Living Adventurously

Dan Raven-Ellison is an explorer of ideas, landscapes, and what’s possible. As the founder of Slow Ways , he’s building a grassroots national walking network to connect every town and city in Britain. Before that, he spearheaded the campaign to make London the world’s first National Park City , challenging how we perceive urban nature. A self-described guerrilla geographer , Dan blends creativity,...

In this rich, wide-ranging conversation, Alastair Humphreys chats with Craig Mod about the overlapping worlds of adventure, creativity, and publishing. The two explore their different but kindred approaches to long walks — Craig’s meticulous, high-tech planning versus Alastair’s spontaneous, minimalist style — and how these journeys feed into their creative work. Craig shares the thinking behind h...

Sadly this is the Final Episode of the Podcast (until I find a new sponsor)!   Jack Thurston is a cyclist, a food lover, a photographer, a guide-book writer and an early podcast pioneer. He is the host of The Bike Show podcast and author of the Lost Lanes   cycling guidebooks. We talked about adventures close to home and what the world of 'Adventure' looks like in the 21st Century. THIS EPISODE IS...

Rhiane Fatinikun was a self-confessed fan of Netflix and raving when she spotted hikers getting off a train in the Peak District and, on the spur of the moment, decided to take up hiking! She set up the Black Girls Hike Instagram page and began leading groups of black women on hikes. Rhiane's mission now is to make the outdoors a safe and welcoming environment for people like her, breaking down ba...

Karen Darke is an adventurer and Paralympian handcyclist. It is lucky that Karen has what she describes as “an adventurous gene”, as life in a wheelchair is full of the unexpected. Karen was a keen runner and climber (she had climbed Mt Blanc and the Matterhorn), but fell off a cliff and became paralysed from the chest down at age 21. Whilst initially she thought “I’d rather be dead than paralysed...

David Elliott is Chief Executive at Trees for Cities, having previously cleared landmines around the world. Trees for Cities is the only UK charity working at a national and international scale to improve lives by planting trees in cities. David has overall leadership responsibility for the organisation. He has worked in the non-profit sector for a number of international organisations, prior to w...

Sabrina Pace-Humphreys is an ultra-runner, a businesswoman, a mother of four and a grandmother of two. She is very clear which is the toughest of these challenges...! We talked about becoming a teenage mother, taking up running to lose weight, training for the Marathon des Sables, enduring rural racism, and the launch of Black Trail Runners whose mission is to increase the inclusion, participation...

David Hanney is the Co-founder and CEO at Alpkit, an outdoor and bike brand for enthusiasts and adventurers. We chatted about buying and selling stuff, what makes a good adventure film, the community of working in an outdoor brand, taking the elitism out of adventure, the need for a new approach to adventure, sustainability, and Blue Peter annuals. THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY WildBounds , wh...

Paul Sinton-Hewitt is the founder of Parkrun, the worldwide phenomenon that sees thousands rock up to local parks around the world every Saturday morning to run a timed 5k. Parkrun is a positive, welcoming and inclusive experience where there is no time limit and no one finishes last. Everyone is welcome to come along, whether you walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate. THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO Y...

David Lindo, also known as The Urban Birder, is a broadcaster, writer, naturalist, photographer, public speaker, tour leader and passionate birder. Born and raised in London, David loves anything to do with nature, but for as long as he can remember birds have been his particular obsession. David says, "You don’t have to wear green anoraks; you can look cool and fashionable, I find the birds prefe...

ReRun is a Community Interest Company aimed at prolonging the life of running clothes and equipment. Founded and run by Dan Lawson, Team GB 24hr Ultra runner and his wife Charlotte. They say, "the biggest thing we can do is to ask "do I really need this?" before buying something. It is good for the planet, but also saves you money so you can work less, and therefore spend more time with your famil...

Kieran Harkin is a conservationist and educator with 12 years’ experience working for non-profit organisations and over 500 days experience in leading groups of young people in wilderness area. Kieran was on his way to begin a law degree in Manchester when he decided instead to follow his heart and pursue a career protecting the environment. Twelve years on from earning an Msc in Environmental Man...

