Hello :) This is part three of an overview of my recent trip to the Caucasus region of Eurasia, and covers the four days I spent in Armenia. I talk about why Yerevan feels quite Soviet, why Armenia and Azerbaijan don't like each other, and the architectural legacy of being the world's oldest Christian country. Topics discussed in this episode are: …

Hello :) This is part two of an overview of my recent trip to the Caucasus region of Eurasia, and covers the five days I spent in the country of Georgia, mainly the capital city Tbilisi. I also talk about far too much cheese and garlic, the worst beer I've ever had in my life, Topics discussed in this episode are: * Audio quality of recent episodes…

Hello :) So, as you know, I've recently been away for two weeks, ostensibly to attend the Traverse Travel Blogger Conference, which this year took place in Tbilisi, in Georgia. I've never been to that party of the world, and it'd always been on my list. I clearly went at the wrong time of year, but that's just what happens sometimes. This is going …

Hello :) It's coming up to Valentine's Day (and Quirkyalone Day), so this feels like the right time to issue an episode all about love, sex, and illicit encounters while travelling. Obviously there's content warnings in here, mainly for, well, sex and kink, but I do always try to keep it quite light-hearted. One might well ask how an AroAce can tal…

Hello :) Of course it’s the New Year, and as such, the travel world is plastered with lists of ‘where to go in 2024’, ‘best places to visit in 2024’, and the like. Now, I have to say I’ve never been terribly fond of these sorts of things on a fundamental level for a number of reasons. I mean, sure they provide a good quick way of inspiring people, …

Hello :) And so to the second part of 'let's make a podcast that's going to cause more unfollowers than followers'. Mind you, let's be honest, I've had several podcast episodes like that, and nothing untoward has happened. Maybe I should be more controversial. There again. I wasn't originally sure what to do for this episode. I toyed with the idea …

Hello :) Well, you may be pleased to know I survived my trip to SE Asia. But it was a close-run thing as you'll hear at the start of this episode. Anyway. It's Christmas. I should do a pod about this time of year. And this is one I've cobbled together at the last possible moment. I think I might well whine a bit more than usual in it. But it's fine…

Hello :) As I'm currently away on a backpacking trip around South-East Asia, it makes sense to issue a podcast episode about the previous time I went to this part of the world (mainland, anyway, not the many islands off the coast) - back in 2012 to Laos and Cambodia. This episode is specifically about the Laos part of the trip; the subsequent Cambo…

Hello :) I've been meaning to do a pod specifically about running for a while; it's something that I mention quite often in my housekeeping and I've also tangentially talked about it in smaller sections on pods covering a wider remit. As such, some of what I'll talk about you'll have heard before, but I felt it was the right time to cover this topi…

Hello :) Well, this is an unusual episode in several ways, but the main one is the relative lack of personal updates and housekeeping. If you want to know what I’ve been up to this past month, now would be a great time to sign up to my monthly Newsletter, deets below! Now, I’m aware I don’t talk about my background or my family much, save for the o…

Hello :) Well, that was an unexpectedly long break. To be honest I wasn't planning it but I did kind of need it. But just in case you needed confirmation: Everything Has Been All Right. So far at least. Anyway, this episode is a short one, just in part to let you know I'm still alive, partly to give you an indication of what to look forward to in t…

Hello :) So, why did I call this episode 'everything is going to be all right'? Well, it's a mantra I've been repeating to myself quite a lot over the past month or so. If I say it enough, I might actually believe it. In this episode I talk about my feelings about moving to Manchester, and why while I was initially emotional about the move, I quick…

Hello! Yep, I've created a podcast with the help of AI, in this case specifically ChatGPT. Now, the first question you might ask is of me is why, given my skill with words, my unique and distinct voice, both literal and metaphoric, and a preference for real stories and experiences over auto-generated ones, am I dabbling with AI? Well, the answer is…

Episode 40 of Humans of the Trail with Olie Wicks --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/humansofthetrail/message

Hello! This podcast episode is all about Chernobyl. It's an episode I've had pencilled in to do for quite some time, if in part because I went there in 2014, and never wrote anything about my visit at the time so I felt I ought to, you know, get round to it at some point. I even mentioned this in a podcast I did last year, Back In The USSR. Didn't …

Hello! As you know, I'm always touting the idea of Hometown Travel, and exploring places close to home. Remember, people travel across the world to visit other cities but other people travel across the world to visit yours. Everywhere is interesting, And of course many people might not be able to visit places far away, but still want to enjoy the e…

Hello! As you know, I am The Barefoot Backpacker. My tendency is to go backpacking around lesser-visited spots around the world, independently, and usually solo, staying in hostels, airBnBs, and Premier Inns. I tend to move around from place to place a lot rather than spending too long in the same destination, and I generally book my onward journey…

