Wander Woman: A Travel Podcast
The monthly Wander Woman Podcast frequently charts in 'Travel and Places' in over 147 countries around the world. It is the first travel podcast to take on a magazine style - rather than the format of just an interview – and has been listened to and downloaded everywhere from the UK to Australia and beyond, by hundreds of thousands of people. It has been selected as “Best of” travel podcasts by The Telegraph, The Guardian and The i newspaper, Globetrender and Tech Times - to name a few.
Every episode, award-winning broadcaster, travel writer, author and photographer Phoebe Smith offers a behind the scenes journey to a different destination which features interviews with locals, audio clips and vivid descriptions to make the listener feel like they are there too - without having to leave home.
The main ‘destination’ story weaves together her passion for finding off-the-beaten track places, undertaking quirky and unusual activities, discovering wild spaces in unlikely mass market destinations, watching wildlife and meeting the unsung heroes behind conservation efforts.
Additionally the Wander Woman Podcast’s regular features a celebrity interview; Best Travel Gear for a life on the road; Travel Hack of the Month; Top 10 in Travel; Hidden Hero; and the Wander Woman of the Month - the traveller whose name is lost in the history books.
Wherever you find yourself - come wander with her…
Wander Woman: A Travel Podcast
Strange Trails
Think you have to travel far to feel like you've had a proper expedition? Think again. In an effort to prove that you don’t need to travel to far flung lands – or spend very much money at all to have a proper expedition, Wander Woman Phoebe Smith attempts a timed walking challenge with the Long Distance Walkers Association across two counties, to discover the joys (and pain) of walking 50 miles in a single day. Along the way expect epic sunsets, camaraderie and Jelly Baby fuelled hallucinations as she attempts to answer the question – why on earth would anyone do it?
Also coming up:
- TV naturalist Mike Dilger shares his journey from being an awkward kid who hid in bushes to a wildlife expert
- Travel Hack: How undertaking an endurance event can help prepare you for your next big trip
- Top 10 short walks with BIG views around the world
- Meet Roberto Battista the man breathing new life into near-abandoned Italian mountain towns - through the power of adventure
- Gear chat: what to pack for an endurance challenge
- Florence Dixie - Victorian Patagonia explorer and women's rights activist is our Wander Woman of the Month
www.Phoebe-Smith.com; @PhoebeRSmith
On this month's Wander Woman podcast.
Speaker 2:We're walking into the darkness now and we're both very, very tired.
Speaker 2:And when I say very tired.
Speaker 2:That is an understatement. We're basically tripping on jelly babies.
Speaker 1:In an effort to prove that you don't need to travel to far-flung lands or spend very much money at all to have a proper expedition, I attempt a timed walking challenge with the Long Distance Walkers Association to discover the joys and pain of walking 50 miles in under 22 hours and attempt to answer the question why on earth would anyone do it? I also meet up with TV naturalist and wildlife worldwide guide, Mike Dilger, who talks travel, how nature is the ultimate antidepressant and how his job has made him develop a rather unusual condition.
Speaker 4:I've got.
Speaker 4:I'm like Tourette's with birds, if I hear a bird.
Speaker 4:I have to mention what it is.
Speaker 1:And I meet Roberto, a man who is trying to bring life back into an Italian mountain town that survived earthquakes but was in danger of vanishing completely through lack of population, through lack of population.
Speaker 3:I'd say that 65% of our population is over 65. We even have 45 people over 90. So two people who are 103 and two people who are 100.
Speaker 1:Also coming up what a long-distance walking challenge can teach you about being a more immersed traveller. With my monthly travel hack, I offer an antidote to my long walk with my top 10 short walks with big an antidote to my long walk with my top 10 short walks with big views. And in my regular gear section, I help you pack the essentials for your first timed walking challenge. 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 and 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:Come wander with me.
Speaker 2:Last 0.2 of a kilometre. 50 miles is quite long, it turns out, and Essex is not as flat as we thought. It's really not flat.
Speaker 1:You're joining me on a footpath somewhere in Essex. It's late or early, depending on your point of view. Around 3.10 am on a Sunday morning in July, I'm attempting to complete what's known as a challenge walk, a set long distance trail that people try to complete within a certain time limit. This one is run by an organisation called the Long Distance Walkers Association, which was set up in 1972 here in England. All its committee and members are volunteers who simply love and want to foster a passion in others to walk a long way. Since 2019, I have been their president, but until now I've only managed to take part in their marathon, aka 26 mile challenge walks. So this summer, determined to take on something that felt like a proper expedition right here in Britain, I signed up for a 50 mile event where you have to walk this distance within 22 hours. I quite fancied company, so asked a friend to join me, though she did take some convincing.
Speaker 2:What concerns me about this is the navigation, because I was on the ridgeway. You can't go wrong. It's literally signposted, it's just a track.
Speaker 1:Yep, it's Ellie who I took on her first bothy experience in episode three of season three, between a Rock and a Hard Place.
Speaker 1:I did send you the instructions...
Speaker 2:but I'm what I'm saying is you're navigating?
Speaker 1:right, I know, but I kind of want to get you to read the instructions just because, well, you did have a look at the instructions.
Speaker 2:What the hell right? Basically for the benefit of the listeners. The official instructions that phoebe's referring to to a series of hieroglyphs they are, they're basically random abbreviations like a b l, p k b, k y and don't forget dpb, dpb, dog poo bin. I mean, who says this? Out at dpd. I couldn't understand it, phoebe. It was like another language. It was a page of C-S-O
Speaker 1:Carry straight on.
Speaker 2:C-s-o, carry straight on. We don't have to speak like this on the hike, do we?
Speaker 1:It's the only language I'll speak on the hike.
Speaker 2:I'd be like F-O, i-g-h, w-t-a-f.
Speaker 2:I-G-H is
Speaker 1:WTAF
Speaker 2:IGH is. I'm going home.
