Action Packed Travel

With its glorious terraced houses, tree-lined promenades and grand public buildings, Cheltenham in Gloucestershire is said to be the most complete Regency town in Britain. Of course, it's best known these days for horse racing.  Music: © Barney & Izzi Hardy  Support the show

We first visited in summer and are now looking forward to better weather to come when we can explore the gardens of The Newt once again – all 17 acres of them. Music: © Barney & Izzi Hardy  Support the show

Jacob Perkins' idea of fun is to travel down a mountainside in a straight line, reaching  impossible speeds of up to 150mph without any form of motor.  Music: © Barney & Izzi Hardy  Support the show

For the past 40 years, Richard Kay has been the expert on the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and has travelled the world to report on the comings and goings of the Royal Family. Music: © Barney & Izzi Hardy  Support the show

The village of Lacock was once a quaint medieval community with cobbled streets,  cottages and coaching inns set around a tumbling stream. It all looks rather familiar because we've seen it in the cinema, movie theatre and TV screens – scenes from Pride and Prejudice, Downton Abbey and Harry Potter were all shot in Lacock.  Music © Barney & Izzi Hardy  Support the show

High in the central Pyrenees, a one-hour drive from Toulouse Airport, we're in search of big and beautiful brown bears.  Music © Barney & Izzi Hardy  Support the show

Explore a world of polar bears and icebergs, or cross the Atlantic to forgotten corners of the Caribbean. You need the right spirit, but absolutely no previous seafaring experience is necessary.  Support the show

Cows that milk themselves, oysters up a mountain, and a sommelier who plays Mozart to his wines...find out more when we take an intimate look at one of Austria's largest, most diverse and exciting ski areas.   Music © Barney & Izzi Hardy  Support the show

We loved last year's episode featuring Geraldine Fasnacht so much that we've decided to air it again.  Geraldine's idea of a little light, adrenaline-fuelled recreation is to climb one of Europe's highest peaks and then dive off it in a wing suit at speeds of up to 180 kilometers per hour.  Music © Barney & Izzi Hardy  Support the show

Sadly, Marston Park closed down in 2024. Support the show

Legendary explorer, John Blashford-Snell is never happier than when he finds himself astride an elephant in India or paddling a dugout canoe in the South American rainforest, or shooting rapids in the crocodile-infested waters of the Nile. Music @ Barney and Izzi Hardy Support the show

Most people don't truly appreciate the glory of the Alps that's revealed when the snow melts, the cows leave their winter quarters and chew the cud in meadows and high pastures sprinkled with flowers. They also fight each other! Music: © Barney & Izzi Hardy  Support the show

Another watery sport for this hot weather is powerboat racing, which is said to be the fastest growing marine motor sport.  Music: © Barney & Izzi Hardy  Support the show

Here in the UK with its current heatwave, our thoughts turn to water. What bliss it would be to go swimming in crystal clear waters – all you really need is a pair of Speedos, goggles, a hat and the ability to swim a few kilometres in the warm waters of the Mediterranean or the Caribbean.  Music @ Barney and Izzi Hardy Support the show

In Hampshire and Dorset in the south of England, we explored the country's most visited national park. It's a wild and beautiful place where the locals, ponies, cattle and even pigs roam free under obscure common laws that date back to feudal times. We met up with Anthony Climpson, boss of the tourist enterprise, Go New Forest. Music © Barney & Izzi Hardy  Support the show

Last year we visited Blenheim Palace and were struck by its splendour. It is set in thousands of acres of rolling parkland outside the village of Woodstock in Oxfordshire. It's bigger than Buckingham Palace, but it's also privately owned by the family that built it over 300 years ago. It's been the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough since 1704  and was the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. Music...

When you visit, you need to be prepared for pelotons of bicycles, mostly not of the sporty type that you see in the Tour de France, but the ancient sit-up- and-beg variety with a basket for books on the front, and in the saddle an undergraduate in a hurry, or a don in a flowing black cloak. You'll meet them – and hopefully miss them – around every corner.  Music: © Barney & Izzi Hardy  Support the...

What did Jane Austen and the Roman emperor, Claudius, have in common? The answer is: a love of bathwater.  Here's a repeat of one of our popular episodes.  Music: ©Barney & Izzi Hardy  Support the show

We revisit one of our popular episodes, which is all about the world's number one neolithic site.   Music © Barney & Izzi Hardy Support the show

Have you ever thought about what lies beneath your feet, under the pavement, under the road? This week, we're going underground to explore a network of mysterious tunnels hidden beneath the ancient Somerset town of Frome. It is 20 minutes south of Bath, and it has a long history dating back to Anglo Saxon times. Music: © Barney & Izzi Hardy  Support the show

Contemporary classical cellist, Eva Boecker, is one of 19 soloists from 9 countries who plays with Ensemble Modern. Every year the group performs about 100 concerts in Europe and worldwide. Support the show

This week we're at Bletchley Park, the country mansion 35 minutes by train northwest of London, where Alan Turing and his team of cryptanalysts cracked the complicated codes of the German Enigma machine.  Music © Barney & Izzi Hardy  Support the show

Inspector Morse is the most famous TV show that was filmed in Oxford, and Colin Dexter, who used to sit in the hotel's Morse Bar penning his latest novel,  would often write the Randolph into his stories.  Freddie Mercury did  a concert here, Lewis Carroll, Oscar Wilde and J.R.R. Tolkien  visited. Music © Barney & Izzi Hardy    Support the show

This week, we're on the road exploring the one sector of the travel industry that has absolutely thrived throughout the pandemic and now continues to explode in popularity across Europe.  Music © Barney and Izzi Hardy  Support the show

Thermae Bath Spa in the Roman city of Bath is in a building that looks not only to the past, but also to the future.  Music © Barney and Izzi Hardy  Support the show