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  • The Big Swim for IWD and Cold Adventures 021: Nicky Chisholm

    The Big Swim for IWD and Cold Adventures 021: Nicky Chisholm
    2025/02/12
    Show Notes The Big Swim: 1,000 Women, One Epic Wild Swim! In this episode of HeadRightOut, I chat with Nicky Chisholm, adventurer, blogger, and founder of The Big Swim—an empowering International Women’s Day event bringing together 1,000 women for a sea swim in Brighton & Dorset. We dive into the power of adventure, resilience, and community, plus why Surfers Against Sewage needs our support now more than ever. Whether you're a seasoned swimmer or just wild-swim curious, this conversation will inspire you to take the plunge—literally or figuratively! 🔗 Full show notes below! The Big Swim for IWD & Cold Adventures 021: Nicky Chisholm In this episode of HeadRightOut, I chat with Nicky Chisholm, an adventurer, blogger, and founder of The Big Swim—a wild swim event bringing 1,000 women together on International Women’s Day. 🌊🏊‍♀️ We 'dive' into (pun intended): ~ The power of adventure for resilience & mental health ~ How wild swimming creates an uplifting, supportive community ~ The Big Swim—what it’s about & how you can get involved ~ Surfers Against Sewage – Why clean water matters now more than ever ~ Why taking small actions can create huge ripple effects Resources & Links Mentioned: - The Big Swim – Sign up or learn more: IWD 2025 - #PinkNicky - International Women’s Day – Find events near you: https://www.internationalwomensday.com - Surfers Against Sewage – Help protect our seas: https://www.sas.org.uk - Adventure Stories Exeter – Get tickets: Travel Stories of Adventure Tickets, Mon, Feb 24, 2025 at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite - HeadRightOut Newsletter – Stay updated & support my book launch: www.headrightout.com Want to help with my book launch? Become an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) reviewer Join my Street Team to help spread the word! Sign up via my newsletter above on headrightout.com Correction: I mistakenly said Bantham Sploosh instead of Bantham Swoosh! Sorry ... my bad. Tag us & share your takeaways! #TheBigSwim #WildSwimming #HeadRightOut @headrightout @pinknicky1 If you'd like to read through the transcription of this episode, please see below: Transcription Nicky Chisholm The Big Swim Nicky Chisholm The Big Swim [00:00:00] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Well, welcome back everybody to the Head Right Out podcast. This is the podcast where we are trying to encourage as many midlife women as possible to head out of their comfort zone in the outdoors doing things that they wouldn't normally do. Now, it has been a while since I have recorded. My name is Zoe Langley Watson and I have been Caught up, caught up in all sorts of life stuff. [00:00:39] Zoe Langley-Wathen We moved from our boat and we're now in a house, in Somerset and loving life and yeah, we have been caught up with all sorts of adventures and family things and yeah, personal circumstances with family that [00:01:00] needed more attention than I could possibly give if I was working and podcasting and writing. [00:01:05] Zoe Langley-Wathen: And yeah. Trying to get a book out into the world as well. So what have I got here to tell you? Yeah, there is lots of exciting news to share with you over the coming weeks. I'm hoping to record another couple of episodes, um, where I will include more stuff about my upcoming book, ways that you can be involved in the launch of that. [00:01:27] Zoe Langley-Wathen: And my adventure plans for 2025. So today we have a really fascinating guest and. I met Nicky at the Adventure Mind Conference 2023 and met up with her again in 2024 and we knew, in fact at 2023, we knew that we had to do a recording for the podcast but It just didn't eventuate, as I said, because I had all sorts of these family things going on. [00:01:57] Zoe Langley-Wathen: But, we have finally got it together [00:02:00] and I'm going to not chat anymore now. I'm going to get straight into the interview with Nicky Chisholm. [00:02:10] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Okay, welcome back everybody, I am so delighted that we have a much long awaited episode of the Head Right Out podcast. And I am here to welcome Nicky Chisholm. Good. Hello, [00:02:25] Nicky Chisholm: Nicky. [00:02:25] Nicky Chisholm: Hello, Luffy. Thank you so much for having me. [00:02:27] Zoe Langley-Wathen: You're very welcome. So Nicky is an experienced project manager. She is a blogger, also in the adventure industry, and she has been exploring since she was 18. [00:02:37] Zoe Langley-Wathen: So I am going to lead into a few questions where Nicky is going to explain all about who she is, what she's been doing, and what she's got coming up, because it's terribly exciting. So Nicky, could you explain where your love for adventure started? [00:02:53] Nicky Chisholm: Oh, that's a good one. I definitely remember I was 18 years old. [00:02:58] Nicky Chisholm: Um, I think just finished [00:03:00] a levels and I got invited to go along and attend a talk to be a crew on a tall ship. So it was the first time I think...
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    48 分
  • Trailblazing the Wales Coast Path in 2012 & other adventures - 020: Arry Cain