Speaker 1:Despite her protests, Ellie agreed to come, though only on the basis that I was in charge of all navigating while she was going to handle pacing and food. So we arrived at 8am on the Saturday morning in a village called Manuden in Essex, probably the closest I've ever been to London's Stansted Airport without actually getting on a plane. It was somehow fitting. The LDWA is made up of over 40 local groups across the UK and it was the Essex and Hearts one that was running this event, which was called the Golden 50. On arrival, you can already hear the buzz of the crowd of 200 participants. Yep, it's popular. There was a wait list. I asked the chair of the group, Kirsteen Newell, why they had chosen to organise it, given that it takes so much planning.
Speaker 5:This year is obviously our 50th anniversary, and so we thought we would celebrate it with a 50-mile walk. So that's why we've done a figure of eight 30 miles in Hertfordshire and 20 miles in Essex. Highlights just some nice villages, just beautiful countryside, obviously warm and friendly checkpoints to welcome you in at every opportunity.
Speaker 1:We did hear there was a strudel emergency.
Speaker 5:There is a strudel emergency which I hope will be ironed out before the end of the day.
Speaker 1:Strudel emergencies aside, I was excited to see the route which, given it's been planned by keen walking locals, was bound to be impressive. I went to check in, where Elaine Oddie told me about her role here.
Speaker 4:Making sure we don't lose anybody.
Speaker 1:That's very important, given that my walking companion, Ellie, is very competitive. I asked Elaine an important question to her and fellow checking officer Michael. I was quite relieved by their answers. Are we looking who's first, second and third?
Speaker 4:No, no, no, no, no, no. The challenge is your personal challenge. It's not a race.
Speaker 1:I'm glad you said that I can tell my friend Ellie this.
Speaker 4:No, it's just a personal challenge.
Speaker 4:You want to set yourself a target? Fine, but it's not the race. The challenge is just the race.
Speaker 1:Relieved, I decided it was time to get some advice from those people who had walked a 50 mile challenge before. First, I found Kim.
Speaker 6:My first one was the White Forest 50.
Speaker 6:I was nervous apprehensive and thinking. I do not have a clue how this is going to go, but yeah, yeah, once you start it, you just have to think. You know every mile, every checkpoint. Never think about how far you have to go.
Speaker 6:Just think of small chunks.
Speaker 1:And I noticed you have the hieroglyphic like um instruction
Speaker 6:yes,
Speaker 1:do you prefer this over a gpx?
Speaker 6:I have both. I have gpx on my watch as a backup, but I like to read that as in. It gives me something to do.
Speaker 1:I wasn't brave enough to use the written instructions with all their abbreviations. I hadn't quite got the lingo down just yet, though I was going to carry them with me just in case. Instead, I was using maps and GPX files. Just as I was sorting my kit out, I met a true long distance walking stalwart, a man called Keith, and I asked him how many 50 mile challenge events had he done?
Speaker 8:80?
Speaker 1:80??
Speaker 8:79 perhaps.
Speaker 1:When did you do your first one?
Speaker 8:1982. I was still in short trousers.
Speaker 1:What made you do your first one? What was it about doing 50 miles in a day?
Speaker 8:Oh, I don't know there's just people talking about long walks and you get sucked into the idea.
Speaker 1:I asked him how he had found that first experience.
Speaker 8:It was fine. Very nervous, but I met just at dusk, I met a lovely couple of chaps and they said would you like to walk with us? And I said yes, please. Was it the night that you were worried about? Not particularly, it was just the distance really, and it was March, so daylight ended sort of seven o'clock time, so I'd still got, you know, half the distance to do.
Speaker 1:And you did it in time.
Speaker 8:Oh, yes, yes, did it in time.
Speaker 1:How did you feel at the end?
Speaker 8:Great. I can still remember bits about it. Yes, it was great, and I came back for more.
Speaker 1:As we were about to set off shortly, I asked him if he had any tips for first-timers.
Speaker 8:Just take your time. Don't worry about everyone haring off. You might find you catch them up later. They slow down, they have problems. You've got 22 hours, so you've got about 2.6 miles per hour. So if you keep walking at about three miles per hour, which isn't that fast, have minimal stops and just just enjoy it and just work from one checkpoint to the next.
Speaker 8:Don't think about 50 miles, just think I've got eight miles to the first checkpoint. I'm going to enjoy this, enjoy it, get, get there, have a drink, something to eat. Right, I've got eight miles to the next checkpoint. Just do it in stages and you'll be amazed how. But when you do the 100, if you do the 100, people who do a 50 and are absolutely shattered they say, oh, I could never do 100. And I say it's in the mind. When you're on the 100, you're thinking far bigger, twice the distance, still doing the stages. But you'll get to 50 miles on the 100 and you'll just sail through and forget how you felt at the end of, because the mind is attuned to the total distance.
Speaker 1:I wasn't quite so sure that I or Ellie would ever undertake the 100, but for now it was time to start the 50. Over to Kirsteen.
Speaker 5:Thank you so much for coming along and making this a great event. Thank you for celebrating our 50th year with us. Have a wonderful day. You're going to really enjoy the route.
Speaker 1:We were off. The crowd was buoyant, the pace fairly fast, the landscapes a mixture of fields of corn and wheat, walking along hedgerows and dried mud tracks. Until eight miles later, we reached our first checkpoint. Checkpoint one
Speaker 1:It was a relief to have made it to the first one. Each checkpoint has strict opening and closing times, and if you don't make it to them in time you have to retire from the challenge. From this point on, we found our stride. We passed through more fields foraged fresh blackberries, reached another checkpoint, carried on walking further still through woodland, past old mills and over the river rib. We skirted Tumuli, an old church, and still we walked. When we reached the next checkpoint, I asked Jackie, one of the people running it, who, I must remind you, are all volunteers why do they do it?
Speaker 7:I think when you enjoy walking and enjoy belonging to the LDWA, then it's just nice to to give something back and, to be perfectly honest, you get all the fun of walking 50 miles but without having to walk it, because you get the atmosphere and everything. People are pleased to see you yeah, yeah, but you don't actually have to walk it.