Hello! I've had a bit of a residual cold-type bug this week and I've been feeling quite fatigued (but apparently it wasn't covid), so I'm a few days later than planned with this episode. In addition, I had trouble getting time writing it so I persuaded V to chat with me about it in our old Twitter Space format. Which isn't ideal but does at least s…

In this episode of Humans of the Trail, we sit down with Andrew Terrell, a man who has an incredible story of self-discovery. Andrew walked from the Apennine Mountains in Southern Italy to Arctic Norway, a journey that took him over 7000 miles and two years. Along the way, Andrew faced many challenges, but he also learned a lot about himself. He le…

Hello! I recently had a week and a half in Malta. This was for two reasons; firstly, my friend Laura wanted to get away for the Easter Weekend, because she believed it would be infinitely better than staying at home, and she'd never been to Malta. Secondly, the weekend after, there was a video content creation conference run by Traverse and I figur…

This week on Humans of the Trail I have Ali Pretty on the Podcast. I first learned about Ali through a friend of the Podcast Martyn Howe from Episode 1. Beach of Dreams is a visual art journey, community, storytelling and digital art project inspired by the challenges faced by communities who live on our coastlines. I was really keen to learn more …

Hello! I've wanted to do an episode on Street Art for a while, as it's a subject that's always appealed to me. I'll often see if there's a street art tour in a place I'll be travelling to, and I'm always veering off down side-alleys in search of it when I'm walking through a city. As a result, this episode is my longest yet. Topics discussed in thi…

In this episode of Humans of the Trail, we talk to Peter Elia, a freelance travel writer who specializes in long-distance walks. Peter has walked some of the lesser-known long-distance trails in the world, and he shares his experiences with us. We talk about why Peter enjoys lesser-known routes, how he slowly quit his job to become a freelance trav…

Hello! In my last couple of episodes, I spoke at length about my adventures with Inter-Railing, firstly about the trip I did back in 2000, and then a quick overview of where I went in the 2019 trip. In this episode though, I talk a bit more in general about travelling Europe, mainly by train, as a concept, including accommodation, food & drink, bud…

I'm a total sucker for discovering new brands and businesses in our outdoor space. So when I learned Highlander, an events business now has a Highlander Adventure in the Lake District I had to find out more about the brand and the people behind it. Thankfully Ariana, the Global Head of Communications at Highlander was happy to jump on the other end…

Dave Thomas started his career on the back of his love of fitness as he launched a personal training business, which spiraled into running a popular London gym chain called The Foundry. But it was Daves's love of the outdoors, and desire to step away from, his words repeatedly 'counting to 10', for his clients that eventually led to a life living i…

Hello! So, if you recall, my last proper episode was all about my Inter-Rail trip in 2000, and how times and events had changed. I want to spend this episode talking a bit about my follow-up Inter-Rail trip in 2019, which was very different in scope, duration, and overall vibe. It's actually going to cover two podcasts as it appears travelling arou…

Where do I start... Barefoot Backpacker unpacks so much in this episode, from his backstory to traveling to the lesser known destinations around the globe, traveling as somebody who identifies as nonbinary and asexual, to of course long distance trails. This is a fantastic episode with a lot going on which I hope you enjoy listening to as much as I…

Hello :) This is the recording of the twelfth edition of my not-at-all regular Twitter Space sessions; the reason for their irregularity is finding a convenient time to record it. Our topic this time is 'sports and fitness', or at least that was the original concept. It seems to have ended up being a third 'running parkruns barefoot', a third 'I'm …

Hello! As a traveller, trains are by far my favourite form of transport. I find them comfortable, I like that I can just get up and walk around if I want to, I get a decent amount of legroom, and I can spend my time looking out the window at the passing scenery, which is invariably far more interesting than what the view out of a plane window. It's…

Julian is in my opinion an unsung hero of Trails, with his work dedicated to the betterment of our Trail networks. As the Board Member and Vice Chair of the World Trails Network, Chair of National Trails, and Director of the South West Coast Path Association he is a busy man and a fountain of Trail knowledge. Julian humbled me with his clarity and …

Hello :) This is the recording of the eleventh edition of my semi-regular Twitter Space sessions. Following on from the previous Space, about Manners & Customs, it made sense to go over a bit of old ground and do a recording specifically on 'barefoot life. Because it's one of those subjects that it's kind of hard to get away from, given, you know, …

Hello! Okay, let's start with a controversial statement: Everything you know about Detroit is wrong. Nothing like setting your stall out from the off, I guess. Well, not everything, but probably your first impression is. Certainly a couple of people I spoke to in Toronto were … somewhat confused when I mentioned I was off there, as if to say 'why w…