    Trailblazing the Wales Coast Path in 2012 & other adventures - 020: Arry Cain
    2022/05/05

    Arry Cain set off in March 2012 to run the equivalent of 40 marathons in 40 days along a brand new trail, the Wales Coast Path. She would become the first person to run around the perimeter of Wales, including the Wales Coast Path. and officially launched the opening of the Path in Cardiff Bay, as she ran her last mile of a gruelling 1027 miles on 5th May. Ten years on, Arry shares her determination, her difficulties and more about the doubters that she could even achieve such an immense challenge. The impact of some of those messages left a deep scar that was hard to heal, but here she talks to Zoe about how she feels ready to reconnect with her running mojo. Arry also retells with enthusiasm and an element of terror, some of the experiences of her other adventures, particularly cycling. Arry really knows the meaning of what it is to HeadRightOut.

    SHOW LINKS:

    Arry Cain -

    Website: Website: https://dragonrun1027.wordpress.com/ (This is currently being updated to reflect on the run, upcoming adventures and everything in between!)

    Instagram: @arrycain

    Twitter: @arrycain

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dragonrun1027

    Illustration -

    Website: www.arrycainillustration.com

    Where to find HeadRightOut and Zoe on social media:

    https://www.facebook.com/HeadRightOut/

    https://www.instagram.com/headrightout/

    https://twitter.com/HeadRightOut

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-langley-wathen/

    zoe@headrightout.com

    Music used in this episode:

    Intro, outro and transitions - ‘Stay Strong’ by Caffeine Creek Band

    SHOW NOTES:

    To follow

    FULL TRANSCRIPTION:

    To follow

    The stretch that should be known as 'Arry's Cliff', Llantwit Major (taken in March 2012).

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    56 分
  • A Donkey, Children & Slow Ways; inspiring human-powered home travel: Hannah Engelkamp - 019

    A Donkey, Children & Slow Ways; inspiring human-powered home travel: Hannah Engelkamp - 019
    2022/03/23

    Hannah Engelkamp talks about walking Wales with a spirited donkey, children, adventures and the pandemic. Her current passion is inspiring others to walk Slow Ways routes, a new network of direct paths, from settlement to settlement, across Great Britain.

    Hannah is a writer and editor with a background in adventure magazines and websites. In 2013 she travelled waywardly around the circumference of Wales, 1000 miles, with a characterful donkey called Chico as her companion. In 2015 she published ‘Seaside Donkey’, a book and a feature-length film of the same, detailing her unusual adventure.

    In this episode, Zoe talks with Hannah about her adventures with her young children, taking on the position of wardens on Bardsey Island for six months with her partner, and her experience of the pandemic, with no garden and two children to occupy. There are surprising similarities between donkey and toddler, Hannah reveals.

    More recently, Hannah was appointed as the Culture, Imagination and Story Lead for Slow Ways, a project working towards creating a trusted network of walking routes that connect settlements and encourage people to walk and engage with the land for their everyday routines in addition to leisure walking. There will be a later episode of HeadRightOut in which full attention is given to Seaside Donkey, as Chico would naturally expect...

