A Life More Wild

Gaz Oakley was an intensely energetic, sporty person, who pursued fitness by loading up on carbs and protein, and hitting the gym. He was also a chef, so it’s fair to say his life was quite intense. When health problems made him go looking for dietary solutions, he began a journey that would end with him becoming a champion of plant-based eating, rediscovering his love of the land and trying to bring the simple joy of food to as many people as possible.

Join him and the chickens on his farm in Wales, as he talks ab...

Athena Mellor never dreamed of writing a guidebook, but the knowledge of a lifetime hiking, a passion handed down by her father and grandfather was just too extensive to stay in her head. Now a successful writer and YouTuber, she’s making sure her daughter will follow in the family footsteps.

Join her on a walk through Langdale, as she talks about taking chances, making books and how important the right gear is, especially when you’re walking with kids.

A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty production, brought to you by Canopy & Stars. Production by C...

When she dropped out of the sky in front of Russian hunters in the Arctic, Sasha Dench wasn't quite sure how she'd be received. She was on a mission to understand and halt the decline in the numbers of the Bewick Swan by following their epic migration route from the Arctic to the UK on a paramotor.

Join her on a walk from her favourite training field down through some woods to Fernworthy reservoir on a typically wet and wild Dartmoor day.

Julius Roberts was exhausted and overworked, as chefs often are. He couldn’t help but compare himself to the happy, healthy-looking farmers who delivered produce to the restaurant he was working in. So, he decided to become one of them. It was a huge leap of faith that encompassed a commitment to seasonal eating, nature-first farming and the emotional impact of knowing exactly where his food had come from. 

Keep track of Julius’ efforts to grow food, discover the recipes he loves and more, on his website.  Follow us on Instagram to see behind the scenes footage from t...

Emma Gannon had been writing books for ten years, almost solidly. She hosted podcasts, spoke at numerous events and maintained one of the most popular substacks on the internet. Having decided not to have children, she began to wonder how and when her life would significantly change. She decided to take a year for herself, to get a new perspective and refresh her ideas. We join her in Hackney Marshes, the place she now comes to when she needs a break in nature.

Keep track of all Emma’s work on her website and follow us on In...

Mikaela Loach remembers the moment her grandmother told her that their local beach had disappeared. Years later, she would place that emotional conversation in the context of the wider problem - rising seas caused by climate change, in turn caused by global capitalism - and decide to dedicate herself to the fight for climate justice. We join her in Stanmer Park, the site of a protest against the mining company Glencore, as well as an inspiring community project.

Follow Mikaela on Instagram or buy her book, It’s not that Radical to hear more about her life an...

Lira Valencia grew up in Croydon, surrounded by the kind of urban sprawl that keeps the natural world at a distance. However, thanks mostly to the snails in her grandma’s garden, she developed a passion for nature and forged a path to a career in the overwhelmingly white world of conservation. We join her for a walk around Walthamstow wetlands, where she’s a ranger who helps preserve the habitat and encourage others to enjoy it.

Follow Lira on Instagram to see what she spots outside as the seasons turn, or ourselves to see us working on t...

Alastair Humphreys spent four years cycling round the world. He’s rowed across the Atlantic, run a marathon in the Sahara and taken part in an expedition to the arctic. But we’ve caught up with him on an industrial estate on the edge of the city, to talk microadventures and the power of thinking small.

See more of what Alastair's been up to or follow us on Instagram to see us out and about working on the podcast and discovering great new places.

A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty production, brought to you by C...

It’s time to get outdoors again… In season 4 of ALMW you’ll walk with more fascinating people as they take you to some of their favourite spots and talk about their connection to nature.

We'll be talking to adventurer Alastair Humphreys, activist Mikaela Loach, the lady known as The Human Swan, and many more.

Episode one will be out on 6th June and we’ll be bringing you a calm stroll and a chat every couple of weeks for the rest of the year.

While we were working on series 4 of A Life More Wild, which launches in June, Joe Wilkinson and David Earl shamelessly name-dropped us on their podcast, Chatabix. We got in touch to see if they’d like to record at one of our spaces and they said they’d love to, so here they are (or at least one of them is) at Humble Bee, a giant beehive in Devon, chatting with owners Ron and Yvette.

This episode is a little different from our normal format (there’s no way we could Joe Wilkinson to hik...

Sarah Wilson is always on the move. Her work as an author, presenter and speaker takes her all over the world. In the course of her wandering, she’s learned a couple of things. How to ground yourself in a new place by hiking, how getting people to love something is how you get them to fight for it… and how long is too long to wear the same pair of shorts. 

We’d like to thank everyone who’s taken us walking over the past few months and we hope you’ve enjoyed the company...

