Terminal Hillness in the north Lakes
Ramblings
BBC
4.5 • 768 Ratings
🗓️ 5 February 2026
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Clare joins Ian Teasdale in the north Lake District for a very personal walk. Ian and his wife, Catherine, are on a mission to climb all 214 Wainwright fells as part of their 'Terminal Hillness' project which they started following Ian's diagnosis of incurable bowel cancer. He wants to raise awareness of the lack of cancer support facilities in their region and he decided the best way to do this was by completing a full round of the Wainwrights. As they hike up Longlands, Ian shares memories connected to the landscape he grew up in. The forecast was grim before they set off, but the sun shone, and the only rain that fell created the most beautiful rainbow across the valley.
They started at Longlands, Grid Ref NY266358, and completed a 6 mile circuit with views of Skiddaw and the Northern Fells.
Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio Podcasts. |
| 0:05.6 | Oh, hello. You have chosen a BBC podcast, but before you listen to it, we thought you might like our podcast too. |
| 0:12.1 | You might. You might. It is called Sightraught with me, Nick Grimshaw. |
| 0:15.2 | And me, Annie Mack. And we talk about the week in music. |
| 0:18.2 | All the news, all the cultural happenings in the UK and beyond. |
| 0:22.2 | And great guests. And it's on BBC Sounds. Yes, where you can also enjoy lots of playlists, |
| 0:27.7 | music mixes and live radio. Everything from my six music breakfast show to Radio 3 Unwind. |
| 0:34.5 | But obviously start with our podcast, sidetrack. Obviously. Obviously. |
| 0:40.1 | So if you like music, listen on BBC Sans. |
| 0:46.6 | What started out as a very, very grumpy, miserable day in Cumbria has brightened. |
| 0:48.2 | It is smiling on us. |
| 0:52.0 | The skies above are starting to lighten and ahead of me. |
| 0:57.2 | I can see this great long lump of a bare hill because we are in the lake district some 900 and something square miles of pure beauty and you could walk all day every day |
| 1:06.2 | and not necessarily repeat your tracks and I'm with a man who probably would do that if you could, Ian. Ian Teesdale and his wife, Cath, are here. And we're going to walk on a route that might not be as difficult to some that you take on, but it's definitely one that will give me, I think, a bit of a lift. Where are you taking me? So today, we're going to go up. up Longlands fell and then depending on how we're all |
| 1:30.3 | feeling it and whether the weather's nice we'll carry on up onto great score fell and then down |
| 1:36.0 | mill fell and back to the car. If you do want to follow us on the map we're on OS Explorer |
| 1:41.3 | OL4 which is the English lakes north western areas so we're in the |
| 1:45.4 | north lakes think of Kessik and go west from there the grid references Longlands NY |
| 1:52.1 | 266-36-358 and there's parking space for about four cars there there was a lot of rain last night and consequently the stream on the right |
| 2:02.9 | hand side is gushing fast and loud past us. We're walking on a wide cart track it feels like |
| 2:09.7 | the farm buildings up to the left in the local stone. This end of it though painted white and |
| 2:16.1 | a lot of stone walls, the edges of which we can see |
... |
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