Wander Woman: A Travel Podcast

Going the Distance

• Phoebe Smith • Season 3 • Episode 6

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Would you ever walk the 'Backbone of Britain'? 2025 marks 60 years since the UK got it’s first official long distance pathway - the Pennine Way. As political as it was pioneering, Wander Woman Phoebe Smith delves into the history of this hard-fought-for trail - one that is integral to all the rights walkers enjoy today, discovering a kick-ass, bell bottomed jeans wearing hiker in the 1960s, before heading out with her friend Cerys Matthews to walk a prime 3-day section in the present day, to meet other walkers, accommodation owners and bar workers, and discover what has changed here in the six decades since it opened. Come wander with her…
 
 Also coming up:

  • Adventurer and presenter Pelumi Nubi explains why she went from being a scientist to driving from London to Lagos (Nigeria), solo, in a Peugeot 107
  • Travel Hack: How to share close quarters with a friend on a trip – and still be talking at the end
  • 10 best road trips you can do by electric vehicle
  • Meet conservationist Laurie Marker who has single-handedly shaped cheetah conservation in Namibia whilst improving the lives of the country’s human residents
  • Pack the kit you need for the ultimate road trip
  • Hannah Hauxwell, hardy Pennine hill farmer and female Palin of the 70s-90s, is our Wander Woman of the Month 

Contact Wander Woman

www.Phoebe-Smith.com; @PhoebeRSmith

Speaker 1:

On this month's Wander Woman podcast. The difference is you could have worn fisherman's waders, and that might have kept you clean. Now you can wear carpet slippers on the Pennine Way and you'll get away with it.

Speaker 2:

As Britain's first official long distance footpath, the Pennine Way turns 60,. I undertake a section of it with my friend Cerys Matthews to find out what has changed since the path first opened over half a century ago. I also speak to adventurer Pelumi Nubi, a woman who, despite having no role models to follow, found herself driving solo from London to Lagos in a purple Peugeot 107.

Speaker 3:

I was one of my first vehicles and that's what I had at the time.

Speaker 3:

I remember announcing to people like we knew London to Lagos was ludicrous, but driving this is just insane

Speaker 2:

And I meet Laurie Marker, the conservationist who has single-handedly shaped cheetah conservation in Namibia, whilst improving the lives of the country's human residents, despite some pushback when she started,

Speaker 4:

my grandfather said that if you see a predator, you should kill a predator, and the only good predator is a dead predator.

Speaker 2:

Also coming up how to share close quarters with a friend on a trip and still be talking at the end. In this month's Travel Hack, ten of the best road trips by e-vehicle around the world. And in my regular gear chat, I help you pack for a more comfortable road trip. Finally, I'll be revealing this episode's Wander Woman of the Month, the traveller whose name is lost in the history books. You're listening to the Wander Woman podcast, an audio travel magazine with me, adventurer Phoebe Smith, exploring off the beaten track destinations, wild spaces, wildlife encounters and the unsung heroes behind conservation efforts.

Speaker 1:

This woman, joyce. She said I wore jeans. She said, which was very daring for a woman in those days. You wear jeans. You know you were expected to wear a tweed skirt, a long tweed skirt on the hills.

Speaker 2:

Wow, 1962 or three, oh my god, jeans this is paddy dylan guidebook author extraordinaire responsible for sending hikers safely along many of Britain and Europe's trails. From the South West Coast Path it was his guide that Raynor Winn referred to as her Bible in the Salt Path to the Arctic Circle Trail in Greenland. I used it. It was amazing, and many in between. But what we're talking about now is the Pennine Way, another trail he wrote a guidebook to, and in particular a woman called Joyce Neville who wrote to him during lockdown to tell him all about her experience of hiking Britain's first national trail, before it was even a trail. But before we talk about the awesomeness of Joyce and women like her, perhaps it's best to rewind and get a brief bit of history of the Pennine Way from National Trails Officer Hannah Kay.

Speaker 5:

There's this guy, Tom Stephenson, back in like 1935. There's this guy, tom stevenson, back in like 1935, so 30 years before the pennant way even got opened. Um, he wrote this article called the long green trail, basically saying why can't? So I think the story is that two people from america, two girls from america, had done the appellation trail and they'd written to tom stevenson, who was a journalist and a keen walker. He was very much the person to write to and said look, why is there nothing? Can we come to England and do something similar? So he wrote this article all about access to the countryside and saying, look, we should have this. He was proposing the exact not the exact route, but pretty much this route right up the Pennines, and just saying it would be the most, most amazing thing. And who could fail to be inspired by it? Let's get people out there. Let's get people to do it.

Speaker 2:

In between writing his article in 1935 and the opening of the Pennine Way in 1965, there was the famous mass trespass in the Peak District, where hundreds of people, many of them factory workers from Manchester and Sheffield, sick of looking at the out-of-bounds Pennines from their cities, decided to protest by walking over Kinder Scout. It was a move that was integral to the formation of the Countryside Act of 1949 and the opening of the Pennine Way, which stretches for 431 kilometres, or 268 miles, from Edale in Derbyshire to Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish borders. Joyce Neville was one of several who signed up for what were then called Pioneer Walks to get the proposed trail media attention. She was there in her jeans in 1952 and 70 years later, on the 60th anniversary of the trail, me and my friend Keris decided to follow in her footsteps in more Pennine weather friendly clothing than jeans. We began in Middleton and Teesdale for a prime three-day section, where we met Andrew Milnes at Brunswick House B&B, which has served hikers since 1989.