Speaker 1:By the time we got back to Maunden Village Hall, which marked just over halfway, 30 miles, eight hours after we started, Ellie was feeling relieved.
Speaker 2:Phoebe, don't tell me that that's the village.
Speaker 1:That is the village where we started,
Speaker 2:Thank God so basically we're nearly back where there's food, water, etc.
Speaker 1:Eight hours later, 30 miles done. I think we're doing really well. I know I'm aching a bit on my left side.
Speaker 2:We were a bit achy around the hips but we thought we would be, but we don't have any blisters.
Speaker 1:Not yet, not yet,
Speaker 2:And we're feeling mentally strong.
Speaker 1:We enjoyed what must have been the best tasting beans and cheese on jacket potato I've ever had, and then continued. At first it was stunning some ancient woodland, the dappled light of dusk as the sun began to set. But then it got dark and the ground became increasingly hard, studded with flint. We cracked open our sweets.
Speaker 2:We're now we're walking into the darkness now and we're both very, very tired and when I say very tired. That is an understatement. We're basically tripping on jelly babies.
Speaker 1:We carried on through Essex, counting down the miles to the next checkpoint.
Speaker 5:Right, what time is it now? 1.14am, and we are about a kilometre from the checkpoint.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think we're about just over eight kilometres to the end. Or five miles. My feet are starting to get a little bit. I've definitely got one blister.
Speaker 2:If I feel one, I'm going to have to put a plaster on.
Speaker 1:Do you know, what I hate is this ground that's cracked and rocky.
Speaker 2:The rocks are massive. If I never see, like you said, if I never see another piece of flint, I'll be a happy woman. It's just really starting to hurt through my trainers now because every time you step on a rock it just wobbles out my poor, aching, sore muscles.
Speaker 1:I'll tell you what we've learned.
Speaker 2:We're making it sound fun aren't we?
Speaker 1:We're selling this. What we've learned is that mile 37 was a bastard. It really was like I didn't think I could carry on and everything went slow.
Speaker 2:Everything went so slow we're in slow-mo pain mode and then, caffeine with sugar.
Speaker 1:Yeah, some skittles, painkillers, painkillers. A banana sitting on a proper toilet.
Speaker 2:That made a difference, difference. It boosted us, phoebe, but I am starting to flag again.
Speaker 1:I definitely need this next checkpoint. Like it is strategic, they know what they're doing.
Speaker 1:Fuelled up at the final checkpoint, we left, but our slower pace meant we saw a herd of deer crossing the field, their eyes illuminated by our head torches. It was really quite magical and I'm fairly sure it wasn't a hallucination. Finally, the end was in sight.
Speaker 2:We're nearly there.
Speaker 1:We're nearly there. Thank you Ellie. Thank you for being insane enough for coming with me.
Speaker 2:Thanks for inviting me.
Speaker 1:I'm not sure anyone else would have been quite this willing to put themselves through a lot of pain and suffering for no reason,
Speaker 2:we've burned 5,000 calories.
Speaker 2:Oh, look at your step count.
Speaker 1:Well, it's good, we won't have to step for at least a week.
Speaker 2:We won't be able to.
Speaker 1:At last at 3.24am, 18 hours and 54 minutes after we left, we reached the finish line. Hello, it was an emotional end to an incredible adventure. Everyone we met was lovely and welcoming. The landscapes were places we'd never have seen otherwise. It was hard, it was wonderful.
Speaker 1:It is something we will talk about for years to come, and really that's what travel is all about. It just goes to show you don't need to travel far, (although 50 miles in one go on foot is pretty far) or go for a long time we were there for less than 24 hours, or spend much money - the price of entry for this event is just £30 for members and membership is only £15 a year and all food, certificates and souvenirs are included. It felt like we'd been away for weeks, not just 19 hours. But there was one question I had for Ellie as we walked to our car would she now consider doing the 100 mile challenge in 48 hours with me next year, seeing as we just inadvertently qualified for a place?
Speaker 2:I'm not saying we would do 100, because obviously at this moment in time we would not do 100 ever, because you'd be literally insane in the membrane. But if you did, maybe it's the same. Maybe 37, 38, you're in agony and then everything else is just like oh kid..., turns out you can do any distance if you numb your body to the actual sensation of walking.
Speaker 1:That was a looooong way to walk. 50 miles. 50 miles even seems a bit of a pain in a car, but I promise that for most people it is eminently achievable if you prepare well for it. And to prove it, I want to offer advice on ways to prepare for any big challenge, whether it's a 50 miler, a charity bike ride or even a long day out with the kids a 50 miler, a charity bike ride or even a long day out with the kids. But while I was jotting these things down for this next section on how to prepare for a big challenge, I realised that most of these tips could also be applied to preparing for big trips abroad. So here we go. This episode's travel hack is how preparing for a big challenge could also help you with big trips.
Speaker 1:First up, it's sleep. Everything is better after a good night's sleep. That includes endurance, events and embarking on a long trip and well life. Approach the challenge rested, focused and calm, and you'll make better decisions, think clearer and have a bigger smile on your face. The same goes for long-haul travel or any overnight journey. Arriving in Oaxaca tired, cranky and hungry on the night bus will not set you up to find your onward travel, integrate with the locals and find that amazing street food.
Speaker 1:I always take a pillow, eye mask and earplugs and wear comfy clothes, bring a good book and hopefully get some sleep. Similarly, eat well. You know yourself best and what your body needs, and it's something you'll have honed through your training. Don't change anything dramatically on the day. I enjoy eggs in the morning of a long walk, with some slow release carbs, and I'll take fruit boiled eggs and put hydration salts in my water. I do take a few sweets too, for when I need a really quick pep. On a plane I also eat carefully and try and keep the rhythm that I'm used to. Don't jump straight into the adventurous food the moment you arrive. Either build yourself up a little first. If you're in a different time zone, jump straight into that time and avoid things you wouldn't normally eat or drink at that time.
