Where Wild Things and Good Ideas Grow

Some days out stay with you because of the mix of things you encounter along the way: wildlife on the path, conversations about food and farming, unexpected art in the landscape. This week we focus on Episode Two of Ambles & Rambles, a five-mile Frensham to Bourne walk that begins with a train to Haslemere and the number 19 bus, before setting out from Frensham Great Pond to Lower Bourne.

Ambles & Rambles is a new four-part podcast series from Whistlestop Arts, capturing that feeling in a set of free, car-free walks through the Surrey Hills National Landscape. At whistlestopart.org/amblesrambles you can find all four episodes, route information and ideas for discovering the landscape without a car. This article focuses on one of the four new episodes, following a richly varied journey from Frensham to Bourne. It celebrates the Rail to Ramble walks on the Surrey Hills National Landscape website, which offer both linear and loop routes that build public transport into the heart of the day.

Episode Two immediately demonstrates one of the podcast’s key strengths: showing that a day in the countryside can begin with public transport and unfold into something genuinely memorable. Like the other new episodes, including the Shalford to Chilworth route and the Leith Hill Place journey, it reveals how varied and accessible the Surrey Hills can be when explored without a car.

The landscape itself is wonderfully varied. As Luna and Annalees move through ponds, rivers, farmland, heath and woodland, listeners get a strong sense of a working countryside shaped by both nature and people. At Pierrepont Farm, Kerriann McLackland of the Countryside Regeneration Trust explains how nature-friendly farming, conservation and rural livelihoods can support one another, offering a valuable insight into the realities of caring for land well.

The episode also introduces the makers and producers whose work adds another dimension to the area. Tenant farmer Kayleigh Robb talks about her route into farming, the animals she keeps, including Mangalitza pigs, and the importance of helping people connect with where food comes from. Jess Noble of Frensham Old Barn brings in the creative side, describing her jewellery workshop and teaching practice within this distinctive farm setting.

Later, regular guest, Ali Clarke from Surrey Hills Arts joins the hosts on Farnham Heath to discuss the Heathland Artworks trail, showing how site-specific art can deepen people’s relationship with landscape and restoration. As the route continues through Bourne Wood and past the House of Invisible Hands sculpture, the episode becomes a celebration of how land, livelihood, wildlife and imagination can all exist side by side. In the context of the wider series, it sits particularly well alongside the Leith Hill Place episode’s focus on contemporary creativity in the landscape and the Shalford to Chilworth episode’s interest in heritage and place.

This is an episode full of variety, warmth and discovery, and one that captures the Surrey Hills as a lived-in, evolving place rather than a backdrop.

Ambles & Rambles is commissioned by Surrey Hills National Landscape and funded by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Access for All programme, in partnership with Surrey Hills Arts and Surrey Hills Society, and supported by the Southeast Communities Rail Partnership.

Join Luna and Annalees for gentle, uplifting audio walks through the Surrey Hills National Landscape, with local experts sharing their love of the countryside, community and cultural heritage. Listen to all four new Ambles & Rambles podcast episodes, visit whistlestopart.org/amblesrambles.