recall a news story at the beginning of the year when Jenny Wordsworth (Nee Davis) was emergency air lifted from her solo, unsupported and unassisted Antarctic land ski speed attempt from the South Pole. This may have been the first time you heard her name or became aware of this extraordinary endurance athlete. Currently on day 28 and going well.
491 Katie Jane Endurance – Aug – This is a 30 minute extract from our world premier and the first video interview we’ve done on The Outdoors Station. After 15 years of producing audio podcasts for the self powered traveller who better to begin our new video series with than Katie Jane Endurance and her 2018 Iceland Traverse.
492 Tough Soles Update – Sept – I spoke with Carl and Ellie last in September 2018 (Podcast 477) when they had 7 trails left to complete on their epic personal challenge of being the first people to walk every Waymarked Trail in the Republic of Ireland. The very last gateway on the Wicklow Way of 42 trails and 4100km
493 Zoe Holmes Spend an Hour Outside – Sept – Zoe Holmes of Spodzblogz has started this great simple idea in small steps for everyone to improve their life, by spending one hours worth of quality time outside. However the real challenge is to make that happen each day. Not just the weekend when you can squeeze it in.
494 Adventure Queens – Sept – The world is a community and finding the right one for you can make a big difference in confidence as well as your future outlook. In this podcast I welcome several people to my community before speaking with Emma Frampton regarding Adventure Queens, a non for profit community specifically created to delicately smash down the barriers that prevent women from heading off on adventures.
495 ISPO Review – Sept – This podcast is an extract from the video interview I did recently with our European correspondent Roman Ackl and his impressions from Outdoor by ISPO the outdoor trade fair which has moved from Friedrichshafen to Munich in 2019.
496 Recommended Listening – Oct – In this Podcast, it is my pleasure to introduce you to three UK producers, all with Broadcast credentials, Liv Bolton from The Outdoors Fix, Andrew White from Walks Around Britain and Ben Sheppard from Why In The World.
497 and 498 Cairngorms 2019 – Oct – However this planning was scuppered somewhat by Storm Lorenzo, which threatened to make the particular weekend rather wet and windy. So we sat in the Cairngorms Hotel in Aviemore starting across our pints of Guiness to the brooding skies wondering if we should risk it, or change completely and make the Dalwhinnie section last more days.
499 Nearly Wild – Nov – Steve Evison. This is a small helpful cooperative or over 80 locations around the country which are certainly far removed from typical commercial campsites, but still may have the important basics of water and a loo.
Many cater for tents, tarps and traditional camping set ups, however quite a few also have trees for hammocks, allow camp fires and offer rural education should you wish it, about the habitat and environment you might be camping in.
500 Celebration – 14 Years of Podcast Producing making me the longest running in the world
501 Thomas Theyer Foundation – Nov – Christine Theyer – mother of Thomas Theyer who died just after his 18th birthday – They are raising funds to build a lodge at White Hall Education Centre in the heart of the beautiful Peak District of Derbyshire with the aim to provide access to outdoor activities and respite accommodation for children and young people with additional needs.
This includes children living with difficult life circumstances, such as young carers or those who have lost a parent or sibling. However one of the key ways they are doing this, is with the creation of a specialist outdoor themed charity shop. They receive items from all over related to sport and the outdoors and find new homes for them at reasonable prices.
502 Abbie Barnes – Nov – She has set herself the task of walking and recording at a very honest level all 16 of the UK National Trails describing the rich experience each one offers, accompanied by an eloquent explanation of the history and natural environment which goes to make each one special. She describes herself as a passionate long-distance hiker who has made it her mission to document through film how she overcomes my own personal struggles with mental health by challenging herself to move outside of her comfort zone, and in doing so, hope to encourage others to join her to facing up to their fears and grow to be the best versions of themselves.
503 Atom Packs – Dec – Tom Gale Atom Packs The instigator behind the UK’s only lightweight, bespoke, pack manufacture for the lightweight hiker. Designed by him and manufactured with his team of four, he produces solid, quality lightweight products based on his experience of the long distance hiking, completing the triple crown, several mountain qualifications and the Te Araroa trail in New Zealand.
504 Alice Bowers – Dec A fascinating interview with someone who has chosen a different path which requires sacrifice and bravery to live life with more adventure and see where the journey takes her. We talk about life decisions and living for today, plus the financial challenges and practicalities of travel. I am incredibly passionate about travelling, but more specifically people powered adventures, as a result of this I spent 13 months in 2016-2017 cycling the length of Australia and New Zealand and from Indonesia to Nepal. A journey that really opened my eyes to how kind people can be, how lucky we are to call this planet our home but also the devastating effects that humans are having on the environment.
505 – Tim Moss The Next Challenge – Dec Tim has organised expeditions to all seven continents, made first and first-British ascents of several mountains from Russia to Bolivia, and has travelled around the world using eighty methods of transport, a trip for which he won the Year Of The Volunteer ‘Award for Innovation’. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a Guinness World Record breaker and was shortlisted as an ‘Adventurer of the Year’.
The Next Challenge Grant is an annual bursary for adventures. It was started in 2015 and has funded over 50 different adventures. The money comes from Tim Moss, small crowdfunded donations and contributions from other adventurers.
Tim received many expedition grants when he was younger and they helped him undertake some fantastic adventures, which have shaped the person he is today. He is now in a position where he can give something back.