Normally I write about outdoor adventures and hiking, however with the current world health epidemic I decided to share some other ideas with you. Here’s a collection of documentaries, books, podcasts, and other people to follow, to give you a dose of adventure without having to necessarily leave your area.

This blog post is going to be in four sections:

The books and Blogs List
Podcasts / Audio Delights
The Documentary List
Fun to Follow

The Books & Blogs List

Carl and I are definite book worms. Books can be such deep escapes from the world around you, and last hours or days.

Some walking or outdoors-ish books:

The Frayed Atlantic Edge - David Gange
Wanderlust - Rebecca Solnit
The Way That We Climbed - Paddy O'Leary
Flaneuse: Women Who Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London - Lauren Elkin
Steep Trails - John Muir
The Salt Path - Raynor Winn
The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R Tolkien (I read the three books while we were walking and it added so much atmosphere and magic to wherever we were)
Landskipping - Anna Pavord
On Trails - Robert Moor
Waymaking: An anthology of women’s adventure writing, poetry and art - Edited by Helen Mort, Claire Carter, Heather Dawe and Camilla Barnard

This list of books doesn’t contain links to places to buy the books as we’d really recommend ringing up your local bookshop and see if they’re doing post/online orders. It’s the small businesses right now that really need our support, over places like Amazon (or their subsidiaries such as The Book Depository) .

Some local or small bookshops that we’ve bought books from are:

The Gutter Bookshop (Dublin)
Vertebrate Publishing (UK)
Alan Hanna’s Bookshop (Dublin)
Cork University Press (Cork)
Chapters Bookshop (Dublin)
The Library Project (Dublin photography books, who have their own Desert Island Booklist).

Inspiring Blogs

1. Hikelines

The tagline of Hikelines is simple - “I hike, I sketch. Follow my journey!”. And Peter Clarke does exactly that, sketching and painting the beautiful places he passes through, sharing his thoughts and experiences of different trails. One of our favourites.

2. Holy Wells of Cork and Kerry

“There are approximately 357 holy wells in County Cork at the last count (Archaeological Inventory of Cork). A few are still the site of pilgrimage, others receive occasional visitors and some are neglected, forgotten or have even disappeared. Some are tiny indents in natural stones, others have imposing wellhouses and some are fern-strewn basins hidden in the undergrowth. All have their stories to tell and individually and collectively provide a fascinating glimpse into a way of life and set of beliefs that are steadily disappearing. Once every community would have had at least one well which was revered and visited for its healing qualities.

I set out on St Bridget’s Day 2016 to discover the state of the county’s holy wells and to record what I found…”

Amanda’s blog is fascinating as she searches for these small slices of history and legend. And we can sure admire the dedication of long lists!

3. Intrepid Magazine

“In 2016, Emily Woodhouse started blogging about her own adventures and offering guest posts to other women in adventure and outdoor sport. The more guest posts she featured and the more she got involved with the community, something became very clear. There are LOADS of women and girls who are already involved in adventure, in sport, getting outdoors and doing amazing things there. They were jumping up for a platform to share on.

So she did something crazy. She started a magazine, in print, with no experience of ever doing something like that before.”

Intrepid’s print magazine has been amazing - but they also have an awesome blog! The article I’ve linked above is about some of the “Weirdest and Wildest Camping Spots in the UK”.

Podcasts / Audio Delights

1. The Outdoors Station

Bob Cartwright founded The Outdoors Station in 2005, and has since then become the world’s longest running independent producer of broadcast quality podcasts for the adventurer, long distance hiker, backpacker, camper - in fact anyone seeking an independent like in the outdoors as a self-powered traveller!

In this recent episode he talks to Jenny Tough, an incredible adventurer who cycled across the Thorong La Pass (an elevation of 5,416m), while also working on her long term project of running solo and unsupported across a mountain range on every continent where indigenous mountain people live isolated from the outside, urban world.

2. Landmarks by Robert MacFarlane

“Robert Macfarlane visits some inspiring places, to meet the people and 'collect' the words that evoke the area. In this opening episode, he recalls happy days at Walnut Tree Farm, Suffolk, home to a famous swimmer of moats and ponds, lakes and rivers.”

The BBC are rebroadcasting this abridged for radio series of Landmarks by Robert MacFarlane. This is episode one of three.

3. Ramblings - Clare Balding

A BBC4 Radio production from the UK, Clare Balding brings us on walks with interesting people in different parts of the UK (and sometimes beyond)

Linked are Clare’s top 30 episodes.

4. Walking On The Pastures of Wonder

“Walking On The Pastures Of Wonder is based on conversations which former radio producer John Quinn had with John O'Donohue over a period of four years. These conversations ranged over topics as varied as wonder, landscape and death.”

With only 5 episodes from 2008, this podcast is consumable in one afternoon - or save it for quiet walks by yourself, where you can mull over their reflections while also moving.

5. The WALKING Podcast

It doesn’t get much more literal than this. Listen to a guy go walk for an hour.

The Documentary List

A list containing long and short length documentaries, these adventures will bring you from the California to Russia, Australia, and beyond!
I’ve only shared links to videos that are free to watch, I hope you enjoy!

