Cold breath on the air, pancakes at dawn, and the hush before a bear appears at the treeline – join Wander Woman Phoebe Smith as she journeys from Finland’s close‑to‑Helsinki wilds with a foraging guide to paddle a quiet nine kilometres to a lean‑to where two dogs double as companions and hot‑water bottles. The theme is deliberate slowness: built in boredom, and the forest fills the space. Before a finale at dusk with an elusive sighting of the European 'Spirit Bear' on the Finland-Russia border.

Also coming up:

• BBC Radio 4 Women's Hour presenter Anita Rani on what drew her to Race Across the World...
• Travel Hack: How to keep warm in cold climates
• Top 10 species of bears to spot around the world - from polar to grizzly and all those in between
• Meet the tour company in Jasper National Park Canada who is embracing the change caused by the 2024 wildfires to teach travellers about ancient indigenious practises
• Gear chat: what to pack for a night out in an unheated hut (or bear hide)
• Mina Benson Hubbard - a pioneering Canadian explorer is our Wander Woman of the Month

Contact Wander Woman

www.Phoebe-Smith.com; @PhoebeRSmith

A simple walk can change a life and a place. Join Wander Woman Phoebe Smith as she head's to Umbria to undertake part of Italy’s lesser-known pilgrim path - the St Francis Way - and see how it is bringing life back into the region. In association with this episode's podcast partner Sloways. From truffle hunts on the village edges to choirs echoing through convents, to ridge walks above Assisi and stamps in a well-worn pilgrim passport, this journey shows how slow travel creates real ties between people and landscape.

Also coming up:

• Co-founder of the British Pilgrimage Trust Guy Hayward about his mission to change the path of walks with purpose to enable everyone to bring their own beliefs...
• Travel Hack: How to have a meaningful pilgrimage
• Top 10 non-religious pilgrimages around the world
• Meet Andrea Devicenzi – the Italian Paralympic cyclist who is using pilgrimages to change people's perceptions about disability
• Gear chat: what to pack when doing activities in very hot weather
• Margery Kempe - pilgrim and author of the first memoir in history is our Wander Woman of the Month

Contact Wander Woman

www.Phoebe-Smith.com; @PhoebeRSmith

With the rise of the Far Right across the globe, things have never been so tough for refugees and asylum seekers. So I head out with a new social enterprise that’s training immigrant women to become tour guides across Britain so they can celebrate their culture whilst earning their own income and teach us all a thing or too about our most well-known cities. Join Phoebe on an exploration of Syrian-Palestinian culture right here in London.

Also coming up:

• Award-winning chef Ahu Hettema - who spent a decade stuck in the US immigration system - shares how she managed to cook her way out of depression…
• Travel Hack: How to travel everywhere without going anywhere
• Top 10 ethnic enclaves in unexpected places around the world
• Meet Beki Henderson the adventure producer/director behind some of TVs most popular male-fronted shows – from Will Smith to Levison Wood and more
• Gear chat: what to pack for a walking city tour
• Mabel Barker – the Lakeland teacher, inventor of the microadventure and fearless climber is our Wander Woman of the Month

Contact Wander Woman

www.Phoebe-Smith.com; @PhoebeRSmith

Think you have to travel far to feel like you've had a proper expedition? Think again. In an effort to prove that you don’t need to travel to far flung lands – or spend very much money at all to have a proper expedition, Wander Woman Phoebe Smith attempts a timed walking challenge with the Long Distance Walkers Association across two counties, to discover the joys (and pain) of walking 50 miles in a single day. Along the way expect epic sunsets, camaraderie and Jelly Baby fuelled hallucinations as she attempts to answer the question – why on earth would anyone do it?

Also coming up:

• TV naturalist Mike Dilger shares his journey from being an awkward kid who hid in bushes to a wildlife expert
• Travel Hack: How undertaking an endurance event can help prepare you for your next big trip
• Top 10 short walks with BIG views around the world
• Meet Roberto Battista the man breathing new life into near-abandoned Italian mountain towns - through the power of adventure
• Gear chat: what to pack for an endurance challenge
• Florence Dixie - Victorian Patagonia explorer and women's rights activist is our Wander Woman of the Month

