Walking piece details
| Duration | 28 minutes |
| Cost | Free |
In 2014 Angela Maxwell was feeling stuck. She wanted something fresh, something exciting. After a chance encounter she landed upon her goal – she was going to set off on one of the largest adventures imaginable: a walk around the world. She didn’t know exactly how the journey would play out, but that was part of the appeal – the whole planet was waiting for her to just take the first step.
In this episode I produced of the BBC Radio 4 podcast Sideways, we accompany Angela on her 6 year walk around the world, from the misery of freezing cold nights, to finding beauty in solitary nights sleeping under the stars. And Angela explores her ideas about courage – after she was raped during her expedition, she chose to continue her walk around the world. Over the six years she walked, she would find deep connection to herself and to others, making lifelong friends and sinking into the places, slowly, just placing one foot in front of the other.
We also hear from Susan Houge Mackenzie, a professor of psychology at the University of Otago, about the benefits of adventure to our mindset, even ‘micro adventures’ which take place much nearer to home, and also from naturalist and conservationist Nadia Shaikh, who is a land justice activist working with the Right to Roam campaign, who makes a case that we need far greater access to nature to be able to undertake walks and micro adventures in our local area.
The programme considers how adventures big and small can clarify our goals for our lives, and asks us to consider whether we ought to all be heading out on adventures a little more often.
Credits
Producer: Nadia Mehdi
Contributors: Angela Maxwell, Susan Houge Mackenzie, Nadia Shaikh
Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Sound design and mix: Rob Speight
Theme tune by Ioana Selaru
Presenter: Matthew Syed
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4
Hosted by: BBC Radio 4/ Matthew Syed