Par For the Course - Mirna Valerio

“Mirna Valerio takes on her first ever sky race at the 4th annual Broken Arrow Sky Race. Mirna navigated the rocky, exposed ridge lines, steep climbs and snow filled descents of Squaw Valley with an attitude unlike any other.”
Duration: 3:39mins

Up to Speed - Speed Climbing Documentary

This documentary focuses on speed climbing, one of the three climbing sub-disciplines that athletes will have to compete in for the Olympics in Tokyo this year. Speed Climbing is one of the lesser known sub-disciplines of competition rock climbing, and this provides an interesting insight.
Duration: 22 minutes

Free Flow - Hazel Finlay

“Hazel Findlay enjoys an epic day of mountain running and solo climbing in the Welsh mountains of Snowdonia. Stunning shots combine with a considered soundtrack and introspection from one of the worlds best rock climbers.”
Duration: 4:15mins

A Mile An Hour - Running a Different Kind of Marathon by Beau Miles

“A different kind of marathon; running one lap an hour, for 24hrs, around my perfectly mile long block. The rest of the time I do as much as possible; making things, odd jobs, fixing stuff. It's about running, doing, and thinking.”
Beau Miles is an Australian with a brilliant talent for sharing adventure - and for showing how simple ideas can be adventurous.
Duration: 17mins

The Bothy Project - Discovering the Wild Shenavall

“Why do we need wild places? Four artists head to the remote Scottish bothy of Shenavall in an evocative call to the wilderness.”
I came across this video a few years ago, and every now and again I remember it and the wonderful motivation it gave me at the time - especially to see artists of different creative fields coming together and also being funny adventurers. This is the first video I’m sharing from the BMC (British Mountaineering Club)’s youtube channel in this list, but it is certainly not the only one I want to share (or you can just scroll through their feed yourself!).
Duration: 10mins

Beyond The Break - The Perennial Plate

“The story of a group of pro surfers who have left the international surfing circuit in order to grow organic vegetables on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way.”
Duration: 7 mins

All the Tors - A Dartmoor Story

“Emily Woodhouse journeys across Dartmoor and through her life, as she tried to be the first person to visit all the tors on Dartmoor in one continuous circuit. The All the Tors Challenge took place in 2018: 119 tors, 10 days and 300km of walking solo and self-sufficient across the wilderness, fundraising for Dartmoor Rescue.”
Duration: 10 mins

Run The Line - by Beau Miles

“Overgrown, farmed, pushed out, sold off and only half there, Beau sets off with shovel in hand, dressed like a 50's train driver, to re-trace an old train-line. To run the line end to end would be the first human passing in over 60 years. Police, fences, blackberries, runner musings and leftover pasta, map Beau against a warm autumn day as he makes his way across a landscape he's lived in his whole life.”
The second piece I’ve listed of Beau’s, this is a great idea, and reminds me of all the little old railway routes that are slowly being turned into walking trails or cycling routes around Ireland.
Duration: 23 mins

Untrodden - Lucy Shepherd & Lucy Preston

“Leading female explorer, Lucy Shepherd, introduces the world of adventure to an outdoor novice, taking them up one of the UK's most renowned mountains in the middle of December. With an unexpected storm bringing winds of up to 115km/h, this mini expedition suddenly seems a whole lot more daunting, especially for a beginner. Highlighting just how beneficial adventure is for us, this short documentary explores accessibility of the outdoors, perseverance and women in the industry.”
There is something absolutely magical getting to watch someone like Lucy Shepherd, how has so much experience getting to share her love for the mountains with someone who is very new to it (Lucy Preston), and show them what it’s like.
Duration: 9 mins

Son’s Gonna Rise - Mountain biking through the generations

“Like father, like son. Inspired by special moments from the film Seasons, Son’s Gunna Rise is a piece celebrating the special relationship between fathers and sons everywhere. The short film highlights the especially unique relationship between CLIF Athlete Andrew Shandro and his son, Ethan Shandro that revolves around many things, and most notably, their shared love for mountain biking as well as the challenges and successes you experience as a professional athlete.”
Duration: 5 mins

If I can - Anoushé Husain

“Anoushé Husain is a well accomplished Paraclimber. She balances a chaotic lifestyle, complicated by medical conditions, with a busy work, training and climbing schedule. She has pushed her climbing in London’s indoor gyms for the last three years, finishing 2nd in her category in the 2016 BMC Paraclimbing Nationals in 2016 and pushing her grade to 6a+ in 2017. In 2018 her Climbing partners may have just set the toughest challenge yet, as they venture into the world of outdoor climbing.”
Duration: 4:55mins

Hiking the Mardi Himal Trek in Nepal - Kraig Adams

“In early February of 2020 I hiked the Mardi Himal trek alone in Nepal's Annapurna Mountain Range. The 25 mile hike took me three days to complete and reached altitudes of 15,000ft above sea level.”
Duration: 14mins

Slaydies

“La Sportiva climbing athletes Margo Hayes, Paige Claassen and Emily Harrington take a trip to Spain, to explore the abundant sport climbing and deep water soloing that Mallorca offers. Each woman is a "slady" (i.e., lady who slays) in her own rite; each has contributed to the progression of the sport, while continuing to support her fellow slaydies.”
Duration: 8:10mins

Rot-punkt - Alex Megos

“Through failure and success, Alex Megos strives to be the best climber in the world.”
One of the most powerful climbing films I’ve personally watched in a long time. It’s rare to see so much into someone’s psyche.
Duration: 50:27mins