Interview: Clare Balding On The Perfect British Country Walk

In 27 years of presenting BBC Radio 4’s Rambling, Clare Balding has covered large swathes of Britain’s countryside. But she won’t stop until she’s covered every inch. And in the meantime she’s encouraging Brits to spend their staycations enjoying the best of what our country has to offer too: country walks, cosy cottages and great pub lunches. 

According to new research, three-quarters of us want to venture further afield this summer, we just don’t quite know how. Blame social media and AI search, both of which tend to nudge us toward the same handful of viral hotspots. Ramblings presenter and lifelong walker Clare has teamed up with cottages.com and walking charity The Ramblers for their new Pub Walk Collection: a set of scenic, pre-plotted routes designed to get Brits exploring beyond the obvious (and because 61 percent of those surveyed said that no UK holiday is complete without a cosy pub nearby). We caught up with Clare to talk lesser-known corners of the UK, the joy of a good pub roast, and why getting lost is harder than you think.

Read our full interview with Clare below to find out her top rated walks in the UK, where to go to swerve the crowds, and what she orders at the pub after a long hike. 

Clare Balding for cottages.com

Clare Balding Q&A

C&TH: This research by cottages.com shows that even though Brits really love discovery, many of us default to the same well-known spots. Why do you think that is, and do you think that social media and AI are making that even worse?

Clare Balding: I think they highly popularise certain places, so I think it’s always good to be a bit more adventurous and find somewhere that not as many people are doing. You can find places with nobody there, but that’s hard. The main thing I’d love to increase awareness of is that there is so much here in the UK, and there are so many different places you can go. And the pub culture that we have here is not replicated anywhere else in the world. We sometimes take that a little bit for granted, and we go off to exotic places, or we go to Spain or France or wherever, and people go to a beach for their holiday. But I love the fact that we have this amazing, intricate network of footpaths and pubs!

I suspect that for a lot of people, there’s a bit of uncertainty as to where they are allowed to go. So what this interactive map does brilliantly is you’ve got the walk plotted for you. You know where your cottage is because you’ve rented it from cottages.com, you know where you’re starting, then this shows you a route that you can go on that’s got a really lovely independent pub that’s going to welcome you. Most of them are dog-friendly, and most of the cottages are dog-friendly too. For a lot of dog owners, staying at home is a good option, because they’re not having to worry about what to do with the dog. And I just think there’s so much to explore. So this is about igniting that sense of exploration and doing something a bit different. 

I’ve presented Ramblings [on Radio 4] for, gosh, 27 years now, so I’ve walked a lot across the UK, and I really love the variety that we’ve got, whether it’s coastal walks or woodland walks or across the Yorkshire Dales, and this brilliant network of pubs as well. This is about encouraging people by giving them a safety net. We need the security of knowing that we’re not suddenly going off track and going to get lost. We’re not trespassing, we’re not doing things we’re not meant to do. I think we’re quite rule-abiding! You’re not going to go wildly wrong here.

C&TH: What if you do go wrong? What do you do if you get lost? There’s not much signal out in the countryside, and people do worry that they’re suddenly on someone’s farm…

Clare Balding: I think the main thing is if you’ve downloaded the route already, it’s not dependent on signal. So it’s being aware of where north is and essentially which direction you’re travelling in. These aren’t routes where you’re going wildly off the beaten track, so you’d have to try quite hard to get so lost you couldn’t find your way back. I went last year and did lots of different routes on the Camino de Santiago, and that is so well signposted that you literally don’t need a map. But I love a map; I love an OS map, and I love looking at the names of places and the contour lines. You can see a lot on a map that will make sure you stay right. But these routes are not for hikers who’d need a map and a compass. Most of our footpaths here are pretty well signposted. 

It’s everything that’s classic, quintessentially British: the cottage, and then the pub, and the walking, and the dog-friendly side of it. That all ties in to that sense of us being us in this country, and I like that. It sort of confirms everything. Stick a bit of sport in, and I’m all over it.

C&TH: Yes, if there’s something on at the pub to watch at the end of it, that makes it even better.

Clare Balding: Yes! And the research has also found that three-quarters of British people want to venture further, but they’re not sure how. So it’s giving them the tools to be able to do it for yourself. It’s empowering people to go, right, here you go, here are some routes that we know you can take.

