Notes from Big Trails: On the Trail with Big Trail Adventures

About Notes from Big Trails: On the Trail with Big Trail Adventures

Notes from Big Trails: Stories from Big Trail Adventures is a podcast about finding joy out on the trail. In each episode, we share stories from the people walking, running, and adventuring on the world's best long-distance trails. Sometimes it’s reflective, sometimes it’s funny — always grounded in the real highs and lows of life on the move.

Publisher

Big Trail Adventures // Rob Savin

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

5 Aug 2025

Latest episode

25 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

55 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   25 Sept 2026

   Why Would You Run the Bob Graham Twice?

   The Bob Graham, Paddy Buckley and Charlie Ramsay Rounds are three of Britain's great mountain running challenges. Each is roughly 60 miles long, climbs thousands of metres and has traditionally been treated as a lifetime achievement in its own right. James decided to run all three twice. He completed the Double Bob Graham in the Lake District, the Double Paddy Buckley in Snowdonia and the Double Charlie Ramsay in the Scottish Highlands — all within six months, setting the fastest known time for each. Across the three challenges, he covered more than 350 miles and climbed around 50,000 metres. But the numbers only tell part of the story. In this conversation, James explains what it feels like to be moving through the mountains for 40 or 50 hours, what happens to your mind after a second night without sleep, and why he sometimes sees Roman numerals and faces in the rocks. We talk about the 60-plus-mile-an-hour winds that battered him on the Paddy Buckley, the moment he realised his 48-hour target was slipping away, and the support runner who drove across the country to help someone he'd never met before. We also talk about the final ten minutes of the Double Ramsay, why James actually enjoys climbing when he's exhausted, and what keeps drawing him back to increasingly difficult challenges. And, inevitably, we finish by talking about what's next. James is planning to spend this winter attempting to complete a self-propelled Munro Round in around 50–60 days. It seems that the Double Trilogy wasn't the end of the story after all. In this episode: What the Bob Graham, Paddy Buckley and Charlie Ramsay Rounds involve Why James decided to double all three What 50 hours on the mountains actually feels like Sleep deprivation and hallucinations Running through extreme weather The importance of support runners The ten-minute finish on the Double Ramsay The mental side of ultra-distance running Why James loves these wild places His next challenge: a winter Munro Round

2. 

   14 Sept 2026

   What It’s Like to Fast-Pack the Tour du Mont Blanc

   Fast-packing the Tour du Mont Blanc — twice The Tour du Mont Blanc is one of Europe's classic long-distance trails, taking you through France, Italy and Switzerland around the Mont Blanc massif. Beth Langley has done it twice — both times in four days. The first time was in 2022, when she took on the TMB solo as a personal challenge. The second was in 2025, when she returned with her boyfriend Arthur to recce the route for the UTMB race. In this episode, we get into what it actually feels like to fast-pack the TMB rather than hike it over the more typical 10–12 days. Beth explains how she splits her time between power-hiking the climbs and running the descents, what it's like to spend up to 12 hours a day moving through the mountains, and how you keep yourself moving when you've still got a big climb ahead and your legs are already tired. We also talk about the unexpected pleasures of the TMB — including some excellent refuge food — and the joys of discovering that a second T-shirt is apparently unnecessary. But the conversation takes a more interesting turn when we compare Beth's two trips. Doing the TMB solo gave her a particular sense of achievement and self-reliance. She talks about how knowing she had set herself a difficult challenge and completed it gave her confidence that carried back into everyday life, including through the harder moments of her PhD. We also discuss the difference between racing and having an adventure, why the TMB is more accessible than its reputation might suggest, and why Beth would happily go back for a third time. What fast-packing the TMB actually looks like Power-hiking the climbs and running the descents Four days and some very long days on the trail Why the TMB isn't just for ultra runners The best views — and the moments that make you stop What Beth learned from doing the route solo The difference between fast-packing and racing Why doing something difficult on your own can build confidence French mountain food and the question of whether you really need a second T-shirt Would Beth do the TMB for a third time? If this episode leaves you thinking, I want to do that, you don't necessarily need to start with the Alps. Beth's advice is simple: get out into the mountains in the UK first. The Lake District and Scotland are a pretty good playground. Plan your own adventure at bigtrailadventures.com (bigtrailadventures.com).

3. 

   28 Aug 2026

   Don't Let Fear Win: Kit Birks' 5,000-Mile Walk Down Europe

   What would happen if you set off alone to walk the entire length of Europe? Kit Birks found out. She spent 343 days walking from Nordkapp in northern Norway to Gavdos, the southernmost point of Greece, covering more than 5,000 miles. She spent 308 days walking completely alone, often carrying around 20–23kg and sometimes going for days without seeing another person. But the walk wasn't simply an attempt to complete an enormous endurance challenge. Kit was using it to raise awareness of suicide prevention, drawing on her own experiences of mental illness, addiction and recovery. She wanted to turn advocacy into activism and use an adventure big enough to get people talking. In this episode, Kit talks about the reality of life on the trail: waking up alone in the Arctic, walking 20 miles a day, dealing with swollen rivers and knee-deep snow, and carrying a pack that could weigh 23kg. She also talks openly about loneliness and solitude, the terrifying moments when being alone became genuinely dangerous, and the point in Austria when her mental health deteriorated so badly that she stopped for three weeks and realised she needed help. Asking for that help, she says, was one of the bravest things she has ever done. And then there are the people she met along the way — strangers who offered food, water, shelter and companionship, including a German couple who drove to meet her and walked with her through Slovenia and Croatia with their four dogs. Kit also explains why she believes getting outside can help when you're struggling with your mental health. For her, walking doesn't magically cure anything. It gives the brain space to slow down and notice something beyond the negative thoughts — a bird, leaves moving in the wind, or simply the beauty of the world around you. It's an extraordinary story about walking across a continent. But ultimately, it's a conversation about fear, recovery, loneliness, resilience, kindness and what happens when an adventure becomes bigger than the person who set out to do it. See more from Kit at https://www.instagram.com/kitbirks/ (https://www.instagram.com/kitbirks/) and support Stride Beyond Silence here (https://givestar.io/gs/stride-beyond-silence-arctic-to-aegean). To find out how to do your own solo adventure, head to https://bigtrailadventures.com/solo-friendly (https://bigtrailadventures.com/solo-friendly)

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

26 ratings

Contact Notes from Big Trails: On the Trail with Big Trail Adventures

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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