Contact Wander Woman

www.Phoebe-Smith.com; @PhoebeRSmith

With scenes of protest erupting in some of the most visited cities and countries in the world – telling tourists to go home – Wander Woman, Phoebe Smith, shows how merely travelling a little north of the Croatian honeypot of Dubrovnik to explore the region of Zadar the rewards can be great - for travellers and locals. From discovering the 3,000-year-old Old Town and dancing to the sustainable (and free) Sea Organ, to birdwatching and kayaking in Vrana Lake Nature Park, paddling and eating local on the islands of Ugljan & Pašman and tasting the delights of Pag, there's a whole family-friendly area to enjoy - minus the crowds. Come wander with her…

Also coming up:

• 10 alternative destinations to the overtouristed locations (including scintillating swaps for Barcelona, Tuscany, Iceland and more)
• Travel Hack: How to be a more responsible traveller in the overcrowded locations
• Meet "Guerrilla Geographer" Daniel Raven-Ellison who is creating a national walking network connecting every single town and city in Britain
• Pack the kit you need for scorching hot temperatures
• Meet the 20-year-old female guide in Benin who is breaking gender barriers in West Africa's tourism industry
• Dervla Murphy - the ultimate responsible traveller - is our Wander Woman of the Month

Contact Wander Woman

www.Phoebe-Smith.com; @PhoebeRSmith

Would you ever walk the 'Backbone of Britain'? 2025 marks 60 years since the UK got it’s first official long distance pathway - the Pennine Way. As political as it was pioneering, Wander Woman Phoebe Smith delves into the history of this hard-fought-for trail - one that is integral to all the rights walkers enjoy today, discovering a kick-ass, bell bottomed jeans wearing hiker in the 1960s, before heading out with her friend Cerys Matthews to walk a prime 3-day section in the present day, to meet other walkers, accommodation owners and bar workers, and discover what has changed here in the six decades since it opened. Come wander with her…

Also coming up:

• Adventurer and presenter Pelumi Nubi explains why she went from being a scientist to driving from London to Lagos (Nigeria), solo, in a Peugeot 107
• Travel Hack: How to share close quarters with a friend on a trip – and still be talking at the end
• 10 best road trips you can do by electric vehicle
• Meet conservationist Laurie Marker who has single-handedly shaped cheetah conservation in Namibia whilst improving the lives of the country’s human residents
• Pack the kit you need for the ultimate road trip
• Hannah Hauxwell, hardy Pennine hill farmer and female Palin of the 70s-90s, is our Wander Woman of the Month

Contact Wander Woman

www.Phoebe-Smith.com; @PhoebeRSmith

Can walking a coastal path really heal a broken heart? As bestselling book The Salt Path becomes a major film starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Issacs, Wander Woman Phoebe Smith heads to author Raynor Winn's favourite 2-day section of the South West Coast Path in Cornwall - walking from Zennor to Minnack. Along the way she meets other hikers and discovers the power of simply placing one foot in front of the other.

Also coming up:

• Raynor Winn shares who she really thought would play her in a movie and explains why the path will always be her home
• Travel Hack: Prepare for your first long distance path
• 10 best coastal paths arounds the world
• Meet BBC presenter and disability advocate Lucy Edwards about traveling while blind – including on safari
• Pack the kit you really need for walking the South West Coast Path
• Sarah Stoddart Hazlitt, who walked nearly 300 miles to process her divorce in 1822, is our Wander Woman of the Month

Contact Wander Woman

www.Phoebe-Smith.com; @PhoebeRSmith

What if everything you thought you knew about voodoo was completely wrong? This episode Wander Woman Phoebe Smith heads to Togo and Benin in West Africa - the birthplace of the religion, with Explore, to seek out the real voodoo beyond the sensationalist Hollywood portrayals of evil dolls and sinister spells. Journeying to the rural north of both countries she invites you to experience with her the rituals, practises, dances and truth behind perhaps the most maligned belief system in the world. Come wander with her...

Also coming up:

• Woman with Altitude Elise Wortley on why she travels with world wearing a bonnet and Victorian bras
• Travel Hack: Make the most of your tour leader
• 10 incredible cultural experiences around the world
• Meet Namgyal Doma Sherpa a massage therapist on the Everest Basecamp trek with Lehara, helping heal hikers AND give jobs and money to remote communities
• Pack the kit you really need for visiting West Africa
• Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, is our Wander Woman of the Month

Contact Wander Woman

www.Phoebe-Smith.com; @PhoebeRSmith