Speaker 6:

Pennine Way walkers are very important to me. They probably make up probably 25% a third of my guests usually.

Speaker 2:

I asked him how walkers had changed over the years he's been hosting them.

Speaker 6:

It's funny because when the Pennine Way started in the 1960s, I think most people walking it were younger people, ok, and now it's mostly people I'd say 40-plus. Maybe that's the ones I get staying with me and I don't see the younger ones who might be camping and doing it the traditional way. Yeah, but mostly 40-plus.

Speaker 2:

I couldn't resist asking before me and Cerys began if he'd ever had a memorable encounter with people hiking the trail over the 38 years he's been here.

Speaker 6:

I had an Australian lady stay once who I did advise. I think it's time you packed it in.

Speaker 4:

Really.

Speaker 6:

Yeah Well, She had the mountain rescue out to find her at one stage and she asked me to try and teach her how to read a map.

Speaker 2:

And she'd already walked half of it.

Speaker 6:

She'd walked. She didn't know, I don't know.

Speaker 2:

Pledging not to get lost ourselves. We began our walk passing the many waterfalls this part of the trail is known for. We moved across small hillocks, through farms of sheep, picked our way along the River Tees, through fields of curlew, corn, crakes, plover, lapwings and skylarks, until we reached the churning waters of the delightfully named Cauldron Snout.

Speaker 8:

What do you think?

Speaker 9:

That is a lot of water.

Speaker 9:

What is it called again?

Speaker 8:

Cauldron Snout.

Speaker 2:

We scrambled up its edges to cross over the bridge high above and then began to make our way to what I think is one of the trail's highlights High Cup Nick, aka England's Grand Canyon. Here we happened upon another walker called Mike, aged 73, and his dog Ringo. He explained exactly what we were looking at.

Speaker 9:

It's like a canyon, isn't it? It looks like a canyon, but it's actually a big glacial quarry.

Speaker 2:

We discovered that Mike had grown up in Earby, on what would become the Pennine Way and has walked the entire trail. We asked him what the walkers were like when it first opened.

Speaker 9:

They're from Manchester. They used to work till Saturday lunchtime, yeah, and then they'd set up the pennines, see how far they could get, and the best of the best would get to Earby. And I was only about eight, nine years old. So you see these really mucky lads coming through covered in peat, big frying pans hanging off the back of the rucksacks.

Speaker 2:

His mention of peat reminded me of something Paddy Dillon had told me about how bad it used to be before sections of the trail were made to include flagstones to take you across the worst of the bogs he said the difference is you could have worn fisherman's waders and that might have kept you clean, and now you can wear carpet slippers on the Pennine Way and you get away with it.

Speaker 2:

I may not have worn carpet slippers on the trail, but that night in Dufton, after walking an epic 30 kilometre or 22 miles that day, I did wear slippers to the local pub where we met barwoman Amanda, who said she saw lots of walkers on the Pennine Way coming through from all walks of life. I asked her which her favourite part was and she said High Cup Nick, where we'd just come from.

Speaker 7:

I find it very humbling. You get to the top or something and you look and it's like Google Maps, but wow, but wow. And the great thing with the mountains is you can go up one, but then you can go up it ten different ways and it feels like a different time each time. You don't always have to go up to the same route as well, but it's just so beautiful and you see the smallest of flowers on the top of some mountain in a storm and it's like how are you there? How are you surviving? It's just beautiful.

Speaker 2:

We rose before sunrise the next morning to head to the highest point on the Pennine Way, a peak called Crossfell, home to the notoriously bitter Helm Wind the only named wind in the UK and the place where the Australian woman Anthony had told us about had got lost.

Speaker 2:

As many hikers do in bad weather, there was frost on the ground, the temperature had hit minus four degrees C. We started to walk on snow and the boggy ground had become solid ice that cracked under our boots. When we reached the summit of the 893 metre peak, we hit the snow line. It was cold but dry. We hiked easily to the summit plateau marked by a great stone cross reportedly we later find out from the woman who runs the post office at Garrigill constructed on the trails opening by a reverend from Scotland who had received a message from above to build it to protect walkers. As we reached it and saw the Lakeland peaks spread out in front of us without even a breath of wind, I mused how perhaps it was working. There were two other walkers here, local men who live further along the Pennine Way, who pointed out some of the fells we were looking at.

Speaker 11:

So that's Blencathra, which is Saddleback Sharp Edge. That's that one. Hell Velen is across to the left.

Speaker 8:

Oh, I see it yeah it looks gorgeous.

Speaker 11:

And then to the left of Blencathra you've got Grisdale Pike, Causey Pike, and you see, in the foreground there's a little hill with heather on it, not on the skyline just below the skyline there's a little hump.

Speaker 2:

Oh, I can see it?

Speaker 11:

yeah, that's Great Meelfell, and behind that Clough head.

Speaker 2:

We headed down to have lunch in Gregg's Hut Bothy, a mountain shelter left open for hikers and run by a volunteer organisation, the Mountain Bothys Association, which also turned 60 this year. Then it was a long walk down to Garragill. I cannot tell you how happy we were to arrive at the post office and get a cup of tea. We spoke to the owner's daughter, Christine Brown, whose dad ran the shop all her life, and she told us how busy it had been in this quiet village when she was a kid and the trail first opened.

Speaker 12:

When we were kids, when we came back on the school bus, there was rucksacks and hikers just all over the village green.

Speaker 2:

Give me a decade, when that would have been Late 70s, early 80s. Okay, so that's when it changed early 80s.