    SHOW LINKS:

    Hannah Engelkamp -

    Website: www.seasidedonkey.co.uk (http://seasidedonkey.co.uk/shop-2/ for the book and film)

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seasidedonkey/

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/hannahengelkamp

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SeasideDonkey

    Slow Ways -

    Website: www.slowways.org

    Swarm including the link to the Google doc for submitting film clips from your walk.

    https://beta.slowways.org/Page/the-swarm-how-far-can-we-walk-in-a-weekend

    Map to use for searching for routes needing verification or choosing new walks to pioneer: https://slowways.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/interactivelegend/index.html?appid=7a48a682d41d450b99772f2e25d15d29

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slowwaysuk/

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/SlowWaysUK

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SlowWaysUK

    Where to find HeadRightOut and Zoe on social media:

    https://www.facebook.com/HeadRightOut/

    https://www.instagram.com/headrightout/

    https://twitter.com/HeadRightOut

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-langley-wathen/

    zoe@headrightout.com

    Music used in this episode:

    Intro, outro and transitions - ‘Stay Strong’ by Caffeine Creek Band

    SHOW NOTES:

    To follow

    FULL TRANSCRIPTION:

    To follow
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    1 時間 9 分
  • Fell Running, Marathons & Mountain Biking; Founder of Element for Active Women - 018: Ruth Pickvance

    Fell Running, Marathons & Mountain Biking; Founder of Element for Active Women - 018: Ruth Pickvance
    2022/02/09
    Ruth shares her passion for the mountains, becoming an international fell running champion, fast marathons and how mountain bike orienteering has captured her interest aged 60. She is the founder of Element, offering active courses for women in Wales. In 2012, Ruth Pickvance, an adventurous, retired international fell running champion and super-fast marathon runner, left her well-paid head of faculty role at a Sixth Form College, to set up Element. The business offers women the opportunity to find confidence in outdoor pursuits such as Yoga for Runners, Beginning Fell Running and Mountain Biking for Beginners. At sixty years old, Ruth herself has discovered that she enjoys mountain bike orienteering, which marries her love of the outdoors with the joy of moving her body with less impact on her joints than perhaps those marathons of her forties had created. Living in the beautiful Brecon Beacons, Ruth shares more about her involvement in local environmental projects and conservation, as well as offering some first-hand wisdom regarding facing our fears and stretching those comfort zones. SHOW LINKS for RUTH PICKVANCE: Website: https://element-active.co.uk/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elementactive/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RuthPickvance Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elementactiveuk ***PLEASE VOTE FOR HEADRIGHTOUT IN THE SPORTS PODCAST AWARDS:*** In the Best Urban and Adventure Category https://www.sportspodcastawards.com/categories/18 Where to find HeadRightOut and Zoe on social media: https://www.facebook.com/HeadRightOut/ https://www.instagram.com/headrightout/ https://twitter.com/HeadRightOut https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-langley-wathen/ zoe@headrightout.com Music used in this episode: This Minimal Technology by Coma-Media from Pixabay Morning Garden - Acoustic Chill by Olexy from Pixabay The Cradle of Your Soul by lemonmusicstudio from Pixabay - Simple Piano Melody by ZakharValaha from Pixabay Intro, outro and transitions - ‘Stay Strong’ by Caffeine Creek Band SHOW NOTES: Welcome to the episode 00:51Request for votes in the Sports Podcast Awards - Best Urban and Adventure Category - currently ranked in third place - this is likely to change 01:17Different format for episode due to mic problems when recording. Please let me know if you like the format or preferred HeadRightOut’s original style 02:27What to expect in our conversation. 03:23Where Zoe and Ruth first met and Ruth’s bio: International Mountain Runner, Former British Fell Champion, fast marathon runner, exploring nature and founder of Element 04:06How Ruth came into racing, visiting the Lake District one Christmas around 1985 and making a spontaneous decision 06:20How quickly Ruth became good at the sport and why it touched a chord with her 08:42How old Ruth was when she started racing and where her deep-rooted love of the mountains stemmed from 09:33Zoe talks about the Gold Hill 10 race in Shaftesbury, Dorset - the strength needed running uphill vs the fear of running downhill 10:41Where the fear comes from and how it affects us when running downhill 11:42How to let go and deal with the fear head on 13:10Understanding resilience both personally for Ruth and in general 15:13What is fear, to Ruth? Recognising negative cycles and what we need 18:36About perimenopause symptoms for Zoe 21:19When menopause kicked in for Ruth and how she handled it 22:44Ruth’s love for swimming and other activities - cycling, running, strength work, land management, walking 24:35Zoe hearing about positive impact of exercise from other women in perimenopause including Jo Moseley 26:05Ruth’s recommendations to see a GP or specialist doctor in menopause and HRT if symptoms are debilitating 26:42Zoe’s experience with some of the perimenopause symptoms 27:27Ruth talks about bringing curiosity to fear in order to see fear differently 29:09Digging deep when the doubts and thoughts of being hopeless creep in 31:32Mountain biking for beginners with Element - Ruth shares what some of the participants have said about the two-day course 35:28What Element offers to women coming on the workshops and courses 38:14Ruth’s volunteer work with Stump Up for Trees, planting a million trees 42:50Guardian articles and reviews, Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent and Kate Rawles 44:42Talking about Ruth’s days racing and fell running in the UK and Europe 46:08Types of sponsorship available and the preference to not be fully professional as an athlete 48:32Ruth’s HeadRightOut Moment 50:40Running marathons and choosing fell running over the Olympics 51:57Where to find Ruth on her website and on social media 53:50Laughing about talking for fifty minutes. Thanks from Zoe to Ruth 54:40Zoe shares Ruth’s PB for her fast marathon. Subscribe to Ruth’s newsletter for Element 55:08Lou Lloyd’s HeadRightOut Moment - wild camping solo in the Brecon Beacons and WWOOFING on a smallholding 57:00Zoe taking a short break to deal with family things ...
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    1 時間 2 分
  • Truffles, Tribes & Tragedy; Healing Through World Foods & Adventures - 017: Sue Plastow

