The Gower Peninsula to Antarctica

Ramblings

BBC

Science, Nature, Society & Culture, Places & Travel

4.6 • 732 Ratings

🗓️ 20 November 2025

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Clare Balding joins Rob Curtis for a walk across the dramatic landscape of Rhossili Bay on the Gower Peninsula. Rob, an electrician with a passion for nature and adventure, has worked with the British Antarctic Survey on five separate expeditions. Now, despite a recent diagnosis of type 2 diabetes which he was sure would stymie his plans, he’s training for yet another trip to the Halley Research Station.

As they walk from Llangennith to the church memorial of Welsh Antarctic explorer, Edgar Evans, Rob shares stories of life on the ice, the challenges of polar survival, and his determination to stay fit enough to pass the medical required for deployment.

They started their walk at Hillend car park, Llangennith and headed across Rhossili Down (where Rob once broke his leg paragliding), to St. Mary’s Church, then ambled back along the beach to Hillend.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:07.0	Hello, I'm Emma Barnett. For most of my career, I've been on live radio, and I love it.
0:13.3	But I've always wondered, what if we'd had more time? How much deeper does the story go?
0:19.2	I remember having this very sharp thought
0:21.7	that what you do right now, this is it.
0:24.3	This defines your life.
0:26.0	I'm ready to talk and ready to listen.
0:28.4	I'm insulted by how little the medical community is ever bothered with this.
0:33.9	Ready to talk with me, Emma Barnard, is my new podcast.
0:37.0	Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:40.6	There is a man in a black beanie hat on a sand dune up ahead of me. So many times you get to say that.
0:47.8	But I've come to the Gower Peninsula to meet Rob Curtis, who spends large chunks of his time, working at the Halley Research Station in Antarctica,
0:59.0	but it would have been slightly impractical to meet in there. So we've come to a place that's a bit closer to his home base,
1:07.0	and I'm walking up this really steep sand dune because I think from the top of here
1:13.9	we're going to get the most magnificent view
1:16.1	the wind's going to hit us as we get to the top of this mound
1:20.2	the white horses crashing into the bay are big
1:24.1	and they're frisky today
1:25.5	Rob oh what a day.
1:29.9	And the sun is beaming down on us.
1:31.9	It's so bright.
1:33.0	Absolutely.
	...

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