Notes from Big Trails

The overnight camp at the Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon must be one of the best places in the world.  The shared stories from the day bring everyone together in a way that you don’t really experience in other areas of your life - getting lost in the cloud, the various degrees of ankle pain from contouring around hills and doing battle with tussocks, the happy realisation that there’s life be...

What happens when a race stops feeling like competition and starts feeling like exploration? In this episode, Rob talks to trail runner and author Scott Williams about taking on the Swiss Peaks 360 — a multi-day ultra across the Swiss Alps involving huge climbs, sleep deprivation, technical mountain terrain and six days on the move. But this conversation goes well beyond racing. Scott shares why h...

This week’s guest is Rick Clark. Rick joins me to talk about walking the Pembrokeshire Coast Path — a week-long journey covering around 186 miles of coastline from Amroth to St Dogmaels. Walking south to north, Rick covered big days carrying a full pack and wild camped for much of the route, balancing the practical challenges of water, recovery and finding camp spots with the simplicity that long-...

In this episode, Rob speaks with Bodil Oudshoorn and Ross Brannigan about their seven-day journey on Peru’s Alpamayo Circuit in the Cordillera Blanca. Carrying around 16kg each — including a full week of food — they crossed multiple high passes above 4,500 metres, wild camped throughout the route and spent days without seeing another hiker. The conversation explores the realities of trekking at al...

Elise Downing ran 87 miles of the Ridgeway in three days in 2020, between lockdowns, with her friend Sophie. Their two friends, Ange and Oscar, walked the same daily distances - the same format the four had tried on the West Highland Way two years earlier, when Ange and Oscar bailed after day two. We talk about why running suits the less-scenic sections, the feeling of walking an ancient road, a c...

Show notes Chris Townsend walked the Alpine section of the GR5 in autumn, as the mountain huts and village shops were closing for the season. He took about a month, slept under a tarp, and bought the food for his first week at a supermarket in Geneva train station before he started. We talk about the rhythm of a month-long walk, finding water in unfamiliar mountains, the surprise of the southern f...

Most people tackle the Cape Wrath Trail as a challenge of endurance — covering big miles through some of the wildest terrain in the UK. Stephen Passmore took a different approach. In spring 2023, Stephen spent 31 days walking north from Fort William to Cape Wrath. Along the way he wild camped, stayed in bothies, carried painting supplies in his pack, and created a watercolour painting almost every...

The Dales Way is often recommended as one of the best first long-distance walks in the UK — but that doesn’t mean it’s without challenge. In this episode of Notes From Big Trails, Rob speaks with Jessica Mather, who completed the trail in four days last summer — covering roughly 20 miles a day while camping along the route. Starting in Ilkley and finishing in Bowness-on-Windermere, Jess shares wha...

Wayne Russell set out to run 5,000 miles around the coast of Britain with little more than a tent, £1,000, and a huge idea. What followed was ten months of sleeping in church porches, bus shelters, caves, strangers’ gardens and fire stations as he circled the entire British coastline. He began the run to raise money after losing his sister to a rare heart condition—but as he explains in this conve...

Jess Day joins Notes From Big Trails to talk about walking the Te Araroa Trail — a 3,000km route stretching the full length of New Zealand. Walking solo over four and a half months, Jess shares what the experience actually felt like — from early nerves and self-doubt, through to trail family, unexpected kindness, and yes, the importance of chocolate. This isn’t just a story about distance. It’s ab...

The GR5 is one of Europe’s great long-distance trails — stretching nearly 1,500 miles from the North Sea to the Mediterranean. In this episode of Notes From Big Trails, Rob speaks with Ryel Kestano about walking the trail not in one go — but in stages, over several years, with his children. Starting when they were still young, Ryel introduced his kids to long-distance walking through shorter trips...

The South Hams Way is a newly launched 100-mile circular trail through South Devon — linking the South West Coast Path, Dartmoor, and a network of towns and countryside routes across the region. In this short episode of Notes From Big Trails, Rob speaks with Claire, who lives right on the trail and has been walking it in sections — often returning to familiar places and seeing them in a new way. B...

The Western Front Way is a 500-mile route tracing the line of the First World War — running from the Swiss border to the North Sea through France and Belgium. In this episode we talk to Briana Gervat, who has published a book about her experience on this trail - ⁠There Will Come Soft Rains⁠ . This conversation is about her solo journey along the entire route — a 36-day walk through one of the most...

