Keen Oakham-based walker Richard Cooper shares his love of Rutland on Clare Balding’s BBC Radio 4 show Ramblings
A keen rambler has shared his passion for the ‘well-kept secret’ county he calls home on a BBC radio show.
Richard Cooper, of Oakham, recently led Clare Balding and Mark Steel on a walk in Rutland for an episode of BBC Radio 4 show Ramblings.
The show sees Clare visit new places to enjoy a walk and learn about the area, guided by local people.
For this particular episode she was also accompanied by fellow broadcaster, comedian Mark Steel, in a cross-over as he was also in the area to record an Oakham episode of his own stand-up show Mark Steel’s in Town.
Richard led the pair on the approximately three-mile Hambleton Peninsula circular route as they recorded the episode, on the same day as Stamford-based walking author Will Hetherington also joined Clare for a walk in the Chater Valley.
Richard said: “I enjoy rambling but I’ve never done it professionally, or written about it — but I’ve lived here for 20 years and explored the whole area.
“I love Rutland, the variety of places it has in such as small space, all the villages. But it’s not very well known, it’s a bit of a well-kept secret.”
The opportunity to take part in the radio show — which is available on BBC Sounds — came about quite ‘randomly’ for the enthusiastic walker.
A series on contacts through his wife, Monica Cooper, led to someone who works at the BBC and was seeking a local guide for the episode. Initially, Monica was due to take on the role, but ended up being out of the country when the episode was to be recorded.
“We started mid-way, just past the pub, and did the circular route,” Richard said.
“It took us just under two hours — there was lots of chatting and slow walking as we recorded the episode.
“I think it’s a good thing, to promote Oakham and Rutland.”
While the episode is edited down to 25 minutes, along the route Richard was able to share a lot of his knowledge of the area and the history of Rutland Water with Clare, who he said “learned a fair bit” during the walk, having never properly visited before.