Speaker 12:

Okay, so that's what's changed. Weather like a lot of, and cheap flights. People go to Spain, italy, walking now yeah, and people, a lot of people just bring their cars and do a section at a time and for the whole walk it's three weeks. So it and it's a big expense three weeks holiday now.

Speaker 2:

Currently at Garrigill, the route has been diverted to a less attractive roadside path and as we'd walked the best part of 26 kilometres or 16 miles, with more than 1,000 metres or 3,000 feet of ascent, we decided to get a taxi to Ulston where we would spend our last night on the trail. Our driver was local mechanic Alan Green, who for more than 25 years has been helping hikers in this way. He thought that numbers of walkers were still going strong, but the way that people did the Pennine Way had changed a lot since the beginning.

Speaker 11:

They carried everything on the back them days. They didn't stop in a B&B, they had a tent and they stopped wherever they walked to.

Speaker 2:

And now they're all B&Bing, aren't they? Yeah?

Speaker 11:

and a lot of people doesn't carry the luggage. They get it transported from A to B with a car.

Speaker 2:

That night. We weren't camping either, though we were carrying all the things we needed for three nights on the trail with us. We were staying at the Cumberland Inn in Alston. Owner Guy Harmer, who's run it for 23 years, agreed that people were doing it differently. He said that over the six months of prime walking season he has hikers in one to two rooms every night, a significant number in a place with only five bedrooms. But he agreed with Alan about the different ways people are doing the trail.

Speaker 10:

I do think that more people are spending the time or sorry, spending more money doing the walk and having it more of a luxury time, partly maybe because there's not so many youth hostels and the more budget areas of accommodation are dwindling, yeah. So you've got hardcore people who will go via the tent route and not come down off the fells yeah. And you've also got people who, in fact, we actually get people like that as well, because when you come to Alston, it's a chance to have a bit of luxury.

Speaker 10:

Have a shower, yeah exactly, and so we do get that as well. I think also there's a significant increase in the number of people doing it via an agency, sure, so people book through, say, max Adventure or one of the other groups and they book the whole trip, and that makes it easy for them.

Speaker 2:

On our last day we set our compass for Greenhead and Hadrian's Wall, where we would grab a taxi, then the train at Holt Whistle to head home. We ploughed through the 27km or 17 miles easily, listening to the sound of songbirds spying wild deer at the former Lambly station and admiring the snowdrops that have burst through the ground. Since Stephenson pioneered the concept of a walk that allowed everyone to traverse the backbone of England, more routes have been established in this part of the world, such as the South Tyne Trail For 23 miles. It follows the route of the defunct Holt Whistle railway line, closed in 76 and opened as a footpath in 2004, and it runs parallel to the Pennine Way. It is part of another change as it is so much easier and so commonly walked. Guidebook author Paddy Dillon has included it in his updated guidebook as an alternative route. That thinks it will actually become the main trail. As we neared the end, I asked Keris her thoughts on what she'd seen on this walk, which was her first taste of a national trail.

Speaker 8:

I can't believe. You know it's been what? Two and a half days, really right.

Speaker 8:

And how many different kind of terrains we've walked on, from the top of the Cross Fell, which was a lot more like a Scandinavian skiing resort, yeah, to the sort of bucolic English countryside just about to burst into spring. It's the slow travel, you know, which gives you such a different perspective on, you know, being in England, yeah, and visiting the villages you really would blink and miss, and then meeting people on the way, that's the true joy of it, I think. Yeah, you know, and these little stories, I think, any which way, if it's slower than normal life, you take a break from normal life. You know, like, the problem with the rat race is there's rats there, you know, woo, that's like a massive engine of a go-kart. But you know what I mean. I mean I love, I love the rat race, don't get me wrong. But to take a break from it is, and I guess that was the whole point of the trail.

Speaker 2:

Take a break from it, do something different, get out there, meet new people, experience life threaded together by the Pennine Way. And so we ended our journey, thankful of Tom Stevenson's resolution to make a path like this possible for all of us. 60 years feels like a long time, and changes have made it less difficult and, if you have the cash and, because of the lack of hostels, now more luxurious. But walking can still be a political act. There is still much to fight for. According to the campaigning group Right to Roam, only 8% of England is accessible to hikers. Nearly 49,000 miles of historic paths have been removed from official maps and 32,000 rights of way are blocked. Access is even more limited to those wishing to swim, cycle or camp, and so perhaps, much like Joyce Neville in 1952, we should all hit the trails to exercise our right to roam. Bell-bottom jeans and carpet slippers are, of course, optional.

Speaker 2:

That was me and Cerys walking a section of the Pennine Way, a walk that was as political as it was practical and is as beautiful as it is challenging. Thanks to Tom Stephenson and his pioneering hikers like Joyce, there are now 16 national trails in the UK, along with the soon to be fully opened England Coast Path, which will be the longest coastal path in the world when complete. So why not celebrate their greatness with a walk along one of them? But before you do, you might want to take advice from this month's travel hack. As you heard, me and Keris were sharing very close quarters on our walk and got along really well, but it's not always easy to stay friends when you're on the road together and sleeping in close quarters. So I'm going to share with you see what I did there my top tips for getting along. It's fine, we'll share. It's a common refrain when booking a trip with a friend. It saves loads of money, you're great friends anyway and it'll be fun, like sleepovers when you were nine. Besides, we're grown-ups.

