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The First Mile

By: thefirstmile
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  • Summary

  • The First Mile is an immersive travel podcast, bringing you untold stories from the world of adventure. It is presented by Ash Bhardwaj and Pip Stewart — two travel journalists, who are adventurers in their own right — and explores everything from the ethics of cultural tourism, to documenting your journeys and making a living from travel. Ash and Pip navigate this territory with some of the world’s greatest travellers, who reveal how they got their first break in travel writing, planned remote expeditions, or made the switch from a corporate career to a life of adventure. Alongside these in-depth interviews are travel-narrative dispatches: evocative field recordings from Ash and Pip’s adventures, which take the listener along for the ride. New episodes are released weekly, in 10-episode seasons. ****** Season one’s interview guests include: author Monisha Rajesh, explorer Levison Wood, film-maker Reza Pakravan, and travel-writer Leon McCarron. Our dispatches come from Annapurna, Nepal, and Whanganui, New Zealand, where our hosts report back on rites of passage, celestial navigation, the joys of moonshine liquor, and a whole lot more. ****** Ash Bhardwaj is an award-winning broadcaster, film-maker and Telegraph Travel columnist. He regularly reports for BBC Radio 4 and the World Service, and his films have appeared on BBC, Channel 4, Discovery and National Geographic. Pip Stewart has cycled halfway around the world and completed a world-first kayak descent of Guyana’s Essequibo River (where she picked up a flesh-eating parasite). She is the former Red Bull adventure editor, and her presenting work has appeared on BBC, Al Jazeera and The Telegraph. ****** We hope you enjoy The First Mile. Please let us know what you think of it in the comments, and give us a rating, too.
    Copyright 2020 All rights reserved.
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Episodes
  • Why We Travel - with Ash Bhardwaj and Pip Stewart

    Why We Travel - with Ash Bhardwaj and Pip Stewart
    Apr 5 2024

    We’re back! In this episode we discuss travel writing ahead of Ash’s debut book, Why We Travel. We discuss motivations for travel - why it matters, how we can do it better and if it can it help us to live more fulfilling lives…

    This episode, discover:

    • What Pip and Ash have been up to since they last recorded.
    • What are motivations for travel - and why it matters, how we can do it better and can it help us to live more fulfilling lives?
    • Journeys of curiosity, inspiration, happiness, creativity, serendipity, hardship, service, healing, wonder, empathy, eroticism and hope.
    • Why you should absolutely read Ash’s debut book…

    Links mentioned in this episode:

    • Why We Travel by Ash Bhardwaj
    • Life Lessons from the Amazon by Pip Stewart
    • Support your local bookshops:
    • Stanfords
    • Waterstones

    JOIN US ON SOCIAL:

    We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s episode and if you’ve got any suggestions of topics or people you’d like to hear interviewed. Drop us a line on Instagram @AshBhardwaj and @PipStewart or X @AshBhardwaj and @PipStewart.

    *Please consider leaving a review if you enjoyed this episode. Thank you!

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    33 mins
  • We're coming back!

    We're coming back!
    Apr 4 2024

    We’re coming back! The podcast is all about travel, why it matters, how we can do it better and if it can help us live more fulfilling lives.

    We really value your input so do let us know what you’d like to see in season two. If you’ve got any suggestions of topics or people you’d like to hear interviewed. Drop us a line on Instagram @AshBhardwaj and @PipStewart or X @AshBhardwaj and @PipStewart.
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    1 min
  • Ep10: Rhiane Fatinikun on Getting Started in the Outdoors, and the Importance of Diversity.

    Ep10: Rhiane Fatinikun on Getting Started in the Outdoors, and the Importance of Diversity.
    Dec 23 2020

    Rhiane Fatinikun on Getting Started in the Outdoors, and the Importance of Diversity.

    In the final episode of Season 1, we meet Rhiane Fatinikun, the founder of Black Girls Hike.

    Rhiane founded Black Girls Hike in 2019, to provide a safe space for Black women to explore the outdoors. It is now a thriving community, with groups based in the North West, the Midlands and London.

    In this episode, Rhiane tells us about how she went from having no hiking experience or equipment (and being unable to read a map) to leading a national hiking movement. She also shares her hints and tips on how to create communities and take that first step towards trying something new.  

    This episode, discover:

    • Why Rhiane’s first London meet up didn’t go entirely to plan.
    • How she built and expanded a community.
    • How to take that first step towards trying something new.
    • How to overcome self doubt.
    • The power of social media to connect people in real life.
    • Why it’s important to take up and created spaces for people to feel like they belong.
    • About racism in the UK and the outdoors community.
    • Why we need to share both negative and positive experiences.
    • How she went from being a beginner hiker to leading a group up Snowdon. 
    • Why you should trust that you will come into your own season.
    • How to deal with negativity.
    • Why to plan to have no plan when you travel.

    Links mentioned in this episode:

    • Rhiane’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/itsnotrhiane/?hl=en 
    • Black Girls Hike Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bgh_uk/?hl=en 
    • Black Girls Hike Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bghmcr/
    • Black Girls Hike Twitter https://twitter.com/ukbgh?lang=en 
    • Tales of a Hiker https://www.talesofahiker.com 
    • Tales of a Hiker Instagram
    • Humans of New York https://www.humansofnewyork.com 
    • Kendal Mountain Festival https://www.kendalmountainfestival.com
    • We Flock Together https://www.instagram.com/flocktogether.world/?utm_source=ig_embed 
    • Mountain Leader Training https://www.mountain-training.org/qualifications/walking/mountain-leader 
    • Moses Gate Park https://www.lancswt.org.uk/our-work/projects/kingfisher-trail/moses-gate-country-park
    • Epping Forest http://www.visiteppingforest.org 

    JOIN US ON SOCIAL:

    We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s The First Mile and if you’ve got any suggestions of topics or people you’d like to hear interviewed. Drop us a line on Instagram @AshBhardwaj and @PipStewart or Twitter @AshBhardwaj and @PipStewart.

     

    *Please consider leaving a review if you enjoyed this episode. Thank you! 

     
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    33 mins
Social Sciences Travel Writing & Commentary
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