Join Davina Farrer in her journey of exploration and liberation as she shares stories from her backpacking trip around the world and her empowering hike on the South West Coast Path. Discover how Davina's intentional work choices have led to a life of time freedom and learn how you too can break free from the 9-5 grind and live a life of adventure …

Hello :) This is the recording of the tenth edition of my semi-regular Twitter Space sessions. This was recorded back in August, as you can probably tell from the conversation at the start about the weather. We had a chat, a longer chat than usual, about Manners and Customs at home and across the world, a topic V originally suggested because of my …

Hello! As some of you know, I spent four days in early January 2023 on Jury Service. Now, I don't know how many of you listening have ever been called, and in any case some of the concepts seem to work differently depending on legal jurisdiction, so I thought it might be interesting to talk about some of that on this podcast. Plus it beats me natte…

In this week's episode of the Distance Hiker Podcast, we spoke with Emma, a coast walker who blogs about her journey on her site. Emma is currently on a journey to walk around the coast of the United Kingdom, with the goal of improving her mental health. During the conversation, Emma shared with us the various reasons why she decided to take on thi…

In this episode, I had the opportunity to sit down with Steph Wetherell, one of the co-founders of Every Body Outdoors. Steph is a trailblazer in the outdoor community, working to promote representation and accessibility for people of all sizes in the great outdoors. As we talked, Steph shared her personal journey of falling in love with the outdoo…

Hello :) This is the recording of the ninth edition of my semi-regular Twitter Space sessions. This was recorded back in July but I've only just got round to issuing it as a podcast episode. We had a long chat about hometown travel: how you can and why you should. And while it helps to have a sizeable hometown, something interesting can be found in…

Dartmoor's a special place. Not just for the fact that it's the largest open moor in Southern England and home to various dark skies designated areas. Or that it's a beautiful tapestry of stone walls, tors and outcrops, woven with history, folklaw and some of the most rugged and beautiful uplands in the UK. It's also special because it also offers …

In Episode 29 of the Distance Hiker Podcast Matthew is joined by Stefan Durkacz and David Lintern, authors of the newly published Cicerone Press guidebook Scottish Wild Country Backpacking. Stefan and David share a bit of their background and interest in the outdoors before deep diving into the behind the scenes of making the guidebook, and backpac…

Hello! Some while ago, I did a pod on beer around the world. Having just come back from a PressTrip to Plsen in Czechia, where I was paid to drink beer, I figured it was the right time to do another on the subject, but this time looking at beer in general. About different beer styles. About where my interest came from. And about quirky experiences …

Hello! This episode, the first after my unexpected and unplanned hiatus, will be all about beer. Specifically, I talk about my Press Trip to Plsen in Czechia, where I spent 3½ days drinking beer for free, including touring a few breweries both large and small. This Press Trip was taken through the Traverse Organisation and in conjuction with Visit …

In this weeks episode I talk with Kerry, who is a YouTuber and long distance hiker from the channel Drunk On Wanderlust. We learn Kerrys story from global traveller to long distance hiker, and how she hasn’t looked back since. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/humansofthetrail/message…

In this episode, I chat with Andrew McCloy, who has recently written and published the Highlights of the England Coast Path book, in partnership with Cicerone Press. Andrew shares insight into behind the scenes of writing guidebooks including the work, and the dedication that goes into each publication. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcaste…

I've long thought that adventures with children need to be downsized, and have often fought against the grain of parenthood and the perceived restrictions on a once unrestricted life. No more selfless long trips away, or spending an evening out under the stars whenever you want to. Routines, schools, bum wiping, homework, and many more responsibili…

In today’s episode of The Distance Hiker Podcast, presented by Matthew Usherwood, we have Stephanie Killingbeck-Turner sharing her story on the LEJOG trail! Stephanie walked the trail, with a bit of a difference. Not only did she walk from one end of the UK to another, she also visited a number of environmental projects along the way. This conversa…

This week on the Distance Hiker Podcast I am joined by Daniel, and Charlotte. Dan and Charlotte are two coast walkers, who are living nomadic lives as they hike, and work their way around the coast of Britain. When I spoke with them, they were in their tent, set up for the night in the Shetland Islands. I was really curious to speak with Dan and Ch…

This week I am thrilled to have Charlie MacRae-Tod on the show. Charlie is a long distance hiker, who documented his walk along the End to End trail. He also has type 1 diabetes. We agreed to record together to discuss the challenges walking with diabetes presents. But we also wanted to build a narrative about our relationships with our bodies and …