Speaker 2:

So off you trot to the train station, a tin of gin on the way and check into your first B&B, hostel or hotel. Have a look at the room back to reception and explain it was a twin room and not a double you requested, hoping for the best. They may be a great friend, but you don't necessarily want to wake up spooning them. And then back to the room. It's small but fine. And then the realisation it's small, there's an en suite and you can see where this is going. So how to survive?

Speaker 2:

First up, sleep is essential, and the way this happens is earplugs. I seem to mention cheap accessories and many travel hacks long distance travel, staying in hostels and this is never so important that when you're in a small room on a single bed next to your mate, who is well a snorer or a shuffler or heaven forbid a sleep talker. You know them quite well, but you probably don't want to know anyone that well. An eye mask can also help if they want to read longer with a light on or you're sensitive to the flickering of their phone. While we're on this, agree to turn your phone on silent and not on vibrate either. Using a Kindle rather than a book that requires a side light would also be an option. With one friend, I've been given permission to lob a pillow or gently nudge them when they're snoring.

Speaker 2:

Then there's the bathroom etiquette. Remember're not 12, so you don't need to brush your teeth together. In fact, it's often wise to leave the room when someone is getting ready for bed. Talk about it or set the precedent. And yes, we're going here. En-suite bathroom in a small room. Well, you're going to need a code word. I'll meet you downstairs. Or pray, there's a nearby bathroom. Linked is smelly walking boots, if you can agree to leave them outside or in the drying room a great benefit of youth hostels. Or carry a little bag of lavender to open in the room in case it gets a little stuffy. And while we're on awkward situations, nakedness, follow their lead or agree PJs. You're adults. You'll figure it out.

Speaker 2:

Also, be organised in your pack. Are you a t-shirt roller who has clothes in packing cubes, or does your bag explode over the bedroom floor the moment you walk in? I know who I'd rather share a room with. Be tidy. Agree the headphone pack, too.

Speaker 2:

The understanding is that either of you can put headphones in, so no explanation is needed. It's not rude, it's not personal. It's the travel equivalent of a do not disturb sign. This unspoken escape valve keeps tensions at bay and maybe even schedule in some quiet time. And be aware of euphemisms, too. If they're going to check in on mum, they may be, but also they may just need a walk.

Speaker 2:

Being glued together for days can wear thin, even with your best mate. With these hacks, though, you'll still be friends. Do let me know what tips you have too, by contacting me at the podcast. That was my Wonder Woman travel hack the advice I offer each month to make sure that odds are in your favour for a great and problem-free adventure. Now someone who has faced the odds on the road and come out unscathed is my next guest. Pelumi Nubi started a PhD in biomedical science, cancer research and human genetics before transitioning to life as an adventurer, presenter, storyteller and content creator. She uses her platform on Instagram to motivate women to get out of their comfort zone and embrace the unknown. I caught up with her to ask why on earth she chose to drive 10,000 kilometers across continents in a Peugeot 107.

Speaker 3:

I was born in Lagos, nigeria, nigeria, and I grew up in the UK. So I am an avid traveller, adventurer, background in science something totally different to what I'm doing right now, but I'm a scientist. But I just fell in love with travelling, especially when we couldn't travel during the, you know, the big P era. And then I realized I actually really love this. You know, sometimes you realize things you love when you cannot get to do those things. And I decided to do this daring adventure at the beginning of this year, which was to solo drive from London to Lagos, which was insane. The idea came from me wanting to connect two places I consider home. So I was based in Lagos, nigeria. I was born in Lagos, nigeria, and then I grew up in the UK and I was really just trying to see each time I flew back home, which is just a six hours flight compared to the 74 days it took me to drive Major difference there, um, but it's an experience that you know you can't put a price tag on. It's just. I was just always going back home, um, and you know, I was just very curious. I think it was probably on the plane, or so I was like what would it be like just driving through it, and that's the thing about me. Once I have an idea, it's just so hard. I'm that person, just grip onto it.

Speaker 3:

I remember telling people that, oh, you know what I would like to do, this job and people are saying, oh, believe me, you can't do it. So I ended up actually going and exploring and it's transformed. I think it became bigger than me. It was not just me going on an adventure, it became people seeing. Oh, I once thought London to Lagos was impossible. And here it is. Pulumi has gone to do it. What else in my life am I considering impossible? Is he starting that new business? Is he living that toxic relationship? So I really see, I love the fact that so many people connect to it, so many people just kind of like really see themselves and how much limitation they may have placed on themselves. Um, travel, is that travel? Is you know, like I always say it's. It leaves you speechless and then turns you to a storyteller.

Speaker 2:

I had to ask Pelumi about the car she chose to do it in.

Speaker 3:

Her name is actually Lumi. She's right now in the museum in Lagos State, nigeria, and it was a Peugeot 107. Yes, you heard that right, whoever's listening. Going what? Basically, a toy car. A tiny Peugeot 107 car was one of my first vehicles and that's what I had at the time. I remember announcing that people are like we london's legos was ludicrous, but driving this is just insane. Like what are you thinking? And I converted it actually slept in the car. So I did like a little modification. I was that girl on youtube just watching how people convert their four by fours and their you know vans and I'm like I can do this to a pojo. I got some from Tax Rabbit. They installed the bed and I bought a mattress from Amazon and I started the adventure and it was insane.

Speaker 2:

I asked her if she was trying to break any records doing it, and she told me.

Speaker 3:

It wasn't about speed. That's the thing you know people are like why did you go for like Guinness World Record fastest person? I'm'm like I really wanted to enjoy the process. So I had like a strict deadline because it was my mom's 60th birthday and we had like family plans and stuff. So I knew I had to arrive in lagos at a particular time, which was I gave myself two months to do. I was in a car accident, so that actually extended to two and a half months. So that's another thing.