Being a wildlife cameraman wasn’t something Hamza Yassin wanted to do. It was THE ONLY thing he wanted to do. Inspired by the attenborough documentaries he learnt english from after his parents moved to the uk from Sudan, he gave everything to make his dream a reality. What he never dreamt about though, was ending up lifting the glitterball on Strictly come dancing...

Join Hamza now, for a hilly hike to a spot from which he's watched the same pair of eagles for eight years, where the Ardnamurchan Peninsula stretches away beneath you. And the sea sp...

Despite having a passion for animals and farming, Mike Duxbury received only one offer from all the agricultural colleges he applied to. The rest dismissed him instantly because he was blind. After graduating with an impressive array of qualifications, he became an accessibility consultant in London, but his heart was always with the land. He decided that rather than telling people how to run an inclusive business, he would show them instead.

Join Mike now on Inclusive Farm, the working farm in Bedfordshire that he designed and built himself, as he describes his mission to welcome students...

You often hear people talk about how getting out into nature gives them a change of perspective. But what happens when your profession is nature on the biggest possible scale? Dr Becky Smethhurst is an astrophysicist, author and YouTuber who studies supermassive blackholes and galaxy formation, but says that rather than making her feel small, it does exactly the opposite… 

Join Becky now for an evening stroll around a nature reserve near the South Downs, as she gives a few pointers on spotting planets, explains what the movies get wrong and dodges a swan…

...

When Freya Bromley first discovered tidal pools, she was dealing with the turmoil of grief. Those patches of calm water, surrounded by volatile seas, felt like places of refuge. From a single experience came a mission to swim every tidal pool in Britain, but while she went looking for healing, she found so much more. 

Join Freya now for a dip in Margate’s two tidal pools and a discussion of connection, community and underwater screaming on the walk between the two.  

A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty production, brought to you by Canopy & Stars. Pro...

A few years ago, a walk on the south west coastal path opened Katharine May up to a whole new world.   She began to think about reconnecting with nature, and how it was the antidote to everything from anxiety to writer’s block. She even shaped her best selling book, Wintering, around the elements.

Join Katherine now on the seafront in Whitstable, as she talks about inspiration, how much she would like to buy a beach hut, and why we should all love winter.  

A Life More Wild is an 18...

On a trip to Greenland, Jack Harries saw a huge chunk of ice break off a glacier and crash into the sea. Already a keen film maker with an interest in travel, he knew then what he wanted to dedicate his life to - telling the stories of climate change. Years later, he’s been all over the world, finding the people most affected by the climate crisis and giving them a voice in his documentary series A Seat at The Table.

Join Jack now, on a warm day in London’s Victoria Park, as he discusses the...

What’s the best thing to do when you’re going through a bad breakup? How about get an allotment, develop a love of gardening and find yourself an entirely new career? Well, it worked for Tom Leonard, who, in a matter if months went from knowing nothing about plants to professional garden design and appearing at Chelsea Flower Show as his alter ego, Daisy Desire, aka The Drag Queen Gardener.

Join Tom now for a sunny stroll round Birmingham Botanical Gardens, where they learnt their trade, saw how beneficial gardening could be for menta...

Liv Little often found herself asked to speak on behalf of all marginalised voices, as the only person of colour in the room… so she decided to build her own room. She founded Gal Dem magazine, a place and community where anyone could talk not just about their trauma, but about their joys and passions. It was the creation of a home that helped and inspired many people over the eight years for which it ran. She then took that search spiritual, emotional home as the theme for her debut novel, Rosewater.

Join Liv no...

Most of us probably feel pretty proud of ourselves if we manage to put up a shelf that's reasonably straight. So imagine how great it would feel to refurbish a lighthouse at the end of a narrow cliffside path on the Isle of Mull off the west coast of Scotland. Interior designer Banjo Beale, whom you may remember as the winner of the show Interior Design Masters, or his own programme Designing the Hebrides, knows exactly how great that felt. At least once all the heavy lifting was done. 

Join him on the lighthouse path on Mull, w...

This time we join Nick Hayes. He’s one of the most prominent voices of the campaign for the Right to Roam in England and author of The Book of Trespass. He’s also an illustrator and musician who thinks that our broken relationship with nature is bound up with the loss of our cultural heritage.

Join Nick on a stroll through the countryside from his boat on a quiet part of the Thames up to some sheltered hilltop woods, crossing two very differently managed estates and at least one forbidden fence line, as he explains how he’s...