Clare Balding for cottages.com

C&TH: You mentioned Ramblings, and you’ve covered so much of Britain on your journeys. What places have surprised you, and are there still spots that you haven’t covered yet?

Clare Balding: I think Northumberland was the one that really surprised me when I first walked there, years and years ago, because I hadn’t really explored Northumberland, and that coastal path with all its wonderful castles is a really stunning part of the country, and relatively free of tourists.

The other place, Dumfries and Galloway. That’s on the west coast. There’s a section of it that is a south-facing peninsula, opposite the north side of the Lake District. I think it’s called Wigtownshire, and I remember being there. I went up to the Wigtown Book Festival, but I was also doing Ramblings. There was a full moon, and the water all around was lit by this full moon, and it was so beautiful. Hardly anyone goes there because it’s quite difficult to get to; there isn’t a handy train station and it takes a bit of effort. Those places are lovely.

I think large sections of Wales are gorgeous as well. The Pembrokeshire coast is fabulous. They’ve got lots of castles as well; I like a castle. I’d never really been to Cornwall before I started doing Ramblings and there’s brilliant walks there, the north coast particularly, but the south coast is lovely too. And the islands, if you get up to the Scottish islands and you’re walking on Mull or Skye or Iona, those are great places. There’s so much. I went out to the Orkney Islands and Shetland actually, and walked out there. You feel like you’re in a completely different land; it’s so cool.

C&TH: It’s the same with the Scillies, because there’s just nobody there. Just beaches, no people, it’s amazing…

Clare Balding: My nephew’s there at the moment, I’ve walked there too. And the other option is there are great local guides; you can get a walking guide, and it’s something I think we tend to do when we’re abroad. I’m always doing it, getting some local guide to walk you around Lisbon, but you can do it here too, and there’s some really well-informed guides. If you want someone who’s an expert in flora and fauna, or geology, or history, it’s really fun. 

C&TH: And after the walk it’s the pub. Why do you think we love pubs so much, and what’s your order after a long walk?

Clare Balding: I think the best thing about pubs is that unless you’re covered in mud, you can walk in wearing what you’re wearing. Your boots are on, your dog’s with you, and you don’t have to dress up, and you don’t have to pre-book a table. You’ve got the classic staples. In the summer I’d go chicken, bacon, avocado salad, and in the winter I’d do a big hearty bowl of soup, or a roast – oh my god, pub roasts, that’s the best. Full roast chicken. Some cauliflower cheese in particular, I love that.

C&TH: You’ve mentioned dogs a lot. How do dogs fit into our love of walking?

Clare Balding: My own feeling is any decision you make should be for your dog, not for you. At the moment we’re waiting to get a dog, because right now is not the time and that’s almost the most selfless thing I’ve ever done. I’m desperate to have a dog again, and I just can’t right now. But in time we will again; we had Archie for fifteen years. I think that feeling of their joy gives you added joy, and I really love that connection that we have with our dogs. 

I like fellow dog owners as well. Somebody was telling me a story yesterday about how they’ve got a Tibetan terrier, which is what we had. They stopped to talk to these two Tibetan terriers at a garden centre, and looked up and realised that one of the owners was Helena Bonham Carter. They just carried on because really that wasn’t the interest, the interesting thing was the dog. So I think it completely levels any relationship, because you talk to people through their dog and about their dog. Status means nothing. Everyone is equal in the eyes of their dog. And your dog loves you, whatever.

C&TH: They’re all good levellers, aren’t they? Dogs, walking, pubs, we all do them.

Clare Balding: Yeah, and I love that. There’s no status, there’s no off-limits in any of this. It’s very easy to start a conversation. You’ve also got that thing of when you’ve been on a great walk and you tell someone about it, or you’ve been to a great pub and you share that, and that feeling of passing on the joy of something you’ve experienced. I really enjoy that.

C&TH: We’re all sticking to these well-trodden paths… is that the bit we’re missing out on, the excitement of discovering something new, that we feel like we’re coming to before anyone else?

Clare Balding: Absolutely. I love when you look at how many long-distance paths we’ve got. I also love the fact that so many groups of friends are walking in sections, maybe doing the South Coast Path and picking it up every month, or doing the Coast to Coast, or the Dales Way, which is gorgeous, or the South Downs Way, which I’ve walked all of, and that’s fabulous. I do think walking is becoming much more popular, and I really love that, because I think activity and movement is so important for us all.

