Outdoor Lives by Mike Raine

Just some thoughts, observations and comments from a Penyghent walk. Just me, wandering and chatty.

Listen in and find out why this may be the last one.

Martin Chester has built a reputation as one of the mostrespected figures in the outdoor world. A former Chief Instructor at the National Outdoor Centre, Plas y Brenin, before going on to help shape Mountain Training’s coaching programme. Along the way, he’s worked in television, becomea sought-after conference speaker and consultant. He continues to work in the role of Guide and Coach. Despite th...

Ioan is a Bethesda local. He’s a first language Welsh sheepfarmer, contractor, climber (up to E8) and Himalayan mountaineer. He’s an incredibly energetic worker, climber and family man. He coaches rugby, flies a paraglider, he’s a dry stone waller, fencer and shepherd; he climbs hard and plays hard…

Mark Reid is an experienced Mountain Leader, outdoorwriter, and lifelong lover of the outdoors. His company is called TeamWalking, they provide team events, navigation courses and guided walking. With nearly 30 years of professional experience, Mark hasguided over 21,000 people on walks of all ages and abilities, walked more than 32,000 miles of footpaths, and written 17 walking guidebooks. Mark a...

Colin has authored or co-authored over 60 outdoor books. These include The Dales Way (now in its 11th edition), and walking guides to areas both in the UK and in mainland Europe, as well as poetry, topography, biography, transport history, and two literary anthologies. He worked as a teacher, lecturer, tourism officer and he ran the UK’s first green travelagency. Colin is a founder member of the G...

After a career in education, IT and academic publishing,Jacquetta became interested in long-distance walking and trekking. After completing her first long walk, the West Highland Way, in 1998, she progressed to Mount Kilimanjaro, which she summited four times by four different routes(1999, 2000, 2004 and 2008). She is a member of the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild and in 2016 won its Awar...

Eileen Jones is a writer and journalist based in the LakeDistrict. She is a contributor to Cumbria magazine and an enthusiastic parkrunner. She is the author of Loughrigg and two books on parkrunning and is currently working on a book about Rydal Mount, the home of William and Dorothy Wordsworth. Eileen has visited the summit cairn of Loughrigg more than 500 times. We chat about Loughrigg, what it...

Jenny has been working with me on the scrambling workshops for a while now and she is taking those over from 2026. She is a fully qualified mountaineering instructor who works in Eryri and on Skye, she also spends a lot of time in the Alps. Jenny is also an active member of the OgwenValley Mountain Rescue Team, a Remote Rescue Medical Technician and a WEMSI Wilderness Medical Technician qualificat...

Emily Coates is a North Wales based Mountain Leader both summer and winter. She also has a Geography degree from Oxford, a Master’s in Sustainability from ImperialCollege, and six years’ experience as a secondary geography teacher. Emily now works as a freelance leader in North Wales and beyond. She runs her own company, Visit Wild Wales, founded on strong ethical principles, and also works with L...

Ron spent over ten years working for North Yorkshire footpath team. He was recruited for his skills as a historian. We have a great chat about Public Rights of Way, the definitive map and how it all works. Ron is also a former police officer, support member of Swaledale Mountain Rescue team and a volunteer for Mountain Rescue Search Dogs England.

Emma Shipley is an experienced outdoor leader and thefounder of Yorkie Talkies Outdoors. Holding Mountain Leader, Lowland Leader and Paddle Sport Leader qualifications, Emma is passionate about leading people in the outdoors and helping them build confidence, achieve personal goals, andexperience the life-changing benefits of adventure. Her business offers a wide range of accessible outdoor activi...

Monty is a former geography teacher and mountaineeringinstructor. He taught at several well-known schools, including Gordonstoun. He was a student on Tim Jepson’s first Outdoor Education PGCE course at Bangor University, when the course was still run by Barbara Roscoe. Monty has volunteered for the Association of MountaineeringInstructors and Mountaineering Scotland. After finishing his work as a...

Mark Reeves is an old friend of mine - a climber, climbingcoach, and author whose passion and enthusiasm always shine through. In this episode, we talk about his time working in Antarctica for the British Antarctic Survey. Mark took the job during a personally difficult period, and while not everyone would choose Antarctica for a more social lifestyle, that’s xactly what he did - and it worked. He...

Simon will, in 2026, become the Restore Nature Manager forthe same area. The National Trust owns large swathes of Eryri, as well as many of the other places where we walk and climb, so it’s always interesting and informative to speak with the people who work for them. Simon is incredibly enthusiastic and passionate about thework he does, and he’s a great communicator - which makes this a really go...

Eben Muse – a Welsh writer and campaigner, he works asCampaigns and Policy Officer for the British Mountaineering Council in Wales. His job is to represent the political interests of hillwalkers, climbers, mountaineers (and ski mountaineers) in Wales. He’s also an ambassador for the Campaign for National Parks, and a member of the Ramblers’ Cymru steering group. Climbing and mountains have shaped...

Tim Cain MBE is a veteran Mountain Rescue Search DogHandler and former British Army infantry officer. After a 29-year military career, Tim dedicated himself to mountain rescue, serving with Swaledale MRT for over two decades. A qualified Mountain Rescue Search Dog Handler since 2014,Tim works with Mountain Rescue Search Dogs England alongside his team of border collies - one retired, one active, a...

Dan Raven-Ellison describes himself as a guerrilla geographer and creative explorer. He is the Founder and CEO of Slow Ways, a groundbreaking initiative to create a national walking network that connects all of Britain’s towns, cities, and National Parks. Check out Slow Ways and see how you can contribute: https://beta.slowways.org/ . The movement needs support in reviewing mountain routes. Could...

Tim Jepson is best known for working the Bangor University Outdoor Education PGCE. In that role he trained over 600 teachers of Outdoor Education and as such he holds a special affection in the outdoor world. He also worked at Plas y Brenin and more recently has been very involved with the BMC. We talk about how Tim got into the outdoors, the career he’s had and what he’s up to now. We finish with...

Mehemet Karatay is a Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor, Winter Mountain Leader and Orienteering coach based in the Cairngorms. He is part of the Mountain Weather Information Service (MWIS) team and has a doctorate in Glaciology. Mehmet reveals the origins of his name, how he came to be a walker, climber and instructor in Scotland. We also talk about glaciology and forecasting for MWIS.

What do you really know about upland farming? Given the farming protests going on currently I think it's really important to talk to real farmers about the issues affecting them. Listen to this podcast with Celyn from 2021 then come and meet her in person on the farm in June to find out more... ⁠https://www.mikeraine.co.uk/event-details/up-on-the-farm⁠

Dr Flitcroft is responsible for managing the BMC's relationship with the Government and other countryside and recreational organisations. She is often to be found lobbying hard for the rights of hill walkers, climbers and mountaineers. She leads the BMC on policy and legislation issues affecting the cliff and mountain environment and is responsible for replying to numerous consultation documents i...

Esther does a lot of rock climbing work from beginners to coaching for progression. She works on Mountain training Courses, she is Director of the Women’s Climbing Symposium and, with a Post Graduate Qualification in Environmental Education, she works with the Field Studies Council too.  We talk about but her pathway to success, the Women’s Climbing Symposium and some good advice for others progre...

A big chat about land management, particularly in the uplands. And what changes to the way we support farmers could mean for the hills.

Lou runs Freedoms Outdoors based her in Eryri National Park. She, with her partner john, also run an accommodation base called Capel Tanrallt. In the podcast we find out how Lou got into the outdoors and the incredible range of pursuits in which she has, and does, take part. Lou has become known as one of the largest providers of ML training and assessment, running courses monthly through most of...