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Writers on Walks: A BBC Radio 3 Collection: 30 Reflections from Exploring on Foot
22 writers talk about their memorable excursions and the act of walking, and share their creative observations.
In these six series, taken from BBC Radio 3's The Essay, an array of novelists, poets, journalists and biographers chart the varied and inspiring walks they have taken around Britain and elsewhere. Here are treks taken at daybreak and after dark; in winter and in spring; in the footsteps of the past; and - in the case of Robert Macfarlane - along the ridges of the South Downs.
Dawnwalks and Night Walks find Nicholas Shakespeare, Nicola Barker, Kamila Shamsie, Ian Sansom, Lucy Hughes-Hallett, Owen Sheers, Janice Galloway and John Walsh taking early morning and late-night strolls around locations ranging from their back garden and local cemetery to Manhattan, Paris, Tasmania and the Antarctic.
Springwalks and Winterwalks feature Michele Roberts, Ross Raisin, John Walsh, Kirsty Gunn, Philip Hoare, Deborah Levy, Christopher Hope, Scarlett Thomas, Erica Wagner and Owen Sheers, as they sample the transforming qualities of spring and the wonders of winter. From Poland and the Languedoc to Hampstead Heath and the Yorkshire Wolds, they delight in the details of the landscape and reflect on what it means to them.
Strange Strolls sees Jenn Ashworth, Michael Donkor, Stephanie Victoire, Nat Segnit and Sophie Coulombeau embarking on walks of entertaining eccentricity, revisiting favourite places including Wandsworth Bridge, the Blue Ridge mountains of Appalachia and Ibiza.
And in A Five-Day Journey, Robert Macfarlane walks the length of the South Downs in monsoon rain and in sunshine, discovering its chalk trails and its ghosts. He ponders the relationship between paths and stories; explores the poet Edward Thomas' love affair with tracks; considers the concept of the Aboriginal Australian songline; re-imagines the life of artist Eric Ravilious; and contemplates the sometimes eerie relationship between walking, collecting and creation.
Intimate, evocative and immersive, these 30 uplifting programmes transport us to a wealth of wonderful places, and offer fascinating personal insight into the inner worlds of our walker-writers.
Production credits
Produced by Duncan Minshull, Ciaran Bermingham and Tim Dee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on the following
Dawnwalks
Nicholas Shakespeare 28 March 2016
Nicola Barker 29 March 2016
Kamila Shamsie 30 March 2016
Ian Sansom 31 March 2016
Lucy Hughes-Hallett 1 April 2016
Night Walks
Nicholas Shakespeare 27 October 2008
Owen Sheers 28 October 2008
Janice Galloway 29 October 2008
Kamila Shamsie 30 October 2008
John Walsh 31 October 2008
Springwalks
Michele Roberts in Poznan 31 March 2014
Ross Raisin in the Yorkshire Wolds 1 April 2014
John Walsh 2 April 2014
Kirsty Gunn in Sutherland 3 April 2014
Philip Hoare in Sholing 4 April 2014
Winterwalks
Deborah Levy on Hampstead Heath 18 February 2013
Christopher Hope in Languedoc 19 February 2013
Scarlett Thomas 20 February 2013
Erica Wagner 21 February 2013
Owen Sheers in Poland 22 February 2013
Strange Strolls
Jenn Ashworth - The Abiding Mental Riches of Preston 10 February 2020
Michael Donkor - On Westminster Bridge 11 February 2020
Stephanie Victoire - Dark Hollow Falls 12 February 2020
Nat Segnit - The Other Ibiza 13 February 2020
Sophie Coulombeau - Walking Matilda 14 February 2020
A Five-Day Journey
Marking 2 November 2009
Haunting 3 November 2009
Singing 4 November 2009
Flying 5 November 2009
Collecting 6 November 2009
In these six series, taken from BBC Radio 3's The Essay, an array of novelists, poets, journalists and biographers chart the varied and inspiring walks they have taken around Britain and elsewhere. Here are treks taken at daybreak and after dark; in winter and in spring; in the footsteps of the past; and - in the case of Robert Macfarlane - along the ridges of the South Downs.
Dawnwalks and Night Walks find Nicholas Shakespeare, Nicola Barker, Kamila Shamsie, Ian Sansom, Lucy Hughes-Hallett, Owen Sheers, Janice Galloway and John Walsh taking early morning and late-night strolls around locations ranging from their back garden and local cemetery to Manhattan, Paris, Tasmania and the Antarctic.
Springwalks and Winterwalks feature Michele Roberts, Ross Raisin, John Walsh, Kirsty Gunn, Philip Hoare, Deborah Levy, Christopher Hope, Scarlett Thomas, Erica Wagner and Owen Sheers, as they sample the transforming qualities of spring and the wonders of winter. From Poland and the Languedoc to Hampstead Heath and the Yorkshire Wolds, they delight in the details of the landscape and reflect on what it means to them.
