13. Slow Ways Development and Exploring with Dan Raven-Ellison

My guest today on Stepping Out is Dan Raven-Ellison, who has become a bit of a hero to me over the last few months, as I have been following his story and work. He is a geographer and Explorer and has worked with National Geographic and Friends of the Earth and he is well qualified to talk about all things pathways, as not only that, he is a former Geography teacher and walked across the UK’s 69 cities and 15 National Parks in 2014. He decided to start a project and that is to map pathways as directly as possible between dwellings. During lockdown, 700 volunteers from across the country collaborated to produce a first draft of the Slow Ways network, creating a stunning Slow Ways map in the process. This incredible effort has led to the creation of 7,500 routes that collectively stretch for over 2500 towns and villages. He is really out there in terms of countryside and urban environmental protection and access and has been spreading the word on the likes of the BBC, the guardian and throughout schools and councils, so you can imagine my delight, when Dan agreed to talk to me about his projects. We talk all about Slow Ways, his pathway mapping project, London as a national park city, his children’s books and of course how he feels when he walks. Volunteer to walk the paths: https://slowways.uk/ Twitter: @DanRavenEllison Instagram: @DanRavenEllison 1 minute movie and crowdfunding: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/uk-national-parks-in-100-seconds#start https://ravenellison.com/portfolio/missionexplore/ https://www.johnmuirtrust.org/initiatives/missionexplore-john-muir https://www.nationalparkcity.london/ https://ravenellison.com/