Julia Bradbury - Julia Bradburys Wainwright Walks

Ullswater at dawn on a misty autumn morning

Blencathra, Sharp Edge (detail)

CONTENTS

Julia at Helm Crag

INTRODUCTION

The fleeting hour of life of those who love the hills
is quickly spent, but the hills are eternal.
Alfred Wainwright

Walking and having an opinion about our countryside are national pastimes in this country and were pretty good at both. The wonderful and absurdly talented author Bill Bryson said at a recent gathering that if you were in mid-America on a Sunday afternoon and bellowed: Right were all off for a walk across some farm land now, the entire room would think you were bonkers. But we Brits have a special connection with our landscape, and without sounding fanatical or crazed I think we should do what we can to protect, nurture and appreciate it.

It is quite curious that of all the television programmes I have worked on and made over the last fifteen years, it is Wainwright Walks that has generated the most communication and comment: A television series featuring me following in the footsteps of Alfred Wainwright, following Alfred Wainwrights own television series in the 1980s where he followed in his own footsteps. It isnt something that could have been planned or predicted but I am proud to be that woman standing in such deep manprints.

Julia and the crew with Catbells summit in the background

It all began with an unrelated meeting at the BBC with a commissioner called Richard Klein in which we coincidentally talked about walking. Do you enjoy walking (as in hiking)? Yes. Favourite place? The Peak District because my father Michael was born there, I went to school in Sheffield, and he fired up my passion for the outdoors by taking me out across the Peaks from the age of about 6. Do you know who Alfred Wainwright is? Of course. There were a few Wainwrights on the heavily laden bookshelves at home and my best mate is from the Lake District. I somehow managed to come across as reasonably coherent and not too desperate, because he went away from our meeting and saw Watchdog which I was presenting at the time, and noticed that I could actually walk and talk simultaneously, albeit across a studio. Bingo! So I went for another meeting with the executive producer Eric Harwood and we couldnt stop gassing. We still cant stop gassing to this day.

Theres man all over for you, blaming on his boots
the fault of his feet.
Samuel Beckett

Contrary to opinion I dont spend my entire life roaming around the countryside in sturdy boots and Gortex. I love the outdoors, landscapes and the natural world, and the conundrum of our expanding population versus the need to protect our areas of greenness and biodiversity is a constant source of intrigue, but I do happen to believe that some people can spend too much time outdoors. I relish the diversity of my job and enjoy the challenge of climbing mountains one week, taking part in a science project the next and investigating consumer affairs the week after. Having said that, Wainwright definitely merged a hobby with my TV career and set part of me off in a new direction, for which I am very grateful. Im proud to be a woman in these shoes. Lets face it ladies, men are better at a whole range of other sports; cricket, football, weight lifting, but not curling or more importantly, walking.

If I had one piece of advice for anyone embarking on hiking as their newfound hobby, it would be to get walking boots professionally fitted. Even if youre a hardened hiker go for a re-fit. Running shoes should be changed every 8,000 miles; hiking boots are about the same. My feet are crumbling. I have trouble with my heel bone (calcaneus) so I use orthotics (specialist insoles) to correct my abnormality. They can help with flat feet, heel pain, shin pain and leg pain by slightly altering the angles at which the foot strikes the ground. But there is no point using them with old knackered boots! Theyre not for everyone however, so if you feel any pain take your boots to an Orthotist to ensure you get the appropriate insole. If the pain is more than just a niggle then go and see a specialist rehab Physio to check your biomechanics (walking pattern) and to give you some exercises.

I break my boots in on a treadmill or wear them for weeks around the house after work. DO NOT GO FOR A LONG WALK IN A BRAND NEW PAIR OF WALKING BOOTS. Youre asking for trouble and the worlds worst blisters.

There is no love sincerer than the love of food.
George Bernard Shaw

I have a healthy appetite and I need plenty of nutrition (and chocolate) when Im out there on the hills, but Im not big on sandwiches. The say beware Greeks bearing gifts (Im partly Greek on my mothers side) but I am about to share a much-loved family recipe for Keftaides Greek meatballs, which make a fantastic packed lunch. Delicious hot or cold they travel well and you can make a batch for consumption over a number of days. Take a little pot of home made tzatsiki up the mountain with you and youll make more friends than Sarah Palin at a tea party (which Wainwright wouldnt have liked because he preferred walking alone).

For the Tzatsiki youll need:

350g/12oz Greek yoghurt

1 cucumber

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 cloves of garlic, grated finely

dash of extra virgin olive oil

fresh dill to taste, chopped

Mix together the yoghurt, cucumber (I leave the skin on and slice into thin strips), lemon juice and garlic in a bowl. Add the olive oil and chopped fresh dill. Chill before you pack it and pack some pittas too. Yum.

Keftaides

500g minced beef (or vegetarian substitute)

1 small onion, chopped finely

2 small cloves of garlic, chopped finely

2 slices white bread

120ml red wine

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped finely

1 tbsp parsley, chopped finely

tbsp dried mint

salt & pepper

1tsp cinnamon

100g parmesan cheese, grated finely

flour

olive oil

Blend the bread in a food processer until you have small breadcrumbs. Then mix the onion, garlic, mint, parsley, cheese and cinnamon into the breadcrumbs. Add this mixture to the mince. Season and add the egg and red wine. Mix everything together.

Cover the bowl with a cloth and put in the fridge to chill. Form into meatballs approximately 4cm in diameter. Coat the meatballs in flour and fry in hot olive oil until browned (make sure the centre of the meatball is cooked). Transfer to a paper towel, and repeat with the remaining meatballs.

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think
I have ended up where I needed to be.
Douglas Adams

I am not going to tell you what to pack in your backpack but I will implore you not to get lost. Therefore whatever guidebook, waterproofs and food you take with you, please jam an OS map and a compass in your stuff as well. I have worked and filmed with a lot of Mountain Rescue teams around the country. These volunteers are quite literally lifesavers who deal with over a thousand calls a year. The incidents range from unfortunate to life threatening. Around 14% of all Mountain Rescue call outs are lost or overdue incidents. Tell people where youre going, when you think youre going to be back and assume your mobile wont work. The Lakes are particularly bad for phone signal. Which can be good. Total escape.