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This Scotland Outdoors podcast from BBC Radio Scotland.

Hello and thanks very much for choosing to listen to this.

I'm Mark Stephen.

In this edition of the Scotland Outdoors podcast, I'm going to be meeting up with explorer and writer Jackie Hill Murphy.

Now Jackie's a former teacher who was inspired to become an explorer after researching female explorers of the 18th and 19th centuries.

She has literally followed in their footsteps, tracing incredible journeys

taken by the likes of Isabella Godin, the first European woman to travel down the Amazon, Mary

Kingsley, and Isabella Bird, who was something of an adopted Scot. As a result, Jackie's got a wealth

of experiences to talk about, as I discovered when we met up at Aberdeen Beach during her latest lecture tour.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of our own travels, let's hear about, the powerhouse is not too strong a word, that was Isabella Bird.

So who was Isabella Bird?

She was probably one of our greatest female adventurers and explorers,

born in 1831, died in 1904, at 72.

And one of the most extraordinary things about her, so she was very sickly lady,

and yet she had adventures that nowadays you wouldn't even think was possible.

I've seen a photograph of her in Chinese dress.

Yes.

You say she was a sickly lady.

...