Bill Bailey
From daft dog walks to epic hikes, the comedian shares tales from his trails
Bill Bailey
on ancient trails, cold ales and dog-walking fails
The comedian, musician and Strictly Come Dancing winner is also a keen rambler. From ancient paths and challenging long-distance trails to dog walks and festive family strolls, Bill chatted to us about his passion for walking – and the delicious falafels and liquorice you’ll find in his favourite backpack
INTERVIEW ELYSSA CAMPBELL-BARR
The comedian, musician and Strictly Come Dancing winner is also a keen rambler. From ancient paths and challenging long-distance trails to dog walks and festive family strolls, Bill chatted to us about his passion for walking – and the delicious falafels and liquorice you’ll find in his favourite backpack
INTERVIEW ELYSSA CAMPBELL-BARR
How did you fall in love with walking?
Walking with my mum and dad around the Welsh coastline when I was a kid – it was always something we did on our holidays. And in the countryside around our house where I grew up in Keynsham, between Bath and Bristol, I loved discovering little pathways all around the back lanes.
What about your fondness for long-distance walks?
I love long-distance walking – I’ve got really into it in the past 10 years. There’s something about it that helps you to appreciate things in life generally. If you’ve walked 20 miles and you stagger into a B&B or guesthouse, that cold drink has never tasted so good and the food is ‘this is the greatest chilli con carne I’ve ever had in my life’. Then ‘this is the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in’. And the sleep? ‘Oh my God, I’ve never slept like this!’ That’s why I do it, because it sharpens the senses and strips away the ephemera of life.
Is it a passion you’ve passed on to the next generation?
Definitely. I’m delighted our son [Dax, 21] is keen on walking. Recently, I walked the Cape Wrath Trail – a tough old hike – and he wanted to come with me. He’s come on several long walks over the past few years, and he’s just gone off on his own, back up to Scotland to climb some Munros. I feel my work as a parent is done!
Your recent Channel 4 series was called Perfect Pub Walks. What’s your favourite combination of ramble and pub?
The walk from Bude [Cornwall] to Hartland Quay [Devon] is an absolute corker. It’s a healthy 15-mile stroll, up and down all the way, so not for the fainthearted. But you’re rewarded with the spectacular location of a hotel and pub perched right on the coast.
Bill with fellow comedian Alan Davies on his Channel 4 show Perfect Pub Walks
Bill with fellow comedian Alan Davies on his Channel 4 show Perfect Pub Walks
In the series, you talk to your well-known walking companions about the benefits of walking for mental and physical health. What, for you, are the greatest benefits of walking in nature?
There are so many. As those programmes showed, if you’re walking with someone, it’s a way of unlocking conversations about difficult subjects. Because when you’re side by side, there’s less intensity in the conversation than if you’re sitting down looking at someone. Walking becomes the object of the day, and the conversation flows back and forth. There’s something about the rhythm of walking and the shared experience that breaks down barriers between people and allows them to communicate in a way that perhaps they haven’t before. Yes, that show was about two blokes walking in lovely bits of old England. But we talked about addiction, racism, mental health issues, historical child abuse. These are deeply serious and thorny subjects, and yet we arrived at them naturally through conversation elicited by walking.
Walking is so important, and I think it’s under-used as a way of helping people talk about things. I love hearing about social prescribing, when doctors say: ‘I prescribe a walk – repeat as necessary.’ There’s so much else going on when you’re walking: the wind in the air, the deeper breathing, the cleaner air, noticing wildlife, the physical aspect of walking itself. You appreciate things so much more.
In the series, you talk about the feeling of connection with ancestors when walking ancient routes, and in 2021 you did a piece on the BBC’s The One Show about the Ramblers’ Don’t Lose Your Way campaign to save historic paths…
I said at the time, and I’d reiterate, that these are ancient paths that everyone should be able to enjoy. They’re an important part of our shared cultural legacy. It would be an absolute disaster if they weren’t kept viable and people weren’t able to walk them. Because, like so much about the natural world, once they’re gone, that’s it. There’s no getting them back. They are something all of us can benefit from and enjoy. They say something about our history. They teach us about who our ancestors were – what kind of lives they lived, what sorts of jobs they did. And they provoke fascinating questions about our past.