Speaker 3:

Um, but you know, I, I some days were 12 hours long, you know, days, especially driving to the Sahara, there was literally nothing to do but drive, you know. And there's some days where just 30 minutes because I was just moving from one place to the other, or just two hours more city to the other. So it really depends on, you know, I didn't have like strict deadline. I wanted that, you know, finding new adventure Some place. I go like, oh, this is not for me, keep on moving Some place. I'm like I want to stay here even longer, but I have to go because the journey needs to continue. So, yeah, it really was plainly by emotions until I finally got home.

Speaker 2:

I was intrigued and slightly alarmed about her mention of an accident, so I asked what happened.

Speaker 3:

Sadly, it her mention of an accident. So I asked what happened. Sadly, it was just driving late at night, which was something I tried to avoid. It was driving with, you know, a packed truck in the middle of the road without any you know warning or anything, um, and it was just like a collision. It happened so quickly, no one even watching the movie, like what minute you're driving the next, you're not. So I'm really grateful to be alive. He allows me to be more grateful every single day. That was definitely an experience. I did not know that London to Lagos would teach me of just that gratitude, of just being alive, being here right now.

Speaker 2:

I asked Pelumi if there were any moments in particular that stood out for her.

Speaker 3:

Too many, too many. Just the fact. I remember when I crossed into Africa, which was Spain, into Morocco. I remember just breaking down in tears Out of to Africa, which was Spain, into Morocco. I remember just breaking down in tears out of joy because I know how much, you know, apprehension I had for crossing that particular border, cause I read online and you know you just got so many different information. One was like you need to print the insurance and green paper. And I'm like green paper, you know I read on the forum. You know you need to have receipt of the car. You know I bought this car five years ago from Gumtree or something like like you know, like I have no idea where the receipt is, maybe a bank transfer sometime, you know, so it. And I remember just passing through it and like the check was less than five minutes and I was in the continent and it made me realize like what other things may have been put a limitation on myself, thinking I couldn't do it because I've listened to so many other opinions and thoughts and maybe it would have been easy to do if I just gave it a try. So that was definitely a highlight lesson moment for me.

Speaker 3:

Um, then going to Morocco really beautiful, especially in the mountains area, like I remember, just knowing your vocabulary just finishes and you're just on the wow, it's just everywhere, wow, wow, like you know, the twisted roads and all of that, the food, the cuisine. And then mauritania I was able to drive the um they call it the snake of of the, of the sahara, which basically these three kilometers um train that literally goes from one end to the other, carrying like the coal, and I was able to ride that and it was just like a bucket adventure experience and just something new and new place. And siri leone and the gambia, you know, just being so warm and cozy and inviting. I think people just made the encounter. Like I meet people and they're just like. At one point, as I got closer to the end, people obviously started recognizing me and stuff, and it became oh my God, you're that girl, you know.

Speaker 3:

And it was so heartwarming of just the cheerleading, just the excitement, just the joy I say this so often like it was a solo adventure, but honestly, at the point it was like I had thousands of people in my car because of just that online, you know, cheering on, and it was amazing because of just that online, you know, cheering on, and it was amazing, like, and then, when I got to the final destination, oh my God, seeing my family and just you know the welcome. It was, it was a carnival, that's the best way to describe it. Like they were like parade and, you know, escort, and it was just like wow, just for one to have an idea executing it.

Speaker 2:

All this can come from it. Finally, I asked what the one piece of travel gear is that she never goes anywhere without

Speaker 3:

a blanket, a travel blanket.

Speaker 3:

That stuff has saved my life. It comes as a pillow, it's when your coat is warm, when you find yourself in a dungeon hotel, it can at least you can put your body on the bed. You know, it's just, it smells like home, you know in a fancy place, and you just want to still feel like you have a piece of home with you. It's, it's, it's something that just comes with me. I will put it on my neck, I will tie it on me, but that blanket is coming with me everywhere

Speaker 2:

That was passionate traveler and solo travel advocate, Pelumi Nubi, a woman I could have talked with for hours.

Speaker 2:

I hope you've been inspired by her story and her long drive. Speaking of which, it's now time for our top 10. In this episode, fuelled by Pelumi's slightly eccentric plan, I've decided to dedicate it to the ultimate places to go on a road trip around the world. But here's what makes it a Wander Woman challenge. These ones are all doable by electric vehicles, making them fun and more sustainable. At 10, one of the trips we're most excited about is the classic Route 66, which stretches 2,400 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica, California. And yep, you can now do it in an electric car. Hertz offers a range of electric vehicles and the infrastructure along the route is improving. The electric blues never seem so apt.

Speaker 2:

At 9, follow the 360-kilometre River Shannon and Island through 11 counties from source to sea. Known as the Shannon Scenic Drive, this route weaves through the beautiful Irish countryside, linking the ancient east and the wild Atlantic Way. Stop-off points include Limerick and Carrick-on-Shannon, and I can attest that it can easily be done in an e-car whilst being an incredible adventure. Listen to Season 2, episode 2, tales from the Riverbank for more.

Speaker 2:

At 8, we're heading to New Zealand and making our home in the e-Volve, a two-berth electric motorhome from Brits, the first electric motorhome in the country. Pick it up from Queenstown and explore the South Island, making the most of the excellent charging network in the country. At seven we're staying in the Antipodes and wheeling our way along the Queensland Electric Superhighway by EV. This route covers 1,700 kilometres from Brisbane to Cairns through some of Australia's best-known coastal destinations. As the moniker suggests, it's convenient for electric cars with charging facilities all the way.

