Summary
Clare goes to Halifax to walk with a group of Muslim men who came together to support each other to become mentally and physically fitter through walking in the countryside around Halifax. One of the things the group enjoys about their town is the ability to be out into beautiful countryside within ten minutes - albeit up some very steep hills! The group's leader is Zaheer Khalil. He is passionate about the benefits of fresh air and walking. He also believes walking is a way of connecting with other people outside of their immediate community. They are a group of professional men who started to find their lives becoming stressful, unhealthy and at times overwhelming. The walks have helped them come together to keep fit and also share problems. They are all passionate about their town and keen to give back to the community in many different ways. They are proud of Halifax's industrial heritage, the contributions made by their elders and their own place in its history. Their walk begins and ends at the town's magnificent centrepiece The Piece Hall. All together it's 6.2 miles and takes them from the town centre up Trooper Lane to Beacon Hill before they walk along the ridge and drop down into Shibden Valley through the grounds of Shibden Hall, former home of Anne Lister (Gentleman Jack). After a break at the Shibden Mill Inn nestled amongst the trees by a stream, another steep climb takes the group up Lee Lane to Ploughcroft, which offers another panorama of Halifax. There is then a gradual descent back towards the town centre, via Claremount and North Bridge, finishing off in the opulent Georgian splendour of the Piece Hall plaza for the guys' customary chai and samosas.
Producer: Maggie Ayre
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I want to tell you why I love podcasting. |
| 0:04.7 | Hi, my name's Tommy Dixon, and I make podcasts for the BBC. |
| 0:08.4 | I'm a big fan of stories, always loved a good book. |
| 0:11.4 | But when I started commuting for my first job, I discovered podcasts. |
| 0:15.4 | I was blown away by how a creative idea and the right mixture of sounds could take you into |
| 0:19.2 | a whole new world full of incredible stories. You know, the type that make you go, wow. And that kind of inspired me to |
| 0:25.2 | give it a go myself, which to cut a long story short led to a BBC training scheme and a whole |
| 0:30.0 | new career giving other people that exact same feeling. So if you want to hear amazing stories |
| 0:34.2 | that make you go wow like I did, they're just a tap or click away on BBC sounds |
| 0:38.5 | BBC sounds music radio podcasts good afternoon my name's Zahir we're here at the peace hall |
| 0:50.1 | the majestic peace all in the center of Halifax this really is the jewel in the crown of Halifax. |
| 0:55.5 | And it's a great honour and privilege for us to be with Claire, Claire Balding and Maggie, the producer. |
| 1:01.1 | And we're taking them on a historic tour of Halifax. |
| 1:04.8 | We're very proud of our local heritage and our local history. |
| 1:07.9 | We're all proud Yorkshiremen. |
| 1:09.6 | In my group here, we've got Navid, |
| 1:11.4 | Navid Idris, who's a head teacher. It was actually a head teacher of the year two or three years ago. |
| 1:16.6 | Last year, he was awarded an OBE for services to education. Zaf is one of the elder members, |
| 1:23.0 | probably the most fittest as well, and he's a very successful businessman we've got shrafzal here he's a librarian |
| 1:29.8 | at the central library we've got osman he's a senior paramedic janeh who's an IT expert and also a |
| 1:36.8 | businessman we've got nadim here he's a bank manager we've got tanviya who's a very successful |
| 1:42.6 | businessman edinan who's very very high businessman. Ednan, who's very, very high |
... |
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