Ramblings

Clare Balding undertakes a section of the Lyke Wake Walk on the North York Moors. The route was originally devised sixty years ago by a local farmer who issued a challenge in the Dalesman magazine. He thought it might be possible to cross 40 miles of the Moors from near Osmotherley to Ravenscar in 24 hours, crossing only one or two roads. A club was formed following the first successful crossing, and with a blackly humorous nod to the pain and suffering endured by walkers, a tradition grew of reciting an ancient song known as the Lyke-Wake Dirge which tells of the soul's journey from earth to purgatory. The route was named after this dirge. Clare is joined by veterans and newcomers to the walk, who are known - depending on the number of crossings they've made - as Dirgers, Witches, Doctors of Dolefulness, Masters of Misery or, the most senior of all, Past Masters or Mistresses.Producer: Karen Gregor.

Clare Balding walks in the Pegsdon Hills, Bedfordshire, with a group of female birders who call themselves the 'Old Birds'. The group initially bonded over their mutual love of nature, but also have many members who have been widowed, so find the gatherings a source of support as well as a way of exploring the local countryside.Producer: Karen Gregor.

In the first of a new series of Ramblings, Clare Balding meets a group of parents who regularly share uplifting walks in Royal Greenwich Park. The walkers each have children with special needs and find that rambling in one of London's most beautiful parks is both joyful and supportive.Producer: Karen Gregor.

Clare Balding travels to Derbyshire this week to ramble with a group of families who gather once a month for a long walk and a pub lunch. Paul Cotton, along with his wife and children, meet with up to seventeen other families - neighbours, colleagues and friends - in any weather, all year round, to share their mutual love of the outdoors.Producer: Karen Gregor.

Clare Balding takes a lesson in Nordic Walking as she joins national coach, Catherine Hughes, in one of her classes in Bramcote Park in Nottingham. Some of those who regularly attend, are a group of mothers with their daughters, all of whom have learning difficulties. Nordic walking has proved to be an ideal activity for them all to enjoy. The poles give confidence to those who find walking difficult, the fresh air is beneficial to all and the chance for mothers and daughters to be able to exercise together has made the group very popular. Producer Lucy Lunt.

The theme of this series of Ramblings is 'bonding' and this week Clare walks with a group who bond, not just through walking, but through their shared passion for bell-ringing. Twice a year, Janet Betham and a fellow Janet organise what have become known as "Janets' Jaunts", where a number of bell-ringers gather together for a ramble between two churches. They ring bells at the start of the walk, stop for a pub-lunch mid-way, and ring again at their destination bell-tower. Join Clare Balding for one of her most unusual Ramblings to date.Producer: Karen Gregor.

Clare Balding walks with the writer Philip Marsden from his home near the banks of the River Fal out to the Cornish coastal path. Clare and Philip discuss why we react so strongly to certain places and why layers of stories and meaning build up around particular features in the landscape. Producer: Lucy Lunt.

In today's programme Clare Balding walks with a group of medics who have all suffered - as they put it - a 'cardiac event'. With good humour and no real restraint, they gather as often as possible to explore new and familiar routes for friendship and health. The group is made up of GPs, hospital doctors, surgeons and a psychiatrist, and their cardiac experiences range from living with angina to surviving a severe heart-attack. They joke about whose turn it is to carry the defibrillator, but the truth is, they don't let their medical conditions get in the way of a good ramble.Producer: Karen Gregor.

In this new series of Ramblings, Clare Balding explores the way walking can help us bond with other people, the countryside and our history. In this first programme she's invited to take part in the 20th annual walk up to the top of the Stiperstones in Shropshire with a group of men who came together to bond as fathers. Quentin Shaw started the tradition when his sons were at primary school as a way of encouraging the men to get to know each other. The group has grown from the original five fathers to about fifty men, from teenagers to some in their seventies: fathers, colleagues, friends, sons, friends of sons. The aim is now to keep the group as diverse as possible, introducing men who would not otherwise meet: men working in mental health, children's services, housing, health, education, ex-army, scouting, craftsmen, tradesman etc. Quentin explains to Clare that overall ethos has always been to celebrate fatherhood and friendship in a low key way, and to give men a reason for a day off when they are stress

Clare Balding enjoys the final leg of The Dales Way in the company of one of the men who designed it, Colin Spearman. Colin, joined by his wife Fleur, explains his intention of linking the industrial conurbations of West Yorkshire with the Lake District. As they walk from Staveley to Bowness, Clare reflects on her experience of the route and how much it has meant to her. Colin , Fleur and Clare celebrate the end of the journey with ice cream and a paddle in Lake Windermere. Producer Lucy Lunt.