Speaker 2:

At six we're heading on a five-day Highland itinerary across Scotland From Edinburgh. Head north through the Cairngorms National Park to charge the car and stay in the mountain town of Aviemore. Then it's to Loch Ness, fort William and the biggest mountains in Britain and back through Glencoe and Rannoch Moor, loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park before returning to the city. At five is another US classic, california's Highway One along the dramatic Pacific coastline, past sandy beaches and among the planet's biggest trees. Pick up your electric car in San Francisco and head south through Monterey and Big Sur to LA. High voltage..

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At four we're heading to South Africa, the best developed country for electric car travel. The garden route from Cape Town is known as one of the most beautiful in the world. Dozens of car commercials are shot here every year. There are plenty of charging stations along the route and on the highway to Johannesburg. At three, we're in Norway, a country with predictably high EV adoption rates. Combine that with incredible scenery and you've a road trip that dreams are made of. There are even reduced tolls for electric cars.

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One of the most beautiful trips anywhere in the world is the County Road 17, aka the Coastal Highway just north of the Arctic Circle. At two, we're touring the 275 kilometre Atlantic Highway along the coast of Devon and Cornwall in the UK, days defined by coastal cliffs, surfing and, quite literally, plenty of fish and chips. It starts at Barnstable in North Devon and heads down to Newquay. You'll find charging points along the route, including at Bude and Padstow, and at one is one of the most established electric vehicle routes, the E Grand Tour of Switzerland. It has the most advanced network of charging stations globally and can easily power you more than 1,600 kilometres through the Alps. Accommodation can be selected with EV points too. There's even an app Happy, more environmentally friendly driving.

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Now let's hit the road.

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I do love a road trip the tunes, the snacks, the ever-changing scenery. But even I will admit that hours spent sitting down are not fun, and if you choose the wrong clothes and accessories, you could remain miserable for the duration of your trip. But never fear. Here's my suggestions for the must-pack items. If you're undertaking a long road trip. Welcome to my gear guide.

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First, up up, you'll need a refillable water bottle and, if you're anything like me, a reusable coffee cup. For the former, I'd recommend something from LifeStraw, which has a changeable filter in it that removes all possible nasties from water sources, meaning you can fill up literally anywhere. For the latter, this isn't just an enviro-friendly option, but most coffee shops now take money off the price of your drink if you use your own cup, so it's a win-win. Next up, don't forget your sunglasses. Sounds obvious or, for the brits listening, optimistic, but it can make the difference between hours of squinting or, let's face it, hours of looking cool. Also, don't leave home without your charging cable and phone mount. I don't know about you, but navigation apps have been a game changer for me when driving in a new country. So make your life easier and opt for a way to charge and hold your phone in place so you can actually use it behind the wheel.

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When it comes to clothing, as within the mountains, layering is your friend. Remember to take a jumper or some layers, as it can get really cold on the road, especially in warm weather if you're lucky enough to have air conditioning in your vehicle. Other items I keep are a head torch in case I need to check something in the engine, change a tire when it's dark or need to check I picked up everything when dropping off the hire car a red triangle to alert cars to a stopped vehicle, mandatory in europe if you drive there. And a waterproof and reflective jacket for breakdown emergencies.

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The less practical but certainly appreciated item I never hit the road without is snacks and lots of them. And, of course, remember to download your very favourite podcast before you leave. I can recommend a good one. That was my regular gear section, the part of the episode where I ensure you stay safe and happy while you roam. Now, a creature that wasn't happy roaming in their own home in South West Africa years ago was the cheetah, which was persecuted by farmers for stealing livestock in a classic case of human-wildlife conflict. My next guest, zoologist and renowned conservationist Laurie Marker, can tell us all about this issue, how she managed to solve it and how she went from training to be a winemaker to becoming a conservationist.

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I mean, I grew up with animals on the back of a horse and I had dairy goats, but my background I wanted to be a veterinarian and ended up going instead to agriculture school, ended up in Oregon, actually in viticulture and enology, grape growing and winemaking, and a wildlife park had just opened right down the road and that's where I went down the road and said I need a job to take care of my business and that wildlife park took my life basically. Wow, I was there at the park for about 16 years and the cheetahs were under my care and I learned everything I could to learn about them and then launched off into Africa.

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And what made you do that? What made you leave and go to Africa? What did you learn or experience that you felt needed doing? That would take you over to Africa?

Speaker 4:

Well, about several years after. I mean I started the wildlife safari in Oregon in the early part of 1970. And then in the middle 1970s I ended up doing a research project in Namibia. At that point it was called Southwest Africa and I got there and I found out that farmers were killing cheetahs in high numbers and I thought that something should be done and I thought there was a somebody and came back to America at that point and tried to find who was going to help save the cheetah and found out nobody would. So several years later, going back and forth to Africa, I finally set up the Cheetah Conservation Fund and moved to the brand new country of Namibia. And I moved there in 1990 and it's independents that have been there ever since and tell me and listeners who don't know, why were the farmers killing the cheetahs?

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What was the main problem?

