Summary
Clare Balding is off to Little Switzerland in this week's programme, but she's not travelling far: Church Stretton, in Shropshire, earned its nick-name in Victorian times because of the area's Alpine feel. Her companions are Mark and Debbie, who met after both lost their spouses to cancer. Together with Ted, the wire haired Dachshund, they are attempting to complete every route listed in the book "50 walks in Shropshire". They have just passed the 20 mark. Today's walk takes them to the trig point of the Long Mynd, from there they retrace their steps back to the top of Town Brook Hollow and return over the top of Yearlet Hill and Ashlet Hill and back into Church Stretton.
Producer: Karen Gregor.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Eleven climbers appeared to have died on the world's second highest mountain K2. |
| 0:06.0 | It was one of the deadliest days in mountaineering history. |
| 0:10.0 | Rock falls, avalanches. |
| 0:11.0 | Huge pieces of ice. All are big enough to kill you. |
| 0:14.0 | He just flew out into Devoid and he was gone. |
| 0:17.0 | How did it all go so wrong? |
| 0:19.0 | And is it really worth risking death to feel alive? Why would |
| 0:23.2 | somebody pay to go to a place called the death cell on a vacation? Extreme, peak danger. With me, |
| 0:29.9 | Natalia Melman Petrazella. Listen to the full series now, first on BBC Sounds. Hello, I'm Claire Boulding. |
| 0:36.3 | Thank you so much for downloading this podcast. |
| 0:38.7 | I hope you enjoy ramblings. |
| 0:41.2 | I'm listening for a woodpecker, but in fact all I can hear is Ted, who's desperate to get going. |
| 0:47.2 | Ted is a wirehead miniature dachshund, and he's going to lead the way. |
| 0:52.0 | I'm in the village of Church Streton in Shropshire. Mark and Debbie |
| 0:55.8 | are the parents of Ted. I never say owners of a dog because I don't think you own a dog. You bring a dog up. |
| 1:01.8 | Is that fair, Debbie? Yeah. And as I look through the trees, I can see the green and form-coloured |
| 1:08.8 | edge of the long minde, the seven-mile, enormous sort of long, |
| 1:14.5 | well, it's more than a hill, isn't it, Mark? |
| 1:17.5 | It's a series of hills and sort of fell land, really, in the middle of Shropshire. |
| 1:22.0 | And it's a really distinctive feature. |
| 1:24.6 | You sort of imagine if you're on the moon, you could see it. |
| 1:26.9 | Oh, you could definitely see it, I would think, from the moon. Tell me the reason that we are walking, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.