The Rob Roy Way cuts across the heart of Scotland — a quieter long-distance trail linking Drymen to Pitlochry through forests, glens, old railway lines, and the edges of big Highland lochs. In this episode of Notes From Big Trails, Rob speaks with Pawel Cymbalista — or Pav — who set a fastest known time on the route, covering the entire trail in a single push. Moving fast through a landscape most...

The Anglesey Coast Path circles the entire Isle of Anglesey — a 130-mile trail that traces one of the most varied and quietly beautiful coastlines in Wales. In this episode of  Notes from Big Trails , Rob speaks with Nicola about her solo walk around the island — completed over two long weekends and mostly spent sleeping under the stars in a bivvy bag. Travelling light with a 4.3-kilogram base wei...

The Pembrokeshire Coast Path is one of Britain’s most dramatic long-distance walks, stretching along the wild Atlantic edge of West Wales. In this episode of Notes From Big Trails , Rob speaks with Sophie McCarthy about her fifteen-day solo walk along the entire route. Carrying everything she needed on her back and camping along the way, Sophie experienced the full rhythm of life on the trail — fr...

What does “solo adventure” really look like? In this episode, Rob speaks with Elise Downing and Kirsty Reade about hiking and running alone — not in remote wilderness for months on end, but in the more familiar, human space of big days out, multi-day trails, and personal challenges. Together they explore: What first pushed them to go alone The fears that show up before you set off (yes, including...

In this episode, Morgan shares his experience walking sections of the South West Coast Path — a 630-mile route tracing the coastline of south-west England. We cover: Why he chose the Coast Path during a difficult period in his life The accessibility of the route and how easy it is to join by train The Jurassic Coast and its dramatic geology Why the South West Coast Path can feel surprisingly remot...

In this episode of Notes from Big Trails , Rob speaks to Jon Barton, founder of Vertebrate Publishing, about walking — and running — the Pennine Way. They explore why the Pennine Way divides opinion, what the early sections across Kinder and Bleaklow are really like, and why places such as High Cup Nick, Upper Teesdale, Cross Fell and the Cheviots leave such a strong impression. Jon reflects on: G...

Martyn Howe talks to us about how he walked the coast of England - following what has become the King Charles III England Coast Path . Martyn shares: How the walk began with a single acorn waymarker in Cromer What it’s like to stitch together a coastal path that was still being completed Unexpectedly wild places like The Wash , where land and sea seem to dissolve Industrial coastlines in the North...

In this episode of  Notes from Big Trails , Rob is joined by Peak District local and author  Anna Paxton  for a walk-and-talk on the Eastern Moors. Anna’s book,  Peak Bagging Peak District , brings together 121 of the region’s most rewarding hills — including the Ethels — into 32 carefully designed routes for walkers, fastpackers, and trail runners. Rather than treating summits as boxes to tick, t...

Janie Oates joins  Notes from Big Trails  to talk about a self-designed running adventure across the Canary Islands. Starting with a race trip to Gran Canaria, Janie and three friends came up with the idea of running across multiple islands — Tenerife, La Palma and La Gomera — using ferries to link them together. Over the course of a week, they crossed volcanic landscapes, climbed ridgelines above...

Stephen and Richard Ross from Big Trail Adventures walked the Alta Via 1 in mid-September, one of Europe’s most celebrated high routes across the Dolomites. In this episode, we cover: What the Alta Via 1 actually is — and why it’s known as a “high route” How hard it really is, day to day Planning late versus booking far in advance What it’s like staying in Italian mountain refuges (food, showers,...

In this episode, Rob sits down with Jennifer Stevens ( Tiny Pine Outdoors ) to discuss her solo journey across the Cotswold Way in the summer of 2024. Stretching 102 miles from Chipping Campden to the Roman city of Bath , the trail offers a unique blend of "picture-postcard" scenery and deep, ancient history. Key Discussion Points: The Reality of the Terrain:  Why the "gentle rollin...

Hannah Campbell set out to run a long section of the Munich-to-Venice trail — known as Der Traumpfad, or The Dreamway — travelling solo from the Bavarian Alps, through Austria, and into the Italian Dolomites. Over 15 days, Hannah covered around 450km, averaging roughly 30km per day, staying almost exclusively in mountain huts and carrying everything she needed in a 20-litre pack. What she expected...