When I walk ancient trails, I’m grateful that they’re here and that I’m benefiting from this connection, this feeling of the past coming alive. I’m also aware we have to keep walking them, otherwise they will disappear. Walking them is a deliberate act of maintenance. If you get on a path and it hasn’t been used for a while, you can tell. It’s a little bit overgrown and you have to hack your way through here and there. Every time I get on those paths, I think: ‘Well, that’s one more person through here.’ We have to keep walking them, otherwise they’ll be gone, and it would be a tragedy to lose them.
How did you fall in love with walking?
Walking with my mum and dad around the Welsh coastline when I was a kid – it was always something we did on our holidays. And in the countryside around our house where I grew up in Keynsham, between Bath and Bristol, I loved discovering little pathways all around the back lanes.
What about your fondness for long-distance walks?
I love long-distance walking – I’ve got really into it in the past 10 years. There’s something about it that helps you to appreciate things in life generally. If you’ve walked 20 miles and you stagger into a B&B or guesthouse, that cold drink has never tasted so good and the food is ‘this is the greatest chilli con carne I’ve ever had in my life’. Then ‘this is the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in’. And the sleep? ‘Oh my God, I’ve never slept like this!’ That’s why I do it, because it sharpens the senses and strips away the ephemera of life.
Is it a passion you’ve passed on to the next generation?
Definitely. I’m delighted our son [Dax, 21] is keen on walking. Recently, I walked the Cape Wrath Trail – a tough old hike – and he wanted to come with me. He’s come on several long walks over the past few years, and he’s just gone off on his own, back up to Scotland to climb some Munros. I feel my work as a parent is done!
Your recent Channel 4 series was called Perfect Pub Walks. What’s your favourite combination of ramble and pub?
The walk from Bude [Cornwall] to Hartland Quay [Devon] is an absolute corker. It’s a healthy 15-mile stroll, up and down all the way, so not for the fainthearted. But you’re rewarded with the spectacular location of a hotel and pub perched right on the coast.
Bill with fellow comedian Alan Davies on his Channel 4 show Perfect Pub Walks
Bill with fellow comedian Alan Davies on his Channel 4 show Perfect Pub Walks
In the series, you talk to your well-known walking companions about the benefits of walking for mental and physical health. What, for you, are the greatest benefits of walking in nature?
There are so many. As those programmes showed, if you’re walking with someone, it’s a way of unlocking conversations about difficult subjects. Because when you’re side by side, there’s less intensity in the conversation than if you’re sitting down looking at someone. Walking becomes the object of the day, and the conversation flows back and forth. There’s something about the rhythm of walking and the shared experience that breaks down barriers between people and allows them to communicate in a way that perhaps they haven’t before. Yes, that show was about two blokes walking in lovely bits of old England. But we talked about addiction, racism, mental health issues, historical child abuse. These are deeply serious and thorny subjects, and yet we arrived at them naturally through conversation elicited by walking.
Walking is so important, and I think it’s under-used as a way of helping people talk about things. I love hearing about social prescribing, when doctors say: ‘I prescribe a walk – repeat as necessary.’ There’s so much else going on when you’re walking: the wind in the air, the deeper breathing, the cleaner air, noticing wildlife, the physical aspect of walking itself. You appreciate things so much more.
In the series, you talk about the feeling of connection with ancestors when walking ancient routes, and in 2021 you did a piece on the BBC’s The One Show about the Ramblers’ Don’t Lose Your Way campaign to save historic paths…
I said at the time, and I’d reiterate, that these are ancient paths that everyone should be able to enjoy. They’re an important part of our shared cultural legacy. It would be an absolute disaster if they weren’t kept viable and people weren’t able to walk them. Because, like so much about the natural world, once they’re gone, that’s it. There’s no getting them back. They are something all of us can benefit from and enjoy. They say something about our history. They teach us about who our ancestors were – what kind of lives they lived, what sorts of jobs they did. And they provoke fascinating questions about our past.
When I walk ancient trails, I’m grateful that they’re here and that I’m benefiting from this connection, this feeling of the past coming alive. I’m also aware we have to keep walking them, otherwise they will disappear. Walking them is a deliberate act of maintenance. If you get on a path and it hasn’t been used for a while, you can tell. It’s a little bit overgrown and you have to hack your way through here and there. Every time I get on those paths, I think: ‘Well, that’s one more person through here.’ We have to keep walking them, otherwise they’ll be gone, and it would be a tragedy to lose them.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE . . .
Country walk?
I’m fond of The Ridgeway. I’ve walked the whole thing twice. It’s a favourite partly because you go past wonderful ancient historical sites – Wayland’s Smithy, the Westbury White Horse. In parts, you’re walking across land where the trail is worn into the ground by thousands of years of other feet walking. Apparently, it’s the oldest road in Britain, so you’re walking in the footsteps of millennia – Roman centurions, drovers, scallywags – and I feel that weight of history. It’s also a beautiful part of old England. Even though it’s surrounded by towns and villages, when you’re up on the chalk downs, you feel quite remote and I love that.
City walk?
A couple of times I’ve gone on a city walk in Brussels, which is absolutely fantastic. There are wonderful old buildings and little cobbled streets and then, if you keep going, you get to a huge forest, which goes on for miles. You can get lost in the woods and spend time in nature, and then dive back into the city.
View?
There’s a wonderful viewpoint on the South West Coast Path, from the lighthouse at Bull Point [North Devon]. You look along the coast and there’s this dramatic, shipwrecking coastline in either direction. You look down and you can see the huge sweep of sand at Woolacombe. Then you can gaze out to sea at Lundy island. Walking with my old pal Sean Lock [the comedian, who died in 2021], we would stop there and get the Thermos out.
Piece of kit?
I’m a huge fan of the water bladder. I love that you can keep yourself hydrated as you go. You just take little sips, you’re not over-hydrating, and your pack is getting lighter with every gulp. I’ve got a little Osprey Daylite backpack, which is my favourite. I use that on my evening bike ride or for a day hike. It’s just big enough to put in water, Thermos, a few snacks, wallet, phone – all you need.
Backpack snack?
If I’m heading out from home, I pop to a shop at the end of my road that sells falafel, fresh and hot in a paper bag. It’s fantastic – very satisfying to nibble on while in the countryside. On a big hike, say up in Scotland, I take salted liquorice. It’s great because it gives you a little sweet hit for energy, but it’s also got salt to replace your lost salt. Whenever I’m in Sweden I buy great swathes of it.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE . . .
Country walk?
I’m fond of The Ridgeway. I’ve walked the whole thing twice. It’s a favourite partly because you go past wonderful ancient historical sites – Wayland’s Smithy, the Westbury White Horse. In parts, you’re walking across land where the trail is worn into the ground by thousands of years of other feet walking. Apparently, it’s the oldest road in Britain, so you’re walking in the footsteps of millennia – Roman centurions, drovers, scallywags – and I feel that weight of history. It’s also a beautiful part of old England. Even though it’s surrounded by towns and villages, when you’re up on the chalk downs, you feel quite remote and I love that.
City walk?
A couple of times I’ve gone on a city walk in Brussels, which is absolutely fantastic. There are wonderful old buildings and little cobbled streets and then, if you keep going, you get to a huge forest, which goes on for miles. You can get lost in the woods and spend time in nature, and then dive back into the city.
View?
There’s a wonderful viewpoint on the South West Coast Path, from the lighthouse at Bull Point [North Devon]. You look along the coast and there’s this dramatic, shipwrecking coastline in either direction. You look down and you can see the huge sweep of sand at Woolacombe. Then you can gaze out to sea at Lundy island. Walking with my old pal Sean Lock [the comedian, who died in 2021], we would stop there and get the Thermos out.
Piece of kit?
I’m a huge fan of the water bladder. I love that you can keep yourself hydrated as you go. You just take little sips, you’re not over-hydrating, and your pack is getting lighter with every gulp. I’ve got a little Osprey Daylite backpack, which is my favourite. I use that on my evening bike ride or for a day hike. It’s just big enough to put in water, Thermos, a few snacks, wallet, phone – all you need.
Backpack snack?
If I’m heading out from home, I pop to a shop at the end of my road that sells falafel, fresh and hot in a paper bag. It’s fantastic – very satisfying to nibble on while in the countryside. On a big hike, say up in Scotland, I take salted liquorice. It’s great because it gives you a little sweet hit for energy, but it’s also got salt to replace your lost salt. Whenever I’m in Sweden I buy great swathes of it.
This summer you walked Scotland’s Cape Wrath Trail – one of the most challenging in Britain. Why did you want to do it?