Clare Balding is now really into her stride as she comes close to the end of her journey along The Dales Way, walking from Dent to Sedbergh. The route is one of the most popular in England and enjoyed by thousands every year, mainly thanks to the enthusiastic group of volunteers who run The Dales Way Association. Today she walks with two of their members, Chris Grogan and Kath Doyle who explain why this route means so much to them. Producer: Lucy Lunt.

Clare Balding reaches one of the most beautiful stretches of the Dales Way, setting out from Buckden to Beckermonds, in the company of the Chairman of the Long Distance Walking Association, John Sparshatt and his Californian born friend, Randal Metzger. Despite being very familiar with this part of the route, both men infect Clare with their passion for this landscape and their commitment to ensuring as many people as possible can enjoy walking the path.Producer: Lucy Lunt.

Clare Balding continues her journey along The Dales Way, hiking from Grassington to Kettlewell in the company of two experienced long distance walkers, Aileen Strangham and Brenda Dodd. Clare enjoys their company so much and their tales of taking part in every Great North Run, that they wander off track and have to use all their combined map reading skills to get themselves back onto the right route.

Clare Balding embarks on the second leg of her journey along The Dales Way, one of England's most loved long distance walking paths. This week she walks from Cavendish Pavilion to Burnsall Bridge in the company of Phil Richards, Access Ranger for the Yorkshire Dales National Park and photographer and blogger, Charles Hawes. Producer Karen Gregor.

Clare Balding embarks on her first leg of The Dales Way, in the company of Sarah Howcroft. Sarah, an enthusiastic walker and climber for many years, along with her husband founded one of the foremost outdoor clothing companies. The Dales Way is an 82 mile route, starting at Ilkey in Yorkshire. Sarah and Clare walk along the River Wharfe to Bolton Abbey.Producer Lucy Lunt.

Clare Balding has a sparkling day out joining The Diamond Ramblers for a circular walk from the South Devon village of Otterton. The group came together after meeting up at a local slimming club and deciding to accelerate their weight lose by starting walking. Having now been together for just over two years, the eleven have lost more than thirty-six stone between them and despite most of the members being over sixty they now walk for miles together, cementing their friendship and their resolve to remain fit and healthy. With Clare, they share some of their thoughts on dieting, being overweight and the tremendous value they've found in walking out together. Producer: Lucy Lunt.

Tristan Gooley is the self-styled 'Natural Navigator' who makes his living teaching people how to orient themselves by using clues and signs within the landscape.On today's Ramblings he takes Clare on one of his favourite walks, near Arundel in West Sussex. En route they take their bearings from the most fascinating and unlikely natural sources, and Clare hears where Tristan's passion for the outdoors began at the age of 10, on a sailing course on the Isle of Wight, and how that eventually led to his current career.Tristan is an adventurer and explorer who has led expeditions across five continents. He's the only living person to have both flown solo and sailed singlehanded across the Atlantic.

Clare Balding completes one of her very favourite walks in South Devon, Fingle Bridge to Castle Drogo. Today she's in the company of a U3A local walking group, Stride Out.

This series of Ramblings is themed 'waterways' and in the second of two programmes based on the banks of the River Wye, Clare Balding walks with Nadia Smith on the Doward, near Ross-on-Wye.Nadia has a grown-up son with cerebral palsy; when he was younger she needed to lift him a great deal, something she thinks contributed to osteoarthritis, which eventually led to two partial hip-replacements.She fought having these metal-hips for a long time, fearful that she would lose fitness and mobility. However, following the first operation, she followed a programme of gentle exercise and learned to adapt her walking posture. Nadia now feels as fit and active as before. Join Clare and Nadia as they walk along a stretch of the Wye close to Nadia's home.Producer: Karen Gregor.

Today on Ramblings, Clare Balding walks with a group of women who met while on a horse-trekking trip in Outer Mongolia. Firm friendships were formed on that adventure, and since then the group has met many times. For the past five years they've been walking Offa's Dyke bit-by-bit, and they've now reached the section that runs close to Hay on Wye, which is where Ramblings is based this week.The theme for this series of Ramblings is 'water ways'. This week and next, we explore two different sections of the River Wye.Producer: Karen Gregor.