Speaker 4:

Well, the big problem with all predators is human-wildlife conflict. So there was a big perceived threat that the cheetahs were actually catching their livestock. But also my father and my grandfather said that if you see a predator, you should kill a predator, and the only good predator is a dead predator. So it was a bit of that. And then I wanted to know if it was real or perceived this you know livestock loss and found that it was much more perceived than it was actual. And when I moved there in Namibia I actually went door to door talking with the livestock farmers and learned an awful lot about the whole livestock farming system. And it's very interesting because in Namibia most of our wildlife is found outside of protected areas and cheetahs are found outside of protected areas primarily because of the conflict with the lions and the hyenas and leopards, and so they've actually found their life on these large livestock farmlands, which are also full of wildlife. So that's why I was dealing with farmers and why cheetahs were being killed by the farmers.

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And I read that you helped to restore the habitat for cheetahs whilst improving the lives of the locals, which is so important to get buy-in from the locals. How did you go about doing that? Can you tell me a little bit about that?

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Well as going around door to door and talking with farmers. It was multi-pronged, it was to find out about their problems and then ask a lot about potential solutions or what they needed to try to help us save the cheetah. And the farmers actually helped guide our work that we do in understanding, for instance, how cheetahs were living. So if they caught a cheetah I would say, well, could we put a collar on it and put it back in the wild and we can let you know how large their home range is, which is huge like 1,500 square kilometers. We wanted to know more about the overall health of the animals and the genetic makeup, and so we were able to, obviously with an anesthetize, get blood and tissues. And then the farmer said they wanted to know more about livestock management and wildlife management, things that they were really not trained to do. And yet they were on these big, huge ranch lands managing them of the land in an arid, arid, dry environment. There became a problem with habitat, where the overgrazing of the land and instead of just having sand and gravel come up in this arid land, we ended up with these thorn bushes that came up, and with this thickened thorn bush the farmers really couldn't kill the thorn bush, and so they were killing more predators. And so I said, well, I had come from Oregon and there we had a timber industry and I thought I kept seeing all these chip trucks going by and thought somebody should do something with this thorn bush and maybe they can chip it and make it into something. Well, somebody was us. We found that we could.

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We started first doing biodiversity surveys, understanding more about you know the bush and how it grew and what species were in it, and found that if we could open it up through selective harvesting, that we could have more grass grow and we could have more wildlife come in.

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And talked with the farmers a lot about not overgrazing, and so all those systems came about, and so we have a habitat restoration program that is ongoing. We've been working on this for about 25 years, but now we make a a actually a fuel log out of the thickened thorn bush, which is um, a compacted um. We we chip the bush in the field after again selectively harvesting it and um, and then make this high emission or high heat, very low emission, eco fuel log that people can use for their barbecue, for home heating, and so that's one of the things that we've done and we've also started looking at biomass energy, biomass feed for their livestock. So we've done a lot of different things in trying to help open habitat and help the other wildlife and help the farmers, and we put a lot of people to work in doing this as well.

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And how are the numbers of cheetahs going? Are they doing well? Have you seen a bounce back over those sort of 25 years?

Speaker 4:

Well, the cheetah in Namibia we've stabilized, but there are only 7,000 cheetahs left in the world. They're found only in about 20 countries in Africa, in about 33 populations and 20 of those are under 100 individuals and 20 of those are under 100 individuals. So we work from Namibia throughout the Cheetah's range and we've been trying to help develop through education and awareness, but working to try to put programs that we've developed, for instance in Namibia, into place in several other countries. So Namibia and Botswana have one of the largest remaining populations. We, as I said, have maybe about a thousand or so, as does Botswana.

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East Africa the populations have stabled. They're in the national park, primarily in, like the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara. We've got problems, unfortunately, up in the of africa where there's the illegal wildlife pet trade and this is something that has come up that we are now working actively on, and much of it is driven by human wildlife conflict where you know cheetah might be seen, could catch a livestock, and then there has been a market where it's like poach the cubs in the bush, maybe kill the mom or get those cubs, and then they have been stolen or poached from the wild and then illegally sold into the pet trade. So we've now working in the Horn of Africa, are trying to also stop the illegal wildlife pet trade.

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Wow, it sounds like there's always something you're having to. There's always something the next thing you hadn't thought of what they're going to think to do. What would you say? Some people and I ask this of all the conservationists that I interview why should your person on the street, who doesn't live in Africa, who's over here, why should they care if we save the cheetah or not?

Speaker 4:

Well, I get that question all the time too, and that's a very hard question. I would hope that people around the world would have some sort of empathy for other places in the world as well. But we are all interconnected and so cheetahs, a top predator, play a very key role in the health of the ecosystem. So they feed the veld. They're one of the best of the ecosystem, so they feed the veld. They're one of the best hunters of Africa, and if they make a kill, the rest of the wildlife, whether it's large or small birds of prey, will come in, small insects will come in, as well as feeding the other large animals like jackals or leopards, hyenas, and so the cheetah is actually feeding all of those species.

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I believe that Africa plays a very important role for people around the world. I mean, there's a huge human population here as well, and with these iconic species like the cheetah, people from around the world are coming to Africa to see our icons, and the cheetah is the icon of the arid landscapes and speed and grace, and people want to come and see it, as they do want to see the rest of our African wildlife. So an animal like the cheetah helps protect an entire landscape, very large areas, and so if you can protect a cheetah and keep that species alive, an entire system works, which also helps the people as well as the other wildlife, and it helps on a global scale everybody.