Brian Cookson is the former president of British Cycling, helping to oversee the miraculous transformation of the sport to become Team GB's most successful Olympic sport. He was also the president of UCI (Union Cycliste International), tackling the doping problems which have plagued the sport. Brian is a keen amateur cyclist himself. He also loves trees and posts a daily Tree of the Day photograph...

Zahrah Mahmood lives in Scotland and loves the mountains. She says, "you can find me in the hills with some sort of head covering." For Zahrah is known on Instagram as 'the Hillwalking Hijabi', sharing her cheerful, joyful experiences with a fast-growing audience. Zahrah is at the forefront of a new urgency to make the outdoors more welcoming, more diverse, more representative. I really enjoyed ch...

Kate Rawles studied philosophy at Aberdeen University, and environmental philosophy at Glasgow and Colorado State Universities. She was an indoor philosophy lecturer at Lancaster University for nearly a decade before leaving to work freelance in 2000. From 2004-2014 she worked half-time as a lecturer in Outdoor Studies at the University of Cumbria – teaching ‘big picture’ environmental issues, sus...

Daisy Narayanan is the director of Urbanism at Sustrans and is working on the central Edinburgh transformation project. Daisy is an architect, an urban designer, a cyclist, and a fan of books, food and music. THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY OffGrid , a design agency that wants to work with people who aren’t scared to look at things differently, that want to make a difference and are willing to g...

Mark Davey is the Chief Executive of the Youth Adventure Trust , a charity that uses outdoor adventure to empower young people to fulfil their potential and lead positive lives in the future. They work with them to build resilience, develop confidence and learn skills that will last a lifetime, helping them to face the challenges in their lives.  THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY The Rivers Trust...

Dan Raven-Ellison is a Guerrilla Geographer & Creative Explorer. He led the campaign to make London the world’s first National Park City and is working on a new project called “Slow Ways” to collaboratively create a network of 4,000+ walking routes that connect all of Great Britain’s towns and cities. Walking can improve health and wellbeing, tackle the climate and ecological emergencies, save...

Anna Hughes is an author, environmental campaigner and cyclist. She has worked in behaviour change and sustainability for over a decade, and is currently Director of Flight Free UK, a campaign set up to encourage people to fly less. After a brief career as a teacher, Anna began working on behaviour change projects for sustainable transport charity Sustrans in 2009. She has since worked as a bicycl...

Steve Denby is the founder of Primal Roots, a social enterprise that believes in the restorative power of fitness and nature as a tool to achieve more than just improvements in health and wellbeing. We talk about training in the woods, the joy of burpees, the benefits of nature and fitness for people struggling in life, as well as cocaine addiction, adoption, racism and meditation. THIS EPISODE IS...

Jack Cornish is a walker, an artist, and a Londoner. He works for the Ramblers charity, working to protect and expand the places people love to walk and promote walking for health and pleasure. Jack has walked the length of Britain and is slowly walking every single street in London. In his spare time Jack works on his art and mixes gin cocktails. THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY Outdoor Rocks ,...

Rosie Riley is the founder of Adventure Uncovered and a dedicated North Sea surfer who settles for cycling, running and outdoor swimming when in London. She is an advocate and promoter of sustainability and clean technology, and working towards a PhD in the sector. THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY The Rebel Book Club , not your average book club. (If your company or organisation is interested in...

Danny Bent was voted one of the 100 happiest people in the UK, and one of the 50 most inspirational people in London. He is an award winning author and journalist, Guinness World Record holder, and celebrated adventurer and community leader. Danny helps people who feel chained by life to break free, come together and realise they are capable of the incredible. Creating happier lives, more powerful...

At the end of my ride around Yorkshire I decided to interview myself. Having spent a month grilling people with a card deck of difficult questions , it only seemed fair to have a go at answering them myself! This is the final episode in this series of Living Adventurously. I hope that you have enjoyed it. PLEASE DO LEAVE A REVIEW OF THIS PODCAST ON YOUR PODCAST APP. If you have enjoyed listening t...

A chat with my Dad! PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE LIVING ADVENTUROUSLY PODCAST (It’s completely free, zero hassle to do ( click here ), but really helpful for me trying to get a new podcast off the ground. If you’re feeling extra kind, please leave a review on the app – that really helps.) Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Stitcher , TuneIn (“Alexa, please play the Living Adventurously podcast”) or o...