    Truffles, Tribes & Tragedy; Healing Through World Foods & Adventures - 017: Sue Plastow
    2022/02/02
    After the sudden death of her husband, Sue Plastow and her family left their Italian truffle orchard to return to the UK. Less than 12 months later, she is finding her feet again with exciting plans ahead that involves outdoor adventures, good food and a space for women to walk and talk. Her children experienced a wonderfully feral upbringing of travel and freedom. Now it’s Sue’s turn to find adventures to honour her late husband’s memory. Her positivity and zest for life is infectious. While she is aware that she is still grieving, Sue knows that the only way forward is to reach back to old skills, reach out for support, and reach up towards the future. SHOW LINKS: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nakedtartufi/ https://www.instagram.com/englishlanguagefoodschool/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/nakedtartufi Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nakedtartufi/ ***PLEASE VOTE FOR HEADRIGHTOUT IN THE SPORTS PODCAST AWARDS:*** In the Best Urban and Adventure Category https://www.sportspodcastawards.com/categories/18 https://www.facebook.com/HeadRightOut/ https://www.instagram.com/headrightout/ https://twitter.com/HeadRightOut https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-langley-wathen/ You can email Zoe: zoe@headrightout.com SHOW NOTES: An audio clip from Sue’s conversation [00:00]Zoe’s introduction to the guest [00:45]Thank you for voting and news about HeadRightOut being a finalist in the Podcasting for Business Awards in the Best Health & Wellbeing category. Request to vote in the Sports Podcast Awards [02:33]Sue Plastow’s bio across thirty years of family travelling and living abroad [03:58]Sue’s fears and reservations about adventuring with a young family of four children under the age of five [07:37]How Sue’s children, now young adults, have benefitted from a childhood of freedom and away from the conventional education system [08:52]Children barefoot and feral, roaming anywhere; living in the mountains, and near the Med, snowboarding, skiing and sailing [09:52]What her children are doing now and about their healthy emotional wellbeing [11:12]Why Sue thinks she’s always been resilient [12:24]Sue’s study/travel timeline, into a relationship, marriage and children, normal life attempt and then campervan adventures with the family in Canada [13:09]What you learn to live without - living simply on the road [14:36]Getting cold in Canada so moving to Dubai, doing desert drumming and sandboarding [15:27]Talking through the personal circumstances that’s brought Sue and family back to UK [17:23]Global Financial Crisis (GFC), Australia, Malaysia, South of France, Switzerland, Italy and Sue’s husband’s death [17:41]Quick thinking prior to travel corridors closing due to the pandemic - rapid move back to UK and how everyone is coping [18:32]Not wanting others to think they have to just crack on because Sue did [19:45]How Sue and the family have found the things they need to survive and move on; honouring her husband’s life [20:32]Sue looking back through her arsenal for skills to draw upon - what could she do? Cookery, social/communication, teaching English, gaining TEFL qualification [21:56]The importance of connection with other midlife women [23:57]Zoe’s similar experience of grief/loss [24:36]A lurching horror vs a transformation - not wanting to be prescriptive about grief [26:44]Message to all: You’re not alone and there are glimmers of hope [28:27]Zoe’s old saying from someone years ago ‘Out of every adversity…’ [28:42]The importance of food and travelling, cookery classes and a bridge between cultures [29:50]Travel adventures with food, outside and a podcast about it [30:36]New events kitchen - called Naked Tartufi [31:35]New concept of outdoor adventure, food and walking along the South West Coast Path - a Moveable Feast [32:23]A therapy, communication, tribe, group of women coming full circle from the bonding experiences of bringing up the family tribe [34:38]The magic of walking and talking [35:24]The impact of travelling so much on Sue and her children. Seeing a million ways to live a life [37:10]Sue’s HeadRightOut Moment facing her fears and driving her children in the snowy, icy mountains to their activities [38:02]Sue’s message that anyone can do it - if she can, they can [39:59]Discussing Sue’s presence on social media - Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, including both the Naked Tartufi account and English Language Cookery School and her podcast, Eat Yourself Alive [40:23]Zoe’s reflection on the episode [42:09]Zoe’s own HeadRightOut Moment from exactly two years ago - Mount Tremper, upstate New York, 100ScaryDays [43:26]Invitation to listen in next week - Ruth Pickvance next week’s guest - international champion fell runner, now running Element Active business - women in the outdoors [47:01]Grateful reminder for listeners to vote for HeadRightOut on Sports Podcast Awards in the Best Urban and Adventure category [47:42]HeadRightOut Hugs [47:56]
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    49 分
  • A Do or Die Decision on Weight Loss; Discovering a New Life Outdoors - 016: Maria Roberts