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That was this episode's hidden hero, the person or people doing vital work in their communities. I loved Laurie's story and how her passion completely changed her life. It's a story we hear again and again at Wonder Woman and are about to again in our Wander Woman of the Month, where we learn about the traveller whose name is lost to the history books purely because of her gender. I hope you've enjoyed what you've heard. Please do subscribe so you never miss an episode and please, please, please do leave a review. It means so very much. You can follow me on Instagram at Phoebe R Smith, find me on Blue Sky or go to my website, phoebe-smith. com, where you can sign up for my occasional newsletter and, of course, send me a message. Now this episode. We're heading to Yorkshire in the cold winter of the 1970s. We're heading to Yorkshire in the cold winter of the 1970s.

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A blizzard is falling. An older woman in a long black coat and a dark headscarf is leaning into the snow-filled wind, leading a single huge white cow from a milking shed. Suddenly, the cow bolts you little beast. The woman cries and she chases it down the icy hillside. The cow, two calves and two chickens are her only possessions and, for weeks on end her only companions.

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High up in the dales, in an old stone farmhouse without water or electricity, in a meadow, hannah Hawkswell lived a life that many called solitary, poverty-stricken and lonely. Yet as a man stumbled on the scene, she made him a cup of tea the water taken from a nearby stream inside her home and speaks clearly and eloquently of a joy that these hills bring her. I'm just as I am. I don't have a lot of use with the great pretenders, she told them. My mother used to say if you be what you are, you're always on firm ground. I'm just as I am. I don't have a lot of use with the great pretenders, she told them. My mother used to say if you be what you are, you're always on firm ground. This all happened back in the early 70s when documentary filmmaker Barry Cockcroft happened to come across Hannah during a season in the Dales covering hill farmers for the 1973 documentary Too Long a Winter. Although the film featured several farmers, it was Hannah's story that resonated with the public.

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Born at Sleepburn Farm, baldersdale in the North Pennines County, durham, in 1926, she was the only child of William and Lydia Hawkswell. When she turned three they moved to Low Burke Hatt, a farm on 80 acres of land. It was in the middle of the Great Depression and times were hard in this corner of England. At six her father died and her uncle, tommy, took over. Hannah attended school until she was 14 and then started working with her mother and uncle on the farm. Her mother died in 1958 and then her uncle in 1961, and she was left alone at Low Burke Rat at the age of 35, a farm she managed. When Barry stumbled upon her when the documentary went out, hers was the scene that captured the attention of a nation Soon the ITV mailbox was full of gifts and £5 notes pinned to letters for the daughter of the Dales. It was hard not to be moved by Hannah's story and impressed by it too.

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The reaction from British viewers in the 1970s, the era of the three-day week, was not pity but optimism. Hannah struck a genuine friendship with Barry Cockcroft and also, recognising the public adoration for Hannah, he decided to make a documentary just about her. First there was Hannah Goes to Town in 1977, where she was to attend the Woman of the Year Gala at the Savoy Hotel and had to curtsy in front of the Duchess of Gloucester In 1989, when managing the farm became too much for her. Barry returned to make A Winter Too Many. The final and rather poignant shot was a tractor pulling her belongings through the snowy fields. But in the coming years, barry would take her abroad for two more documentaries across Europe for Hannah Hawkswell, innocent Abroad, and in 1994 for Hannah USA, making her a female Palin of the day.

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Yet how many people remember her name? She wrote five books with Barry Cockcroft and, it has to be said, she was now comfortable, no longer living on £250 a year. But she remained in the Dales, in a modest cottage in the village of Cotherstone, supported by the community around her. A self-confessed plain Dales woman, hannah always remained firmly rooted despite the unlikely celebrity status that she enjoyed. Always remained firmly rooted despite the unlikely celebrity status that she enjoyed. She died in 2018 in Barnard Castle. Hundreds attended her funeral and, even though now you'll be hard-pressed to find many who know her name, she did leave a lasting legacy.

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Environmentally, when Hannah moved from her family farm, the Durham Wildlife Trust brought three of her fields in a hay barn. Today, the barn is a farming museum that focuses on Hannah's life as a farmer up there, and Hannah's meadow, which was named after her, is a nature reserve. On the land that was never farmed using chemicals, there are more than 120 types of plants, such as wood cranesbill, rough hawkbit and lady's mantle. Skylarks and lapwings breed there, as do redshanks, snipe, oyster catchers, barn owls, kestrels, swallows and house martins.

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The story of Hannah Huxwell is one that shone a light on erstwhile undocumented parts of English life. Many urban viewers were shocked that a way of life like this still existed, but most of all, it's proof that kindness, humility and a sense of humour are the most endearing quality any person can have. Humility and a sense of humour are the most endearing quality any person can have, and that's why Hannah Hawkswell is deservedly our Wonder Woman of the Month. That was my ever-inspiring Wonder Woman of the Month, the traveller whose name is lost in the history books purely because of her gender. I hope you enjoyed her story. You can find some footage from the documentary on YouTube. It's well worth a look.

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In the next episode of the Wander Woman podcast, I head to Croatia, steering clear of Dubrovnik, to discover a quieter alternative. Well away from the crowds, I catch up with Slowway's founder, dan Raven Ellison, to talk about how he made London a national park city and how we can all help create the biggest car-free walking database in the world. I'll be sharing my pick of 10 of the best alternative destinations to over-touristed hotspots. Meet the first female guide in West Africa's city of Dassa and, as always, I'll be revealing my kick-ass Wonder Woman of the month. See you next time, Wander Woman out.

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The Wander Woman podcast is written and produced by me, phoebe Smith. The editor and writer of additional material is Daniel Neilson. The logo was designed by John Summerton. A final thanks to all the people I met on my journey that were willing to talk to me. It's because of you that this podcast is able to happen at all.