Speaker 1:Now you're on the trail and there's a daunting amount of distance ahead of you. Break it down. Checkpoints were saviours for me. Focus on the next checkpoint, whether that's organised in an event, like I did, or you've earmarked a location for a break. If you just focus on the next stage, it will really help.
Speaker 1:I find myself doing the same for a long journey too, especially if it involves multiple legs of planes, trains or buses. Have the whole trip in your head before you travel, but on the road, split it up into stages. It's a much easier way to mentally tell yourself you can do it. I also approach travelling as I would a race. Are these the comfiest clothes and the right shoes? I wouldn't introduce a new pair the day before I start.
Speaker 1:Think ahead too. Will the weather change? Do I need to dress for any cultural sensibilities? Do you have everything that you need? Finally, be positive. Long distance challenges and long journeys really are mind over matter. For me, the key to walking 50 miles was allowing myself to believe that I could do it. And, let's be honest, we're doing these things to further ourselves, yes, but also for fun. Enjoy the challenge, enjoy the preparation and enjoy every experience. That was my Wander Woman travel hack. The advice I offer every single episode to help you enjoy every moment of your adventures. Speaking of someone who I'm convinced, after speaking to him, enjoys every single moment of his life is TV presenter and naturalist, Mike Dilger. After a day spent wandering amid the wetlands of Alfreston with him as he guided a trip for Wildlife Worldwide. I probed a little to find out how he got to make watching wildlife around the world his full-time job.
Speaker 1:Tell me when you first realised you adored wildlife and the natural world.
Speaker 4:It started with a book, Phoebe. I was nine years of age and my parents began to think I was a feckless child that would never get into anything. I started off train spotting, yeah, and then I graduated onto stamp collecting.
Speaker 4:And then my parents bought me Bruce Campbell's Guide to Birds in Colour 256 different British birds, all by the artist Carl Arger Tingeland who did these beautiful watercolour portraits of birds, and there was two birds per page. And I remember playing the fantasy bird-watching game when I was a kid. I'd go under the duvet. My parents were both teachers. They were quite strict, so to bed early and I would look at the names of these birds - Shetty's warbler in the background - i Isn't that amazing.
Speaker 4:While we're doing the interview! I've got I'm like Tourette's with birds, if I hear a bird. I have to mention what it is, and I was like Red Pack, shrike, montague's, harrier Chetty's Warbler. I thought I want to see every single bird in that book. There's 256. I have seen 255 of them.
Speaker 4:The only one I've not seen is the lesser white-fronted goose, which is a bird that very rarely comes to Britain, now ,ade famous by Peter Scott at Slimbridge, the World Fulham Wellness Trust. Yep. And it just set me going and what I needed was a pair of binoculars. So I got the book. Yep, I needed a pair of binoculars and my parents bought me a pair of prins with a zed okay, binoculars, the polo prism binoculars so the old, like German u-boat binoculars?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know the ones.
Speaker 4:Yeah, um, and that was it started off my garden. Then I went to local nature reserves and there's one moment that set me off and I'll never forget it, and I was born and bred in stafford yeah, in the west midlands and I was walking to Stafford Castle so I could see my garden birds. There's a local wetland reserve where I could see things like waders and wildfowl, but I want to see some woodland birds and I used to walk up to Stafford Castle right by the M6 and there's an old Mott and Bailey there, but it's lovely woodland around there. And I walked at one spring day with my snorkel parka, with with a fur round, my binoculars and my book, and I saw this bird perched on this branch. It was a lovely spring day, may day, like today, and this bird was flying up, snap of the bell, it would catch an insect and land straight back on the same branch. Fly up, snap of the bell, and I could see the insects it was going for. I could see it catch the insect insect, hear the snap of the bell and land back on the on the branch and I thought it's a fly catcher. So I open my book up and there's two species of fly catchers a pied fly catch, which is black and white, yeah, and there's a spotted fly catch which is kind of spotted, but not really chetties, um, and I thought I've got a spotted fly catcher.
Speaker 4:And the most astonishing thing happened I was on a public footpath right by a hedgerow and I was hunkered down like David Bellamy or David Attenborough would be, and I heard this noise. Behind it was a husband and wife, or a couple, jogging. Yeah, bear in mind, this is back in the 1970s. You see some lad with a pair of binoculars. He's up to no good, he's a peeping tom.
Speaker 4:So I didn't know what to do. So what I did was I hid in the hedge like david atten would do, and I think the couple drew level with me. The woman was closest to me and she saw the fur from my hood sticking out of the hedge and, um, she went, oh, did you see that bloke in the bushes? And the guy said, yes, obviously a pervert. And I didn't know what a pervert was. I looked in my book. There's a bird called a peewit or a lapwing or a green plover. I know what a pervert is now, but it was what they call an epoch-making moment. I just thought I was just lost. I watched the bird for like an hour and I think, if anything, 40 years on, I'm keener on wildlife now than I was then.
Speaker 1:And how does that then segue into a life with travel and TV?
Speaker 4:I did a degree in biology but I was always birdwatching on my own as a kid and my family were not interested. My parents were interested that I was into a hobby, but they were not. None of my family are into wildlife. Right. I'm pretty sure I was dropped as a small child in my head and it just took me off on a different angle. My dad's mum was a very keen gardener and she used to take me around and teach me all the Latin names, the scientific names of plants.
Speaker 1:Ah, okay, maybe from her.
Speaker 4:So maybe from her and I got a really amazing. I'm like Rain Man for scientific names. I know most British plants, most British birds by scientific name. It's really weird. It's completely useless, apart from in my profession.
Speaker 1:Well then it's not useless.
Speaker 4:Yes, kind of it was my profession.
Speaker 1:Well then, it's not useless.
Speaker 4:It was useless and now it's very useful, yeah, um, so I did biology university and I met other people who are into it, yeah, and I started working for the rspb, for the wildlife trust, and then, um, I went back to you. I was a very, very poor student at university. Yeah, I basically got a 2-2, which is a desmond 2-2, first, 2-1, 2-2, but I got a first in birding and birding.
