It's a gorgeous sunny day, you're by the beach or in the mountains, you've got no car and everyone you know is it work. What do you do?
I love going for a solo hike. You can choose the route, set the pace and stay out as long as you like. But sometimes you want some company, right?
Urban Hike: How To Make Your Own Adventure In The City
Recently, I've been loading up my phone with podcasts to keep me company on long hikes or even just to pass the time in airports/train stations/on planes. The best part about podcasts? They are totally free to download.
Here are few of my favourites... You can download all of these podcasts on the Apple Podcasts app.
DEAR SUGAR RADIO
Dear Sugar Radio is the podcast equivalent of a warm blanket and a cup of tea on a cold winter's night.
Cheryl Strayed (author of Wild, you can read my review here) and Steve Almond are both American writers who receive letters each week, asking for advice on a whole range of topics - from broken hearts to dealing with your family members during election time to being a mother. It's like an Agony Aunt column, but so much better.
Cheryl and Steve give the best, down-to-earth advice on every problem under the sun. It gets you thinking about similar situations in your own life and how you would deal with them. It might not sound like your thing, but honestly give one episode a go.
Listen to Dear Sugar Radio here.
WOMEN OF THE HOUR WITH LENA DUNHAM
Famous for bringing the TV show Girls into the world, Lena Dunham released her book two years ago and a podcast last year. It's a funny, thought-provoking and inspiring listen, discussing everything modern women think and talk about today.
Sadly, there are only five episodes, but each one is gold. Look forward to advice from the witty Emma Stone to snippets of real life stories from women across America to tackling the big topics like friendship, death, first loves and body image. It's like an American, Lena Dunham-style version of Women's Hour on Radio 4.
Listen to the Women Of The Hour podcast here.
SHE EXPLORES
Female adventurer Gail Straub has a brilliant blog called She Explores which is a compilation of interviews, opinion pieces and advice posts around women in the outdoors. It's really great. Just a couple of months ago, she started a podcast for "women who are inspired to spend time outside".
This is one of the most appropriate podcasts to listen to while hiking. The first episode tackles fear - the fear of backpacking alone, starting something new, featuring other female explorer guests. It addresses issues we all think about as outdoor-loving women.
Listen to the She Explore podcast right here.
MAGIC LESSONS
This is one for the creatives among you. Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the famous Eat Pray Love, released her book Big Magic in the UK last year.
It's a brilliant book for anyone who wants to live a creative life - or even just wants to live a more honest, authentic life.
She has also brought out a podcast to promote Big Magic called Magic Lessons, which covers all manner of creative fears and how to help artist overcome them.
Oh and Elizabeth Gilbert's Facebook Page is GREAT, if you haven't already explored it. I spent about two hours reading her posts when I first discovered it. Ideal for anyone who is curious about love, life, creativity and exploring your inner self and the world.
Listen to the Magic Lessons podcast here.
DESERT ISLAND DISCS
This classic Radio 4 programme has a podcast version. The format is simple. Kirsty Young interviews a celebrity - and they have to pick eight songs they would take with them if they were stranded to a desert island.
The beauty of the podcast version is you can pick and choose which episodes you download, so you only listen to people you are particularly interested in. My personal favourites were Tom Hanks, Lily Allen and climber Conrad Anker.
Although I'd advise downloading a few random people too, you never know what you might learn about someone you didn't have much interest in before.
Listen to the Desert Island Discs podcast here.
THIS AMERICAN LIFE
This American Life was the first podcast I ever listened to. Hosted by Ira Glass who has a fantastic soothing American voice, it tells the stories of ordinary Americans. Often these are stories that are submitted into the show and grouped into themes.
My favourite episode is an old one called No Coincidences, No Story! The theme (as you might have guessed) is coincidences. Some of the stories actually made me gasp out loud. Really worth a listen.
You can listen to the most recent episodes for free or pay 79p for an old episode on iTunes. Highly worth it in the case of No Coincidences, No Story!
They were also the people behind the podcast of all podcasts, Serial. If you haven't listened to that yet, download it right this second.
Listen to This American Life podcast here.