We're back for series 3 and for our first wander we're in a wooded Welsh valley with Charlotte Church. Famous since the age of 11, it's a wonder she doesn't just want to shut the whole world out and shut the whole world out and live in peace but actually she's doing the opposite. Driven by a desire to give something back and help people facing mental and emotional struggle, she's opened the Dreaming - a wellness retreat deep in the valleys of rural mid Wales.

In this episode we join Charlotte amongst the woodlands and waterfalls of her...

A Life More Wild is back with a whole new group of fascinating people taking you out into nature.

We'll be joining Charlotte Church at her new wellness retreat in a lush Welsh Valley, reclaiming our right to roam with author and campaigner, Nick Hayes in some forbidden parts of a Berkshire estate and heading out eagle spotting with wildlife cameraman and presenter Hamza Yassin.

Join us for series three and explore from the Western Isles to the Cornish Coast in the company of inspiring people connected to those places.

Our final episode of series 2 of A Life More wild sees us chatting to George Clarke about his humble beginnings creating treehouses as a kid, and the journey it took to building some of his more famous creations. Our very own Siri Thomas gets George chatting about nature in the city, inspiration for his recent work, and even, a little teaser for what’s to come…  

As we weren't able to get out in the wild and record this one with George, it takes a slightly different format to normal but it was such a love...

Wake to birdsong, walk in the woods, forage as you go, then dip into a stream to cool off before you head back to sit round the crackling fire. Leave feeling calm, connected and soothed by nature.

This week we're bringing you a slightly different sort of episode. Earlier this summer we hosted the Slow Down and Relax Tipi at Fearne Cotton's Happy Place festival and ran a number of sensory nature workshops. We received lots of positive feedback about the workshop and people asked if we could share it, so here it is.

Find...

We took a trip around Southwark Park with TV presenter and award-winning disability advocate Sophie Morgan. We talked about growing up wild, how her relationship with nature has changed, and if she was a tree, what tree she would be. We also speak to author and passionate gardener Alice Vincent, about the single flower that inspired her to a life of growing and how to work with any size of space.

You can watch Sophie's show 'Living Wild: How To Change Your Life' on Channel 4 here, and check out her book 'Driving Forwards' here.

Alice's bo...

We go for a walk in the Lake District with Russ Moorhouse, who points out a fraction of the 214 Wainwright Fells he wild camped on in an epic year-long adventure. We also talk to Lisa Shaw, who has taken on the impressive challenge of swimming round all the Balearic islands. Both find a calm in nature that they know nowhere else.

A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty production, brought to you by Canopy & Stars. The producers for this episode were Gareth Evans and Eliza Lomas. Our theme music is by Billie Marten.

We walk in the woods with Richie Norton and hear about the long road from losing his rugby career to finding his calm as a breathing and movement coach. We also talk to Gail Muller, who pushed through a chronic pain condition to regain her adventurous lifestyle and walk the entire Appalachian trail.

A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty production, brought to you by Canopy & Stars. The producers for this episode were Gareth Evans, Eliza Lomas and Fiona Clampin. Our theme music is by Billie Marten.

https://www.canopyandstars.co.uk/

We’re down in Poppy Okotcha’s Devon garden, helping her (by staying out of the way) as she pots some seeds and talks about finding her passion for growing and eating. Then we talk to Tom Hunt about the realistic challenges of sustainable, seasonal eating and some of the little steps we can all take.

A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty production, brought to you by Canopy & Stars. The producers for this episode were Gareth Evans, Eliza Lomas and Fiona Clampin. Our theme music is by Billie Marten.

https://www.canopyandstars.co.uk/

We’re in Richmond Park with Fearne Cotton, to talk about how the open space and tranquillity of the waters have inspired, calmed and healed her. We also talk to Kris Hallenga about founding the breast cancer awareness charity Coppafeel, stepping back from it to get closer to nature and the painful news that Neighbours is coming to an end.

A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty production, brought to you by Canopy & Stars. The producers for this episode were Eliza Lomas, Alannah Chance and Gareth Evans. Our theme music is by Billie Marten.

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For episode two, we take a windy walk with radio and TV presenter Gemma Cairney, and her partner Cameron (founder of specialist coffee subscription service - MF Coffee) at the inimitable Jupiter Artland, near Edinburgh. We also talk to Tom Dixon, who runs community groups and an art gallery on his land in Devon and also just happens to be the co-founder of Canopy & Stars. 

Remember to rate and follow us in your podcast app, and come and see us for outdoor inspiration from Find Your Wild and all our amazing spaces. 

A Life More Wil...

We're down in Devon to plant a sapling and hear about Ellen Miles' two campaigns - lobbying the UN to make nature a human right and encouraging planting in communities through Dream Green. We also hear from Amira Patel, who's given thousands of people a space to connect with nature, their faith and each other through her group The Wanderlust Women.

