About The Adventure

Sarah interviews Julia Hartley about creating Guided Outdoor Adventures and her “confidence gap” idea: helping people feel safe and supported while getting outdoors with caring professional mountain leaders who keep groups together and make walks more accessible. Julia traces her motivation to moving to a new area and to childhood experiences on PGL trips where instructors provided security after...

In this raw and deeply personal conversation, Sarah Lister talks with ultra-runner and endurance coach Allie Bailey about the intersection of life, career, and running, shaped by the format of her new book. Allie shares her journey from a high-pressure career in the music industry to hitting rock bottom through alcoholism, and eventually rebuilding a life centered on her core values. This episode...

In this episode of the About The Adventure podcast, we hear the inspiring story of Claire Hunter, a former HR professional who has embarked on a transformative journey of career change. Claire shares her childhood dream of walking the Pennine Way, and how redundancy and life events led her to take time out for self-reflection and personal growth. She discusses the significance of her 'chrysalis ye...

Martin Swithenbank, an Outdoor Instructor and climber based in the Yorkshire Pennines, shares his journey from working in art studios and formal education to becoming an outdoor educator. Initially hesitant to apply for the job at an outdoor centre, Martin has found a new calling working with 10 and 11-year-olds, using outdoor activities to engage and inspire them. During the COVID pandemic, a sti...

What’s it like moving to a new country and setting up a creative business? Irina Kudres shares her story about moving to Bergamo in Italy with her partner and changing her career path. Previously working in digital marketing and PR, she is now doing portrait, documentary and brand photography. Irina’s home country is Russia and she has also lived in Malaysia and Germany. She talks about both the p...

From Classroom to Mountaintops: Emily's Journey of Grief and Career Transformation [Note: This interview includes sensitive topics about grief, mental health, and suicide. Please consider carefully if it’s a suitable time for you to listen to this content.] Emily Taylor, also known as Trigs and Teeth, shares her inspiring journey from being a teacher to becoming a prominent outdoor influencer and...

This episode delves into the transformative career change journey of Ceri Jones, a former orchestral manager who shifted her path to become a food educator and cookbook author.  Following the loss of her parents and a realisation of unfulfillment in her job, she found solace and passion in writing a recipe blog that led her to pursue culinary arts. The story covers her pivotal decisions that...

Jenna’s interview captures a personal journey, documenting her career path from an academic beginning in literature and journalism to a fulfilling career as a counsellor.  After working in veterinary publishing for nine years, she knew she wanted to do something that felt more meaningful with her career. She wanted to help people and not be stuck behind a desk, so she joined the police. Later...

The key message in this episode with Julia Hames is about figuring out what it is you want and then taking the baby steps to get there, because sometimes the path in the middle isn’t always clear. Julia tells us about her move from living in a big town to rural life in South Wales, and about her career change from working 12-hour shifts to running a B&B alongside her Smallholding and developin...

This episode is about choosing to live happily by dreaming your way there and making new decisions to steer the direction.  Author Paul Besley talks about some of the challenges he has faced throughout his life, including alcoholism, bullying, a severe mountain accident, working in a high-pressure job as a salesman, and living with asbestosis disease. He shares what he has learned along the w...

Can tarot help with making changes in your life? Jessica says tarot is for anyone who is interested in their personal development, open to something a bit different and just wants to learn more about themselves. This interview is about a meandering career that has led Jessica towards becoming a tarot reader. Her work includes 1:1 readings in person in Sheffield & online, as well as at markets,...

Are you prepared to sacrifice your life for your job? Ranaa Farooq says that she’s not willing to, despite her fear of judgement the guilt she has felt about leaving the NHS and medicine in general.  Ranaa Farooq is an abstract painter and life coach living in Sheffield, who describes the process of painting itself as therapy. In this interview she talks about her artistic journey and realisa...