Speaker 4:So basically I was either bird watching, yeah, or I was out in nightclubs birding so I just started dancing a really good dancer actually and then I'd chat to some girls I'm into ornithology and they just walk off for some reason.
Speaker 1:I think they might still do that.
Speaker 4:I don't quite know why?
Speaker 4:yeah, they still have walked off - my wife didn't actually so that's probably a good sign. Um, and then I, and then I went back to university, did a master's in ecology at Bangor and black cap isn't it amazing Chetty's warbler, black cap on this interview.
Speaker 1:I'm a lucky charm
Speaker 4:You are! Wandering around talking about birds, and I went to Ecuador, in South America, to do my masters thesis on cloud forest moths, macrolipidoptera, night flying butterflies, and I was basically moth trapping by night and bird watching by day and I love that and I I love that so much that I kind of came home and wanted to get a job as a biologist and I got a job as a.
Speaker 4:I'm a naturalist, so I got a job as a naturist, so I basically worked as a life model. So I was taking my clothes off for a living, yeah, raising money, yeah, just standing there naked thinking about all these amazing birds I was going to see aboard like Cock of the Rock that's a terrible joke. And then I raised some money and I went to kind of Vietnam for a year and a half, came home, took my clothes off, went to Tanzania for a year and a half, came back, kept my clothes on and then went back to Ecuador, which is my favourite place, and that's where I, a company, was making a series for this little known channel called channel five in the uk,
Speaker 1:The new one!
Speaker 4:The spice girls channel.
Speaker 4:Yeah, um, it was a series called eco warriors, all about brits and the back of beyond. Um, and they, they interviewed me as the crew came out. I'd never worked with a TV crew before. It was a cameraman standing there with a camera going oh, beautiful, light and gorgeous, and there was attached to a long umbilical cord, to a sound recordist who was recording the sounds of the forest. And there's a director who used to kind of just oh film that and record that.
Speaker 4:And they interviewed me about the birds of the cloud forest of Ecuador. So I'm halfway up the western slopes of the andes in the cloud forest, which are the epicenter for hummingbirds. Yeah, orchids, bromeliads, members of the pineapple family, um and uh. I did some impersonations of the birds and they said you should get a job in tv.
Speaker 1:If someone's's not, into birds, which you know you might find shocking.
Speaker 4:Yeah, there are people out there. I call them the unenlightened ones.
Speaker 1:Tell them why they should take an interest in birds when they travel
Speaker 4:Because wildlife is the most natural antidepressant going. If you're into wildlife, it's a reason to be joyous. There's always something to look forward to. We've been having a walk around today around this lovely Lake Phoebe. It's early, it's late April, early May, and I've just seen my first swifts of the year and it's just the most amazing lift. These birds have come all the way from Africa and they're here for a short period of time. They'll be here for two months and they're here to take advantage of the long summer evenings. They're screaming around, they've got their mouths open. They're catching insects. Here's the most amazing fact you never knew about wildlife Swift these little black anchors. They'll nest under the eaves of a house or this pub and the youngsters in the nest will do press-ups to build up their chest muscles and they will fledge and they will drop out of the hole and they will start flying instantly with no lessons, and they will not touch the ground for three years.
Speaker 1:And finally, Mike, what is the one piece of travel gear that you never go anywhere without?
Speaker 4:Binoculars. I can't do without binoculars. I'd rather lose my passport than my binoculars. I mean in terms of importance. Binoculars, passport, mobile phone
Speaker 1:Got you.
Speaker 4:Because, I mean mobile phone is - I keep my records of my birds on there.
Speaker 1:Clean pair of pants?
Speaker 4:I don't know, I mean I throw them up against the ceiling, and if they stick, it's time to change them. That's an old student joke.
Speaker 1:I know.
Speaker 4:Thank you very much. I've always got a sink to clean the undies, but I can't fashion a pair of binoculars out of anything not even a pair of old Coke bottles.
Speaker 1:You disappoint me.
Speaker 4:The binoculars are the portal to a world of enjoyment.
Speaker 1:That was Naturalist TV presenter and guide for Wildlife Worldwide, Mike Dilger, a man who cannot fail to inspire even the most ardent non-bird to start noticing our feathered friends wherever they find themselves. Speaking of small, after walking 50 miles in 22 hours, I can confirm that big walks do indeed offer ample opportunity for big views. However, sometimes the best views come from going well small and, dare I say it, short. So as an antidote to my challenge walk, I've pulled together some of my favourite views from around the world that are easily accessible yet still defy belief once you get there. So, without further ado, here are the top 10 short walks with big views.
Speaker 1:At 10 is Orrest Head in England's the Lake District. Although a short stroll from Windermere train station, this viewpoint offers huge views over classic Lakeland scenery, with a backdrop of some of the biggest fells and Windermere below it. It's also part of the Lake District National Park's Miles Without Styles Accessible Pathway Initiative, so everyone can achieve it.
Speaker 1:At nine, we're headed to Bryce Point in Bryce Canyon National Park, USA. This is, frankly, one of the most jaw-dropping sights on planet Earth. It's a canyon full of hoodoos, tall, thin rock formations like church spires sculpted by erosion. It's also a short walk from the car park, aim for sunrise or sunset In.
Speaker 1:At eight it's Oynfløya in Senja, norway. If you don't have time for the ten-hour hike to the Trolltunga, take the one-kilometre hike up to Oynfløya, eagle Island in Senja, about an hour from Tromsø. It delivers on the drama of fjords and peaks in a 20-minute wander.
Speaker 1:And at seven we're headed to Japan for the Nachi no Taki from Nachi Tashi Shrine on the Key Peninsula, also known as Nachi Falls. Japan's tallest single-drop waterfall stands next to Senjanto-ji Buddhist Temple and Forested Hills. It can be reached from a paved path and it is stunning.