I’ve read about the Cape Wrath Trail, I’ve watched people’s videos of it, I’ve seen pictures, and it’s been kind of haunting me for years. I wanted to do something that was a bigger, tougher challenge than the walks I’ve done in the past few years, which have all been around the 160km/100-mile mark. I’ve done some overseas – walking in Spain with my pal Sean, and hiking in Indonesia with my wife, Kris – but nothing of this distance [320km/200 miles]. It was about testing our endurance and our skill as navigators and campers, and with a compass, being resourceful, having to improvise now and again, being able to use a map and take a bearing. It’s a lot more to think about, but I relish those challenges. I’m also aware that none of us is getting any younger. It’s a tough hike, so I wanted to do it now while I’m reasonably fit and well, to experience it and prove to myself that I could do such a thing.
Bill hiked Scotland’s notoriously tough Cape Wrath Trail this summer
Bill hiked Scotland’s notoriously tough Cape Wrath Trail this summer
Bill reflects on his experience at the end of the trail
Bill reflects on his experience at the end of the trail
It was stunning – everything I’d imagined and more. You plan and prepare and train. But when you get out there, it’s really the people you spend time with that make these trips. It’s those you meet along the way and the companionship of the trail – the wonderful nights we had in bothies and round the campsites and in little B&Bs and guesthouses along the way.
You often walk while on tour. Is walking part of your performance routine?
Yes, definitely. I realised it’s eminently achievable. Everywhere you go in the world, you can find somewhere to go for a walk. The nature of my job is that I spend most of the time indoors. I’m performing indoors, waiting to go on stage indoors, in a hotel, getting on a flight, in a car. So when I’m not working, I want to be outdoors. I want to explore wherever I am. Also, walking is good for dealing with all kinds of thoughts, worrying about the show, stressing about this and that. It’s extremely helpful to just settle your mind and breathe some fresh air and share a Thermos of coffee with a couple of mates, and somehow everything seems right with the world.
Will walking be part of your festive season?
We have a tradition that every Boxing Day we go for a walk with however many people are staying with us, which is usually quite a lot. It’s quite a big throng: errant dogs, kids, whatever, and we just go out on a big stroll, usually around Richmond Park or by the River Thames.
Do you have any more big walks planned?
The Cape Wrath Trail was only for a handful of hardcore walkers. Next year we’re going to do the South Downs Way, which is much more user-friendly.
Your new book My Animals, and Other Animals is about your life and all the animals you’ve shared it with. Does that include walking with your dogs?
When my son was much younger, we were walking at Haystacks in the Lake District and one of our dogs decided he couldn’t go down the hill. He was fine going up. But downhill he wasn’t having it. He was a rescue dog and I don’t think he'd ever been down such a steep hill before in his life. He just froze. Then he bolted back up. It was a right palaver. In the end, I went down and Mountain Rescue met me back at the beginning of the walk. I had my binoculars around my neck and I could see the dog coming down the path. So I walked towards him, but he was in a wild state and, as I tried to grab him, I put my foot down a rabbit hole. I fell and sort of yanked him by the collar. He freaked out and snapped at me. I fell back the other way, the binoculars swung around and clonked me on the side of the head, nearly knocking me out. We eventually got hold of the dog and Mountain Rescue wrapped a bandage around his nose. He looked very sorry for himself. It was a ridiculous comedy of errors. The whole episode is in the book.
Many of our readers will know you for winning Strictly. Do you think your walking helped with the dancing?
Definitely. I think walking generally is underestimated as a way to keep fit. It’s one of the best ways because it doesn’t require huge amounts of kit – just decent walking shoes and a backpack are your basics. And then you’re working every part of the body, you’re outdoors, it’s good for your posture, for cardio. One of the things I worried about most on Strictly was my fitness, but my baseline level of fitness is pretty good because I’m always outdoors.
Will there be another series of Perfect Pub Walks?
I certainly hope so. It connected with people in a way I hadn’t predicted. People really responded to it – I got lots of wonderful messages from all over the world. It was gentle viewing, but it was also talking about serious subjects. It meant a great deal to me, and it would be lovely to make more.
This summer you walked Scotland’s Cape Wrath Trail – one of the most challenging in Britain. Why did you want to do it?