Can slowing down enable us to get to where we ultimately want to go more efficiently? ‘Slow Coach’ Andy Mort shares his unique approach to coaching and creating community in this enlightening interview. He tells us that he became a coach accidentally after people had directly approached him about it, prompting him to take up training and blend this with his work as a sound artist.  Before tak...

Does it take a lot of courage to change your career path? Peter Morton thinks it does, and it was his own boss who gave him the nudge to do so! In 2006 he left his job in IT to pursue a career in outdoor education as a freelance instructor. This led on to the creation of RedOakBushcrafts, a family run business in the Peak District. RedOakBushcrafts offers bushcraft, wilderness and survival skills...

** Please note that during this episode Jess talks about chronic health issues and grief. ** How important is support throughout a career change? This is the thread that runs through this interview with Jessica Snape-Burns, who shares her 10-year journey with Amerron Acres - a Community Interest Company (CIC) in Edale that provides a tranquil, safe and nurturing environment for therapeutic healing...

In what ways can making videos feel meaningful? This is what Stephen explains at the beginning of his interview while sharing the reasons why he started a YouTube channel. In addition to making YouTube videos, Stephen also uses creative filmmaking to grow brands. He specialises in outdoors/tourism and also covers promos, events, online advertising for a range of industries. His business, Grafters...

What if there’s life outside of a classroom? This is one of the things that Louise Earnshaw kept considering before she made the decision to leave her job as a teacher after 20 years. Dismayed by the pressure and toxic environment, she left teaching in April 2023 to be a freelance outdoor instructor and artist. She says she feels so much happier managing her own time and pursuing the things she lo...

What makes you feel energised and alive? Jen Scotney says that she is still finding her way since she stopped working as a human rights lawyer. She feels like she is forging a unique path which is scary, but she has faith that if she does what she enjoys she can’t go wrong.   Themes during Jen’s interview include running, burnout, chronic fatigue, bereavement, the shame of not being able...

Why is it important for humans to reconnect with nature? Anna Danby says it is essential if we ever want to move towards a more sustainable way of being on planet earth and when thinking about our impact on this place that we call home.  This ethos has shaped her career from doing a Post Grad course at the University of Edinburgh in ‘Outdoor Environmental and Sustainability Education’, to tak...

What have you got to lose? Sarah Manning-Ball asked herself this question before setting up Glorious Grazes and Posh Picnics . In this episode, she tells us her career change story from working in the corporate world to following her dream of opening her own food business. At the end of the interview, Sarah asks a question for you to explore if you are thinking about a career change. Themes d...

How can the power of observation shift your perspective? In this episode, Ali Foxon shares how sketching outdoors transformed her life, career, and her mental health. She talks about the incredible benefits of sketching nature and making it more accessible, where the idea for green sketching began, what it’s been like to leave previous jobs behind, her experience of becoming an author, and how she...

What happens in the space between starting to think about a career change and actually making it happen? In this episode, Andy Darnton shares his story about leaving a career as a commercial lawyer.  He talks about the need for change, his concerns about what other people might think, how he started to explore alternative options, why Legal Tech appeals to him, and his experience of getting b...

In this episode, Sarah interviews Stella Bolam, who has switched from a long-term career in communications and writing to join the wonderful world of tree care and science, working in Community Forestry. Stella shares why she began reflecting on what to do with the rest of her career, how she found the courage to explore a new path, and what life has been like since she started taking the first st...

In this episode, Sarah interviews her friend Jon Hyde about his leather goods business based in Sheffield. Prior to this he was a photographer and ran a queer film programme at a cinema in Brighton. Jon shares why he started making leather goods, how earlier aspects of his life and career have played a part in running his business, and what it's been like moving up north. He also talks about his l...

In this episode, Sarah interviews Karen Weir, who changed career from working as a management consultant in London to becoming a running and triathlon coach and personal trainer. Karen shares how running has made a difference to her life, why her approach to work hasn’t changed since she left her job in London, what learning curves she has noted along the way, and about her involvement with parkru...