Speaker 1:At six we're going down under for the Cape Byron Lighthouse Walk in Australia. From the car park, an easy loop takes you to the most easterly point of mainland Australia with pacific panoramas and, very frequently, dolphin sightings, rainforest beach, grassland and cliff tops all within four kilometres Amazing.
Speaker 1:At five it's Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park, USA. Glacier Point is accessible by road from approximately late May through to October or November and the flat walk from the car park reveals a vantage point over Half Dome and Yosemite Falls.
Speaker 1:In at four is the Aguil du Midi Terrace in Chamonix, france. A cable car whisks you up to 3,842 metres, where a few steps take you to a front-row seat, to Mont Blanc's glaciers and 360-degree views of the Alps. It's a fun
Speaker 1:trip
Speaker 1:.
Speaker 1:And at three we're in Scotland and taking the genteel Arthur Seat Lower Path in Edinburgh. Instead of summiting, take the Queen's Drive loop for dramatic city and Firth of Forth views without the steep push. But if you do want to walk up, the car park at Dunsappy Lock offers the shortest path to the top. At two, it's Signal Hill in Cape Town, south Africa. You can get to within 10 minutes of Signal Hill by car by driving most of the way along Cloughneck Road. Then amble 10 minutes of Signal Hill by car by driving most of the way along Cloughneck Road. Then amble 10 minutes to the viewpoint to see one of the best views of Table Mountain and Lion's Head, as well as the city below. And at one it's the Mirador de San Nicolas in Granada, spain. Climb up the cobbled streets of the Albicin to see Alhambra Palace, backed by the often snow-capped Sierra Nevada. It's one of the most beautiful sights anywhere in the world. Go for golden hour in the off-season before spending an evening eating and drinking in the famous tapas bars of Granada Delicious in every single way.
Speaker 1:Okay. So now I'm starting to wonder why on earth I felt I had to walk 50 miles when in the case of those walks, just a handful will apparently do the trick, and sometimes even less than that. I'm only joking. Of course I don't regret my long walk, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that at the time and for the couple of days after I did it, I did wonder just what I'd done to myself and also how well I'd packed for it. Which brings us nicely to our gear chat, where, this month, I thought I'd share my hardened wisdom and advice on how best to pack for a long distance challenge walk.
Speaker 1:My first tip may be a little obvious, but I'm going to say it anyway pack light. I used the smallest rucksack that I owned, which is a non-technical 15 litre number, and it did the trick perfectly. It was small, didn't rub on my back and forced me not to overpack and therefore be weighed down.
Speaker 1:Second up, with that in mind, still be prepared. A challenge walk means long hours and, of course, walking in the dark. Invest in a good head torch, and I mean the ones with beams that put the X-Files to shame. Your eyes will thank you when you're having a meltdown at 2am. And don't forget the spare batteries. They could save your life.
Speaker 1:Third, even if you're walking in the summer, take a warm layer. After going backwards and forwards over which layer I would take, I eventually settled on my Merino long-sleeve top and I am glad I did. Light, smell-free and warm instantly, also unlike a flee fleece minimal bulk in my bag.
Speaker 1:Fourth up, consider emergency rations. Even though most challenge events like the one I did feature checkpoints with food and drink, you won't go well if you stock up just on sugar. Slow release energy wins the day. I highly recommend carrying a few hard-boiled eggs, oh, and a packet of jelly babies for when you inevitably hit the wall. I'm thinking of you, mile 38.
Speaker 1:My fifth tip is a power bank. I had my written directions but actually relied on my GPS app quite heavily, and that meant I needed portable power. My small one charged my mobile two and a half times, making it perfect for the 22-hour event. Finally, it's the expected blister plasters and zinc oxide tapes. Leave them behind at your peril.
Speaker 1:That was my regular gear chat, the part of the episode where I show you how to walk the walk and talk the talk when it comes to packing for travel and adventure. Speaking of someone who definitely talks the talk is my next guest, Roberto Battista, an Italian man who, whilst living in London, decided to invest in a holiday home in the south of France, only instead, thanks to a quirk of the Google algorithm, ended up buying a medieval property within the heavily earthquake-prone region of Umbria in Italy, only for it to collapse two weeks after he'd renovated and moved in. Unperturbed, he set himself the project of reviving and repopulating his ancient village, developing projects that helped obtain funds for a series of initiatives aimed at creating opportunities and bringing life back to these long-forgotten areas. I met him while on a trip with Italian specialists Slo Ways last month to find out more about his passion project, but please forgive the sound of workmen in the background. This place is very much a work in progress.
Speaker 3:This is Sellano. This is the main village.
Speaker 1:And how many people in this village?
Speaker 3:I think about 200 people live in the village itself
Speaker 1:And is there issues in areas like this with a youth drain, where young people go away and just don't come back, so it's an aging population.
Speaker 3:Yeah, let's say that 65% of our population it's over 65. We even have 45 people over 90. So, and two people are 103 and two people are 100
Speaker 1:Wow
Speaker 3:So that means that the the environment is good! And all these climbing up and down keeps you fit yeah, it's the place to move to live a long life.
Speaker 3:No, the trouble is that there were no opportunities for young people, and that's why we started this five-year plan, starting with the Tibetan Bridge to create opportunity and set the machine in motion again and to give reason for young people to stay.
Speaker 1:What year was that that you started that kind of five-year?
Speaker 3:Two years ago.
Speaker 1:Okay, and now?
Speaker 3:The bridge has been open for just over a year and it's working fine. We were looking for something that had a high impact in terms of occupation and popularity etc. But at the same time, that it had a low environmental impact, because if you look at the structure today, we don't need it anymore, we can dismantle it without having damaged anything, and we also we wanted to encourage a kind of tourism that is low impact. So trekking, biking, that kind of stuff. We were a bit scared that we could be invaded, like it happens in many places, by busloads of tourists who come down, go and take selfies and run away. So far it's worked. I mean, we're trying to. There's so much to do because we started from scratch. Really there was nothing here. All the shops had closed, etc. And people local people were so sceptical that they waited till the last minute to start new activities.