I’ve read about the Cape Wrath Trail, I’ve watched people’s videos of it, I’ve seen pictures, and it’s been kind of haunting me for years. I wanted to do something that was a bigger, tougher challenge than the walks I’ve done in the past few years, which have all been around the 160km/100-mile mark. I’ve done some overseas – walking in Spain with my pal Sean, and hiking in Indonesia with my wife, Kris – but nothing of this distance [320km/200 miles]. It was about testing our endurance and our skill as navigators and campers, and with a compass, being resourceful, having to improvise now and again, being able to use a map and take a bearing. It’s a lot more to think about, but I relish those challenges. I’m also aware that none of us is getting any younger. It’s a tough hike, so I wanted to do it now while I’m reasonably fit and well, to experience it and prove to myself that I could do such a thing.
Bill hiked Scotland’s notoriously tough Cape Wrath Trail this summer
Bill hiked Scotland’s notoriously tough Cape Wrath Trail this summer
Bill reflects on his experience at the end of the trail
Bill reflects on his experience at the end of the trail
It was stunning – everything I’d imagined and more. You plan and prepare and train. But when you get out there, it’s really the people you spend time with that make these trips. It’s those you meet along the way and the companionship of the trail – the wonderful nights we had in bothies and round the campsites and in little B&Bs and guesthouses along the way.
You often walk while on tour. Is walking part of your performance routine?
Yes, definitely. I realised it’s eminently achievable. Everywhere you go in the world, you can find somewhere to go for a walk. The nature of my job is that I spend most of the time indoors. I’m performing indoors, waiting to go on stage indoors, in a hotel, getting on a flight, in a car. So when I’m not working, I want to be outdoors. I want to explore wherever I am. Also, walking is good for dealing with all kinds of thoughts, worrying about the show, stressing about this and that. It’s extremely helpful to just settle your mind and breathe some fresh air and share a Thermos of coffee with a couple of mates, and somehow everything seems right with the world.
Will walking be part of your festive season?
We have a tradition that every Boxing Day we go for a walk with however many people are staying with us, which is usually quite a lot. It’s quite a big throng: errant dogs, kids, whatever, and we just go out on a big stroll, usually around Richmond Park or by the River Thames.
Do you have any more big walks planned?
The Cape Wrath Trail was only for a handful of hardcore walkers. Next year we’re going to do the South Downs Way, which is much more user-friendly.
Your new book My Animals, and Other Animals is about your life and all the animals you’ve shared it with. Does that include walking with your dogs?
When my son was much younger, we were walking at Haystacks in the Lake District and one of our dogs decided he couldn’t go down the hill. He was fine going up. But downhill he wasn’t having it. He was a rescue dog and I don’t think he'd ever been down such a steep hill before in his life. He just froze. Then he bolted back up. It was a right palaver. In the end, I went down and Mountain Rescue met me back at the beginning of the walk. I had my binoculars around my neck and I could see the dog coming down the path. So I walked towards him, but he was in a wild state and, as I tried to grab him, I put my foot down a rabbit hole. I fell and sort of yanked him by the collar. He freaked out and snapped at me. I fell back the other way, the binoculars swung around and clonked me on the side of the head, nearly knocking me out. We eventually got hold of the dog and Mountain Rescue wrapped a bandage around his nose. He looked very sorry for himself. It was a ridiculous comedy of errors. The whole episode is in the book.
Many of our readers will know you for winning Strictly. Do you think your walking helped with the dancing?
Definitely. I think walking generally is underestimated as a way to keep fit. It’s one of the best ways because it doesn’t require huge amounts of kit – just decent walking shoes and a backpack are your basics. And then you’re working every part of the body, you’re outdoors, it’s good for your posture, for cardio. One of the things I worried about most on Strictly was my fitness, but my baseline level of fitness is pretty good because I’m always outdoors.
Will there be another series of Perfect Pub Walks?
I certainly hope so. It connected with people in a way I hadn’t predicted. People really responded to it – I got lots of wonderful messages from all over the world. It was gentle viewing, but it was also talking about serious subjects. It meant a great deal to me, and it would be lovely to make more.
Bill Bailey performs his show Thoughtifier nightly at Theatre Royal Haymarket, London, from 28 December 2024 to 19 January 2025. His new book My Animals, and Other Animals (£25, Quercus) is on sale now. Watch Perfect Pub Walks on demand from Channel 4. billbailey.co.uk
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