Strange Strolls sees Jenn Ashworth, Michael Donkor, Stephanie Victoire, Nat Segnit and Sophie Coulombeau embarking on walks of entertaining eccentricity, revisiting favourite places including Wandsworth Bridge, the Blue Ridge mountains of Appalachia and Ibiza.
And in A Five-Day Journey, Robert Macfarlane walks the length of the South Downs in monsoon rain and in sunshine, discovering its chalk trails and its ghosts. He ponders the relationship between paths and stories; explores the poet Edward Thomas' love affair with tracks; considers the concept of the Aboriginal Australian songline; re-imagines the life of artist Eric Ravilious; and contemplates the sometimes eerie relationship between walking, collecting and creation.
Intimate, evocative and immersive, these 30 uplifting programmes transport us to a wealth of wonderful places, and offer fascinating personal insight into the inner worlds of our walker-writers.
Production credits
Produced by Duncan Minshull, Ciaran Bermingham and Tim Dee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on the following
Dawnwalks
Nicholas Shakespeare 28 March 2016
Nicola Barker 29 March 2016
Kamila Shamsie 30 March 2016
Ian Sansom 31 March 2016
Lucy Hughes-Hallett 1 April 2016
Night Walks
Nicholas Shakespeare 27 October 2008
Owen Sheers 28 October 2008
Janice Galloway 29 October 2008
Kamila Shamsie 30 October 2008
John Walsh 31 October 2008
Springwalks
Michele Roberts in Poznan 31 March 2014
Ross Raisin in the Yorkshire Wolds 1 April 2014
John Walsh 2 April 2014
Kirsty Gunn in Sutherland 3 April 2014
Philip Hoare in Sholing 4 April 2014
Winterwalks
Deborah Levy on Hampstead Heath 18 February 2013
Christopher Hope in Languedoc 19 February 2013
Scarlett Thomas 20 February 2013
Erica Wagner 21 February 2013
Owen Sheers in Poland 22 February 2013
Strange Strolls
Jenn Ashworth - The Abiding Mental Riches of Preston 10 February 2020
Michael Donkor - On Westminster Bridge 11 February 2020
Stephanie Victoire - Dark Hollow Falls 12 February 2020
Nat Segnit - The Other Ibiza 13 February 2020
Sophie Coulombeau - Walking Matilda 14 February 2020
A Five-Day Journey
Marking 2 November 2009
Haunting 3 November 2009
Singing 4 November 2009
Flying 5 November 2009
Collecting 6 November 2009
- GenresAudiobook
Audible Audio
Published March 23, 2023
2 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Robert Macfarlane
120 books4,675 followersRobert Macfarlane is a British nature writer and literary critic.
Educated at Nottingham High School, Pembroke College, Cambridge and Magdalen College, Oxford, he is currently a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and teaches in the Faculty of English at Cambridge.
Robert Macfarlane is the author of prize-winning and bestselling books about landscape, nature, people and place, including Mountains of the Mind: A History of a Fascination (2003), The Wild Places (2007), The Old Ways (2012), Holloway (2013, with Stanley Donwood and Dan Richards), Landmarks (2015), The Lost Words: A Spell Book (with the artist Jackie Morris, 2017) and Underland: A Deep Time Journey (2019). His work has been translated into many languages, won prizes around the world, and his books have been widely adapted for film, television, stage and radio. He has collaborated with artists, film-makers, actors, photographers and musicians, including Hauschka, Willem Dafoe, Karine Polwart and Stanley Donwood. In 2017 he was awarded the EM Forster Prize for Literature by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Educated at Nottingham High School, Pembroke College, Cambridge and Magdalen College, Oxford, he is currently a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and teaches in the Faculty of English at Cambridge.
Robert Macfarlane is the author of prize-winning and bestselling books about landscape, nature, people and place, including Mountains of the Mind: A History of a Fascination (2003), The Wild Places (2007), The Old Ways (2012), Holloway (2013, with Stanley Donwood and Dan Richards), Landmarks (2015), The Lost Words: A Spell Book (with the artist Jackie Morris, 2017) and Underland: A Deep Time Journey (2019). His work has been translated into many languages, won prizes around the world, and his books have been widely adapted for film, television, stage and radio. He has collaborated with artists, film-makers, actors, photographers and musicians, including Hauschka, Willem Dafoe, Karine Polwart and Stanley Donwood. In 2017 he was awarded the EM Forster Prize for Literature by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 12, 2025
A wonderfully delightful book that suited me as a walker who enjoys the natural world. It reminded me of Waterlog.
Displaying 1 of 1 review