Speaker 5:Really, they just didn't believe it was going to work?
Speaker 3:Well, they were betting that it would have taken 10 years, that it would have cost 10 times as much, etc. So I'm quite pleased that from the day we discussed the idea to the day we opened to the public, it took 18 months. And it didn't cost a penny because it was totally financed by the EU, so that's good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so what's come off the back of that in terms of activities and offerings for people coming to the area?
Speaker 3:Well, some B&Bs have opened, some restaurants and bars and an ice cream parlour, which is really good - music to my ears, and a few activities relating to trekking, biking, horse riding. So it's all low impact and respectful of the environment.
Speaker 1:And have you got any other plans as part of the five-year plan? Is there anything you can tell us?
Speaker 5:Well, yeah, loads.
Speaker 3:First of all, we are reopening all the ancient paths, because this area was a crossing point between different dominions with different castles, and so throughout the centuries there were loads of people going through, and we have a really good network of old ancient roads that we are reopening and that would create a good opportunity for long-term trekking.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1:So people would come to the area and do that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so we're trying to do things that encourage people to stay for a few days.
Speaker 1:Nice.
Speaker 3:Because otherwise you get these... you don't want to just pop over a picture and
Speaker 1:go, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3:everything we're doing is geared towards encouraging people to stay here. Take your time, there's plenty to see and make it sustainable for locals as well, yeah exactly because otherwise it turns out to be something like seasonal and that doesn't create real opportunity for the recreation of the community.
Speaker 1:So would it be year-round you could do this, or is it still seasonal
Speaker 3:Well, we are trying to extend the season, both with events and with the kind of activities that can be done in the spring and in the autumn.
Speaker 1:So you've got the trekking routes, anything else you can tell us?
Speaker 3:Well, we will probably install a zip line parallel to the bridge so that people can walk across and then zoom back.
Speaker 1:Wow, yeah, that'll be
Speaker 3:I hope people like that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1:They do. Zip lines have become very popular
Speaker 3:yeah.
Speaker 1:I think, you also said about a climbing wall, an indoor climbing wall?
Speaker 3:Yeah, we are not quite sure where we'll do it, because we've got the finances now and the basic plan approved. The easiest solution would be to do it in Villa Magina. You know where that dome structure is. That would be suitable and it would give us an opportunity to increase the quality well, improve the whole environment there, because it's been neglected for ages and it's a dump at the moment. So the climbing wall and the climbing school could be another good thing. There is a demand for it. In Umbria there's only two, and I've spoken to the to the owners and they said that they are always overbooked and so they would welcome a climbing school here.
Speaker 1:And that would be good for the young people as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and also we are refurbishing two hostels. One is nearly finished and that would make it possible to host groups that are staying here for a while to do activities. Up in Monte Santo Julia will show you probably, there's a building that's been refurbished and it's a pain to leave it unused because it's got a conference room, it's got own server, it's got classrooms, etc. So it would be ideal for residential courses, etc. So, yeah, millions of little bits and pieces trying to
Speaker 1:What's your background? What's made you come and take this sort of thing on?
Speaker 3:I didn't want to, they said you have to. I've worked for many years developing projects in developing countries for the UN and the World Bank and I've worked for the BBC for many years doing documentaries and multimedia Plus. I was a lecturer in London in various multimedia subjects but I had no experience in public administration, least of all the nightmarish one in Italy. But I've tried to import a different kind of method less words and more action. So it's beginning to work, even though people sometimes are really puzzled. They say you're crazy, where do you get these funny ideas? Let's try it.
Speaker 1:And what's your official role here then?
Speaker 3:Now I'm a Deputy Mayor.
Speaker 1:Deputy Mayor.
Speaker 1:Was that sort of forced upon you as well, because you were doing so much?
Speaker 3:At the beginning, Mayor, what what was it, six years ago came to me and said look, we need a new councillor, so if you don't mind. And I said well, okay, nobody will vote for me. Nobody knows me, I'm not from here, I don't have relatives or whatever.
Speaker 3:Instead, I got loads of votes.
Speaker 1:Oh no, now you've got to do it!
Speaker 3:And so I did, and it worked.
Speaker 3:At the end of my term, a year and a half ago, I said well, that's enough, now let me be in peace. And they said no, no, no, you can't.
Speaker 1:They wouldn't let you go.
Speaker 3:No.
Speaker 1:And have you managed to build up a team of people who kind of share your vision?
Speaker 3:For this, yes, they're always a bit puzzled because everything sounds so alien to them. But I must say that they've been quite open-minded and they say well, it sounds crazy, but let's try it.
Speaker 1:And then, when they see it working, I guess they start to go:
Speaker 1:Oh he knows what he's talking about
Speaker 3:With the bridge. It was so funny because, as I said, the locals were making bets they're never gonna make it, and so when they saw it and said, oh, maybe, maybe something can happen?
Speaker 1:Do you have any indication of numbers of how many people you've had visit the place?
Speaker 3:In the first 12 months we had 56,000 people crossing the bridge and about 120,000 people visiting the village.
Speaker 1:Wow, what would it have been like pre all that?
Speaker 3:Probably 50.
Speaker 1:50 people?
Speaker 3:Yeah
Speaker 3:Nobody would come here. I mean only locals who moved to, let's say, Rome or other cities, who would come here during the summer for a couple of weeks.
Speaker 1:So it's really put it on the map. Are you getting people, mainly Italians or overseas as well?
Speaker 3:There's a mix. I mean, this area is fairly popular with Dutch and some French, lots of Germans, in fact. There are several German people who bought houses here and there are some people who spend a fair amount of time here during the year, especially the Germans. They are mostly retired people. They've got time, they've got money, so they spend a few months here. So to me, the important thing is to create something for the locals, for the young people.