Remember to rate and follow us in your podcast app, and come and see us for outdoor inspiration from Find Your Wild and all our amazing spaces. 

A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty pr...

We're back very soon for a second series. Just like in series one, we’ll be getting you into nature on walks with inspiring people who weave the outdoors into their lives and work. 

Expect to spend time outdoors with, amongst some other wonderful guests, Fearne Cotton, George Clarke and Gemma Cairney as they share with you what inspires them most about being out in the wild.

If you don't follow already - give us a follow in podcast app and we’ll see you soon!

We walk in Richmond Park with Youth Mental Health Ambassador Dr Alex George and hear about his plan for community Health Hubs, his personal tragedy and his time as a Love Island contestant. Then we talk to Will, co-owner of Brook House Woods in Herefordshire and find out how a chance meeting with a spoon carver and a vague dream turned into treehouses in the herefordshire woods.

See what Dr Alex has been up to on Instagram or stay in a treehouse (and take up carpentry!) at Brook House Woods. Follow us on instagram, buy our book, o...

We visit Megan McCubbin in the New Forest, where the idea for the Self Isolating Bird Club was hatched, to talk conservation, bird calls and the amazing gardening skills of bees. Then we talk to Sarah, the owner of Swallowtail Hill in Sussex about the steep learning curve of swapping London life for sustainable farming. 

Find out where Megan's latest projects are taking her and stay at the amazing Swallowtail Hill for yourself. Follow us on instagram, buy our book, or read our outdoor lifestyle tips on Find Your Wild.

Music by Billie Marten, presented by...

A walk in Hackney Marshes with singer songwriter Billie Marten, who told us about finding inspiration and calm in the natural world, followed by an inspiring talk with John, the owner of Hinterlandes, on sticking a camper van to a bus in the Lake District.

Find Billie’s latest album and tour dates on instagram or her website, or stay at the incredible Hinterlandes yourself. Follow us on instagram too, buy our book, or read our outdoor lifestyle tips on Find Your Wild.

Music by Billie Marten, presented by Christopher Wilson-Elmes, produced by Tom Bonnett.

We head down to the river for some wild swimming with travel journalist and author Sian Lewis, who tells us the best ways to get out into nature, even if you’re short on time. We also chat with presenter Kate Humble, whose trip to the Dordogne a few years’ back resulted in her buying her very own remote lakeside cabin which has since become her personal refuge in nature.

Follow Sian Lewis’ micro-adventures on Instagram, or try out some stargazing for yourself at Poacher’s Cabin in the Dordogne. Follow us on instagram, buy our book, or read...

We go for a drizzly, breezy walk around the Peak District woodland which psychotherapist Ruth Allen calls her office and discuss how people respond to the landscape. Later we talk to Natalie and Geoff, the mental health support worker and former drummer who now run glamping nature retreats for adults with autism at Wilderme, their stunning spot on the Cornish coast.

Follow Ruth Allen’s advice and adventures on Instagram, or stay in the fabulous geodomes at Wilderme. Follow us on instagram, buy our book, or read our outdoor lifestyle tips on Find Your Wild.

Mu...

A fascinating and delicious nature walk in the company of River Cottage’s Gill Meller, who grazes as we walk through the woods then cooks up sea kale on the beach. We also talk to Tom, the unstoppable force behind Monachyle Mhor about his beautiful lochside home, his approach to food and how nature's calming effect helped him break his phone throwing habit.

See what courses, classes and books Gill Meller has been working on, or stay (and eat) at the incredible Monachlye Mhor. Follow us on instagram, buy our book, or read our outdoor lifestyle tips on...

We’re heading into the great outdoors to look for ravens and talk equal access to nature with campaigner, activist and birdwatching fanatic Mya-Rose Craig, aka Birdgirl. We also hear from the couple who have reintroduced beavers to the land where they run their glamping holidays in Cornwall and get interrupted by a nosy chicken.

Read about Mya-Rose, her charity Black2Nature and her new book on her website or follow her on Instagram. Go beaver watching at The Keep, Lizzie and Merlin’s place in Cornwall. Follow us on instagram, buy our book, or read our outd...

Introducing A Life More Wild, a podcast that will transport you into the great outdoors and help you connect with nature. In each episode we’ll be taking a walk in the wild with some fascinating people to find out how nature inspires their work and lives.   

We’ll go on the trail of ravens with birdwatcher and equality campaigner Mya-Rose Craig (AKA Bird Girl), forage in the woods and cook on the beach with River Cottage’s Gill Meller and leap into some very cold water with adventurer Sian Lewis. 

We’ll also be bringing you...