Clare Balding's in Town!

Ramblings

BBC

Science, Nature, Society & Culture, Places & Travel

4.6 • 732 Ratings

🗓️ 9 October 2025

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Clare Balding’s In Town! To kick off the new series, Clare is walking in Rutland with comedian Mark Steel. Since they’re in the same place at the same time, Clare is also making a cameo appearance on Mark’s hugely successful Radio 4 show, Mark Steel’s In Town, in Oakham, Rutland’s largest town.

Mark has been making In Town for 450 years (he told us) and each show involves intense research before he performs a stand-up routine about the area to a local audience. As Clare and Mark amble around the Hambleton Peninsula, which stretches into Rutland Water, Mark and his producer Carl Cooper discuss what it takes to pull together an episode of In Town.

Mark also discusses the theme of his new book, Leopard in My House, about his recovery from cancer. Guiding Mark and Clare is keen local walker Richard Cooper, who has lived in the area for 20 years and is both knowledgeable and passionate about Rutland. Mark Steel's In Town – Oakham, Rutland will be broadcast on Tuesday, 7 October, with Ramblings following on the 9th... with both available forever on BBC Sounds...

Map: OS Explorer 234 - Rutland Water Map Ref: SK901075 for Ketton Road where they started the walk

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
0:05.6	Your time starts now.
0:07.2	You're about to listen to a BBC podcast.
0:09.4	Absolutely right.
0:11.5	So, you might like to know that the BBC makes loads of other podcasts.
0:15.6	Really?
0:16.4	Wow.
0:17.2	Many of them are very funny.
0:19.1	Which I think means...
0:20.3	A hatful of ha ha haas.
0:21.7	And energy.
0:41.7	Even if you do say so ourselves. I agree 100% to that. Find them all on BBC Sounds. Just tell us a joke. Come on, tell us a joke. Tell us a joke. Come on, tell us a joke. Just search comedy on BBC Sounds. I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in. Welcome to the new series of ramblings and in a rare radio for collaboration.
0:46.0	Two programmes are meeting together in one place.
0:50.6	I've come to Oakham in the county of Rutland and Mark steals in town.
0:51.7	He is literally in town.
0:52.8	His programme has been in town.
0:59.2	It was performed last night at the village hall and Mark and his producer Carl Cooper walking with me today. We're being led by Richard Cooper, no relation to Carl. Actually Richard, do you want to tell me where you're
1:05.4	taking us first and then I'll talk to Mark? Yeah, so we're basically walking around what is
1:10.4	called Hamilton Peninsula today, which
1:12.1	is the finger of land that goes through the middle of Rutland Water.
1:16.6	So it's a circular walk and it should be quite pleasant, hopefully.
1:20.4	It's an overcast day, quite cool.
	...

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