Ramblings - George Monbiot in search of the wild

Clare Balding goes rambling, near Machynlleth, with the writer and environmentalist, George Monbiot. The theme of this series of Ramblings is 'In Search Of.' and, together, George and Clare are walking in search of wildness.

George's new book, 'Feral', is partly a personal story about his attempt to stave off the monochrome nature of modern-day life: "I could not continue just sitting and writing, looking after my daughter and my house, running merely to stay fit, watching the seasons cycling past without ever quite belonging to them. I was, I believed, ecologically bored".

In this walk, George explains how he has attempted to 'rewild' his own life and describes what he believes needs to be done in order to reintroduce true wildness to our countryside through the large-scale restoration of ecosystems. He says "researching it felt like stepping through the back of the wardrobe".

Using OS Explorer OL23 - Cadair Idris and Llyn Tegid - George takes Clare to his favourite place in mid-Wales, a rare stand of ancient native woodland, which stirs him to his very soul.

Produced by Karen Gregor.

First broadcast on Thursday 6 June, 2013.