Time to Walk

Technically, any podcast you listen to while you walk is a walking podcast. But if you want to get specific, you should first address what you want. If you’re after a companion, try Apple’s Time to Walk series, which is available to Apple Fitness+ subscribers with an Apple Watch. In each episode, a star such as Stephen Fry, Naomi Campbell, Dolly Parton, Malcolm Gladwell or Nick Jonas talks about their careers and their attitudes to walking as they stroll around their neighbourhood. Obviously your enjoyment of this series will be directly linked to how much you like each presenter. But it is authentic in one way: just like spending any time with a celebrity, it’s always all about them and you’re never allowed to talk back.

National Trust walking podcasts

There are two ways to listen to the National Trust’s series of walking podcasts. Each episode takes place in a different part of the country – one in Box Hill, Surrey, another through an East Anglian fen, another on Long Nanny beach in Northumberland – where ranger Kate Martin enthusiastically discusses local history and legends. Ideally, you’d want to be right there with Martin, so that you can take in the surroundings together. But this is a warm and inviting listen, and you’d probably get just as much out of it as you trudge back from the school run.

Walking Through Landscape

This BBC Radio Scotland series is now more than a decade old, but it remains the high watermark of what this sort of podcast can achieve. In every episode geologist Iain Stewart visits a different part of Scotland, from the forests of Moray to the fishing villages of Fife. The expectation again seems to be that you will track the same walk as Stewart as you listen – episodes begin with reminders that you’ll need a map – but just ignore that. This is an exploration of nature in all its quiet, awe-inspiring glory.

Headspace Walking Meditation

If you are walking to relax, it’s worth checking out the Headspace app. There are a number of different walking scenarios to choose from – nature, the city, home – but they’re all rooted in basic mindfulness techniques. You head out and a calming voice reminds you to pay attention to all the sights and sensations that would usually go ignored. The list of meditations includes one called Walk It Off which, in just 13 minutes, does a very good job of erasing the grot of your working day, and stops you dragging all your tension home with you.

Walking Is Fitness

And then there are those of us who still need to be motivated to walk … In this case, try Walking Is Fitness. Hosted by strolling fanatic Dave Paul, each 10-minute episode is accompanied by the brisk tempo of his footsteps as he discusses various aspects of walking for exercise. A podcast like this always runs the risk of overcooking the enthusiasm – you’re just walking, after all, not doing Zumba – but Dave keeps the tone just the right side of unbearable. If you need help getting out of the door, this is where you start.