There are walking groups all over the country, bonded together for different reasons. There are fitness groups, bereavement walking groups, groups of men of a certain age wanting to walk together, or women of a certain age, or mixed groups. I think it’s a really vital part of our health, mental and physical. And I think there are only good things, as long as we’re being responsible: shutting gates, making sure dogs aren’t bothering livestock. (Those things shouldn’t need to be said, but you do sort of need to say them.) I think more and more rural businesses are open to what walkers can bring them, whether that’s cafes and coffee shops, garden centres, or lots of different tiny rural festivals, walking festivals, which are growing. It’s a really positive trajectory, and it’s just about finding ways of encouraging more people to tap into that.

Clare Balding for cottages.com

C&TH: After a long walk, what’s your idea of a perfect evening in?

Clare Balding: I would say a big, but not very strong, gin and tonic. I’d want to be with Alice, obviously, and I’d want to sit outside one of those cottages and look at a beautiful scene, whether it be a river, or woods, or a lovely garden, and have a nice cool drink and shoot the breeze, just chat. That would be on a summer’s evening, that would be perfect. Reading a good book, or watching sport on the telly.

C&TH: What’s on your reading list right now?

Clare Balding: Right now I’m reading Douglas Stewart’s new book [Deadly Mindset], and I’ve got The Names sitting next to my bed as my next read. I’ve also just been sent Anneka Rice’s autobiography, she’s a friend of ours, and it’s called Challenge, and I will read that very soon, too. And I will be working on my next book soon, too.

C&TH: Can you tell us what it will be about?

Clare Balding: I think, funnily enough, it’s going to connect very strongly with walking. One of the characters from Pastures New, which is the first novel I wrote for adults, is called Gwen, I’m going to take her off on a big adventure. She’s going to go abroad for the first time in her life, and she’s going to meet people that she never would have come across any other way. It’s due at the end of February, so I’ll be spending most of this autumn and winter writing it.

C&TH: What are you watching at the moment? Any great television? 

Clare Balding: I love telly. I think if you work in television, it’s kind of important to love it and appreciate the art of it. I’ve just watched nearly all of I, Jack Wright, which I hugely enjoyed; it’s about a will being disputed and a massive family saga, which made me laugh. I’m waiting for the new series of Ted Lasso, because I love that. I’ve been watching a lot of football and a lot of tennis. Legends, I need to watch; I think that’s what we’ve decided we might start tonight.

I really love Nicola Walker as an actor; I think she’s brilliant. Have you seen Annika? She’s an investigator based up in Scotland, and she breaks the fourth wall a lot, and suddenly she’s talking to you straight down the barrel of the camera. There’s all this Viking mythology tied into it that she’ll suddenly reference. It’s so good, and she’s brilliant and very funny and very complicated.

Clare Balding for cottages.com

C&TH: It’s on my list. My last question for you, to bring it back to walking. If somebody is completely new to walking and they’re looking for their first walk, what advice would you give them? Is there a walk that’s perfect to start with?

Clare Balding: If you were going to do a long-distance walk, I would suggest doing the Dales Way. It starts in Ilkley and finishes over in the Lake District, and you’re going to get the most amazing experience. But generally speaking, I would say start small. Know where you’re going. Do look at a map before you go, don’t just rely on your phone, but make sure you do know where you’re going, and then just let it happen. Take in everything around you. Wear decent shoes, boots – I tend to wear walking boots. Take a bottle of water, and then just let it all flood in.

I think travelling through the countryside at walking pace, you see so much more than you ever thought you would. Stop and look at things, and just let it seep into you. That would be it: love it and enjoy it and relish it. Just say: ‘Right, I’m going to walk for two hours. I know roughly where I’m going. I’m going to end up at a nice pub, and if I feel like it, I might walk another hour, hour and a half after that’. Give yourself the time to really enjoy it.

Broadcaster and countryside champion Clare Balding has partnered with cottages.com to launch its new Pub Walk Collection – a hand-picked selection of pub walks, including some beautiful lesser-known routes, helping holidaymakers find their sense of exploration through one of Britain’s much-loved staycation rituals.