Speaker 1:That was this episode's hidden hero the personal people making real change in their communities. It was wonderful meeting Roberto and hearing his passion for bringing a new lease of life into Solano. I do encourage you to take the time to visit do the Tibetan Bridge, of course and see how things progress with people like him leading the charge.
Speaker 1:And just like that, it's nearly the end of the episode, so nearly time for me to reveal my utterly inspirational Wander Woman of the month. I hope you've enjoyed what you've heard. Please do subscribe so you never miss an episode, and please do leave a review, it means so very much. You can follow me on Instagram @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.
Speaker 1:Now this episode we're headed to Patagonia, where a woman is about to lead the charge literally into the fire.
Speaker 1:We begin on a small hill in South America, amid the Patagonian pampas, where a woman rides atop her horse. She's not alone, but is joined by her brother and husband. She does not look happy because in front of them, between where they stand and where their camp is located, a wildfire is sweeping across the prairie at the speed of the wind.
Speaker 1:"Dense masses of smoke curled aloft and entirely obscured the sky," wrote our heroine in her book Across Patagonia, published in 1880, when describing the scene before her. The flames which shot fiercely up cast a strange yellow glare over everything. She continued she's wearing a wide-brimmed hat, a dress befitting a Victorian aristocrat, and a pistol is secured on her hip. With barely a second thought, she wraps a guanaco mantle around her head, digs in her spurs and decides to gallop towards the flames. Shortly after, her companions thunder behind her, following her lead. Despite all the smoke and flames, she makes it through the fire. This is Florence Dixie, a writer, a journalist and, as you can hear, an adventurer. When she led this charge into the flames, she was just 23 years old and, hard as it is to believe, this experience safely navigating a wildfire was only the start of her remarkable achievements.
Speaker 1:Florence Dixie was born in 1855 on her family's estate in Dumfries, Scotland, and was the youngest daughter of the Marquess of Queensberry. It was her brother who gave the family name to boxing's Queensberry rules. Despite the family's wealth and nobility, it was a childhood inflicted with trauma. Her father died in an accident while cleaning a shotgun when she was just three, although some claimed it was suicide, and her elder brother died in a fall after recording the first ascent of the Matterhorn. Her twin brother later killed himself.
Speaker 1:In 1875, aged 20, she married Sir Alexander Beaumont Churchill, the 11th Baronet Dixie, and became known as Lady Florence Dixie. Living in Bosworth Hall in Leicestershire, she had two children, John and Albert. In a shocking move for the time and, let's be honest, even nowadays, Albert was only two when she left for her travels in Patagonia with her twin brother and husband to, in her own words, "flee from the strict confines of polite Victorian society.
Speaker 1:Soon after returning from South America and that expedition, she travelled to South Africa in 1881 as a war correspondent for the Morning Post during the First Boer War. The reports she sent back were not just about military manoeuvres but also included sharp observations on the politics of empire and the treatment of indigenous peoples. She is considered to be the first journalist to report from a war zone.
Speaker 1:She returned to Britain and threw her efforts into campaigning vigorously for women's suffrage, her platform amplified by her aristocratic status and the notoriety of her adventures. This led to the publication of Gloriana in 1890, a novel once described as a feminine fantasy. In it she predicts a female prime minister by 1999. "Nature has unmistakably given to women a greater brainpower. She wrote, arguing that men deliberately stunt the mental capacity in women by making female education at a lower level. Concluding it has been the means of sending to their graves, unknown, unknelled and unnamed, thousands of women whose high intellects have been wasted.
Speaker 1:By 1895, she had become the president and patron of the British Ladies Football Club at the behest of founder Nettie Honeyball (regrettably not her real name), which was actually Mary Hudson. Their first game at Crouch End London attracted 10,000 spectators, more than the average for today's Women's Super League. James Lee, in his book the Lady Footballers, wrote tearing down the barriers that restricted women was the core of her philosophy and motivation. The presidency of the British Ladies Football Club offered her another battlefield on which to fight that war.
Speaker 1:Florence wrote novels, non-fiction accounts and children's books. She debated with Charles Darwin, drawing on her own learnings in South America. She hunted and later became a vegetarian every step eschewing the norms of what it was to be a Victorian woman. But most of all she should be remembered for her activism for equality. Though how many of us know her name?
Speaker 1:She was a member of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies and wrote opinion pieces for the newspapers on the subject. She was also outspoken on the need for home rule in Ireland, a stance that could have led to an assassination attempt. She died of diphtheria on 7 November 1905, aged just 50, and was buried with her twin brother on her family's Kinmount estate in Scotland. She wrote to her death on feminism and equality and on her 180-degree change in opinion over blood sports.
Speaker 1:From travel writing to adventuring, war reporting to suffrage and women's football, Florence Dixie may have only been 50 years on this earth, but she left an indelible mark and made a genuine and lasting difference, though many of us do not realise that it is her we have to thank for many of the rights we enjoy today. And that's why Florence Dixie is very deservedly our Wander Woman of the Month.
Speaker 1:That was my Wander Woman of the Month, the traveller whose name is lost in the history books purely because of her gender. I hope you've been inspired by Florence Dixie and her adventures and tell all your football fan friends about her next time they talk shop. In
Speaker 1:the next episode of the Wonder Wander Woman podcast podcast:
Speaker 1:I take a stroll through Syria without stepping foot on a plane, on a new tour right here in London, that gives back to disadvantaged communities with every book. I meet the chef who got caught up in the US immigration system and managed to cook her way out of depression, and learn about other places in the world where you can find unexpected ethnic enclaves. And, as always, I'll be revealing my inspirational Wander Woman of the month. See you next time, Wander Woman out.
Speaker 1:The Wander Woman podcast is written and produced by me, Phoebe Smith. The editor and writer of additional material is Daniel Nielson. The logo was designed by John Summerton. A final thanks to all the people I met on my journey and were willing to talk to me - to Ellie, who made walking 50 miles as hilarious as it was painful and to the volunteers of the LDWA - it's because of you that this episode was able to happen at all.