‘Six Minutes Somewhere Else’ travel podcast
Six Minutes Somewhere Else is the travel podcast that helps you temporarily forget the fears and frictions of the world and immerse yourself in the beauty, wonder and hope of nature in locations near and far.
For just six minutes you can be transported to somewhere calmer, quieter and more natural – a brief escape to help soothe the soul.
Episode summary: This is the first of a new, occasional City Nature Walks series, highlighting the wonder of nature in urban environments. I walked through beautiful Westerpark in north Amsterdam on an unseasonably cold early summer day. The land is made up of lush, half-flooded meadow, narrow canals…
Episode summary: I joined an old friend to take a walking safari in a lesser-known corner of Bali, far away from the mopeds, the gridlock and the grind. We strolled through a forest in the West Bali National Park in the island’s far north-west, exploring its mangroves and…
Episode summary: I walked the Munjip Trail on the south coast of New South Wales in Australia. The 15km (9-mile) coastal path winds through woods and along beaches with spectacular views over the South Pacific. It’s a place where the spirits of ancestors gather, so it’s culturally as…
Episode summary: I spent a magical evening on a sand dune at Sossusvlei in the Namib-Naukluft National Park, listening to a very tuneful gecko singing at sunset to attract a mate. The park – in Namibia in southwest Africa – occupies almost 50,000 sq km (more than 19,000…
Episode summary: I sat on the edge of a mighty crater which houses the deepest lake in the United States. It was a truly magical experience to witness this natural phenomenon in south Oregon, watching a September sunset silhouette the spooky Phantom Ship and turn the water to…
Episode summary: I went back to my hometown of Stratford-Upon-Avon to search for midsummer spirits in an enchanted English woodland. If you are wondering ‘why is Stratford-Upon-Avon so famous’, ‘what was Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream play inspired by’ and ‘what are some good hikes on the Welcombe…
Episode summary: I braved thick fog and damp reindeer to reach the very top of Europe. I shunned the tourist traps of Nordkapp and instead walked the Knivskjelodden hiking trail, which ends 1km north of Nordkapp. If you are wondering ‘what are some interesting facts about Nordkapp’, ‘is…
Episode summary: I arrived at a small temple tucked under an overhanging cliff in Japan, having gone there on the advice of a complete stranger. That advice turned out to be gold, as I came face to face with a statue of the Buddha more than 1,200 years…
Episode summary: I wandered inland from tranquil Te Ngaere bay on the North Island of New Zealand (Aotearoa) and discovered a secret wood. It was populated by giant tree ferns and guarded by the spirits of the land and lively local birds called pee-waka-wakas. The wood was deeply…
Episode summary: I re-visited an old friend, a large ‘spirit’ horse carved out of the chalk downlands of southern England. It is unlike any other chalk figure ever created. It is beautifully animated, galloping free across the landscape. It is also ancient, dating from more than 2,500 years…
Episode summary: The Vallée d’Ossau is full of summer radiance on the day I come to stay. I and several hundred other people and their huge motorhomes, for the famous Tour de France bicycle race is passing through the valley. After the mass of riders and their entourages…
Episode summary: The Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland make up one of the world’s most important seabird sanctuaries, with thousands of birds flocking here every spring to breed and to nurture their young. I visited in July when the airspace around the cliffs was as…
Episode summary: I am in one of my favourite parts of the world: the Windward Islands in the Caribbean. I’m in St Vincent and the Grenadines sharing my breakfast with my new friend, a very colourful Bananaquit bird. It’s one of the prettiest birds I have seen and…
Episode summary: I am cruising through possibly the most amazing and iconic scenery in South East Asia – the famous karst islands in Phang Nga Bay between Krabi and Phuket. I was supposed to be on a car ferry further out to sea but instead took a small…
Episode summary: I am sitting on the rim of the crater of an ancient volcano in Samoa in the South Pacific, with a sheer drop down to a secret, sunken rainforest below me. Big fruit bats are flapping overhead and it’s not hard to imagine they are small…
Episode summary: I am in the very English town of Stratford-Upon-Avon, globally famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare. It’s also my home town and I try to visit each May to enjoy warm, sun-drenched evenings with friends. I like to walk through the town and down…
Episode summary: I am at the very edge of the precipitous – and very loud – Victoria Falls on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe in southern Africa. It is the world’s largest sheet of falling water and known in the local language as Mosi oa Tunya, or the…
Episode summary: I am on a long Pacific Ocean beach in Costa Rica watching a truly monumental natural phenomenon. Hundreds of thousands of Olive Ridley turtles are hauling themselves out of the waves under a bright moon and dragging their bodies up the beach to lay their precious…
Episode summary: I am at Adventure Bay on Bruny Island, off Tasmania, watching a super-cute white wallaby feeding at the edge of a car park. This very rare animal is only found here, where they are protected. If you are asking yourself ‘how rare are albino wallabies’, ‘where…
Episode summary: I am enjoying a perfect late spring evening in an English village. The sun is setting over the wheat fields, rabbits play in a meadow, the hedgerows are bursting with life and there are swifts and swallows on the wing. In the distance I can hear…