    A Do or Die Decision on Weight Loss; Discovering a New Life Outdoors - 016: Maria Roberts
    2022/01/26

    This is a compelling conversation between Zoe and Maria Roberts about transitioning from size 26 to size 10. Self-loathing and lacking in confidence, her family needed her. She knew that she would have to make changes. She had to start moving her body and change her lifestyle, despite attempting many unsuccessful diets from the age of ten. After her amazing 8 stone weight loss in her late forties, Maria has now discovered a new-found love for staying fit, being in the outdoors, cycling, canoeing and particularly going on mountain walks and challenges. Her most recent challenge, Ten-y-Fan was gruelling and took every ounce of determination, as she aimed for ten ascents of the highest peak in the Brecon Beacons, Pen-y-Fan. Maria continues to push her comfort zone limits to keep her fit and healthy, both physically, mentally and emotionally and feels she has finally gained her life, and her family back. SHOW LINKS:

    Maria's Instagram

    Maria's Twitter

    ***PLEASE VOTE FOR HEADRIGHTOUT ON THE SPORTS PODCAST AWARDS:***

    In the Best Urban and Adventure Category

    https://www.sportspodcastawards.com/categories/18

    Connect with Zoe:

    HeadRightOut on Facebook

    HeadRightOut on Instagram

    HeadRightOut on Twitter

    Zoe Langley-Wathen on LinkedIn

    Email Zoe directly

    HeadRightOut website
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    1 時間 4 分
  • Miles, Mountains & Menopause: Getting My Life Back - 015: Jo Bradshaw

    Miles, Mountains & Menopause: Getting My Life Back - 015: Jo Bradshaw
    2022/01/19

    As a business advisor who feared heights, Jo Bradshaw never would have dreamed that just a few years later she would summit Mount Everest and lead expeditions across the world. Having now reached six out of the seven highest peak summits, on each of the seven continents, Jo shares how her biggest challenge found her learning to manage the blended symptoms of grief, menopause and lockdown, and how new adventures have since been born. In her conversation with Zoe, she is so incredibly honest about how severely her perimenopause symptoms affected her and how HRT has been a total gamechanger, giving back her life. While her last mountain is still on hold, Jo talks about her return to physical training: from the endurance walking and cycling events she designed last year, to the miles she needs to cover in her newest challenge, coming up in March 2022; a race in Lapland.

    SHOW LINKS:

    Jo’s website - www.jobradshaw.co.uk

    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/_jobradshaw/

    Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/jobradshawadventurer

    LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo-bradshaw-keynotespeaker/

    ***PLEASE VOTE FOR HEADRIGHTOUT IN THE SPORTS PODCAST AWARDS:***

    In the Best Urban and Adventure Category

    https://www.sportspodcastawards.com/categories/18

    https://www.facebook.com/HeadRightOut/

    https://www.instagram.com/headrightout/

    https://twitter.com/HeadRightOut

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-langley-wathen/

    zoe@headrightout.com

    SHOW NOTES:
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    1 時間 12 分
  • Van Life, Challenging Ageist Attitudes & Pro-ageing; Retire Adventurously & Positively - 014: Siobhan Daniels

    Van Life, Challenging Ageist Attitudes & Pro-ageing; Retire Adventurously & Positively - 014: Siobhan Daniels
    2022/01/12

    Siobhan Daniels inspires young and old alike. As a woman who has endured a variety of pains life had to throw at her, she is now not only living her best life into retirement, she's on a mission to encourage others to do that too, and to promote the enjoyment of growing older. Siobhan retired from the BBC, two years ago, after a thirty-year career working as a reporter, presenter, and producer in local news. Her life's rollercoaster involved being a single mum, taking a gap year from work to backpack solo around the world, suffering burn-out, ageism, and workplace bullying, all whilst dealing with grief, and multiple symptoms associated with peri-menopause. Knowing how much she had learned and grown from her back-packing adventure at forty-nine, after years of planning, Siobhan retired to travel the UK in her motorhome, championing and campaigning for companies, products and the public to see the good in ageing. In her words, ‘you are never too old for an adventure’.

    SHOW LINKS:

    Siobhan Daniels' website and blog:

    https://www.shuvonshuvoff.co.uk/blog

    Rachel Peru's podcast:

    https://www.rachelperu.co.uk/out-of-the-bubble-podcast

    HeadRightOut Moment from Charlotte Boenigk

    Personal training links:

    www.moreyou.online

    www.facebook.com/moreyoufitness

    www.instagram.com/moreyoufitness

    Free Your Instinct:

    www.freeyourinstinct.org

    www.facebook.com/freeyourinstinct

    www.instagram.com/freeyourinstinct

    ***PLEASE VOTE FOR HEADRIGHTOUT ON THE SPORTS PODCAST AWARDS:***

    In the Best Urban and Adventure Category)

    https://www.sportspodcastawards.com/

    SHOW NOTES:
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    56 分