Alone on a mountain top in the Pyrenees, in the pitch black of night, without another soul around, a woman hears a voice echoing out of the darkness. It was an experience she couldn't understand or explain. It terrified her. But it also changed her life. 

Follow nature writer Jini Reddy on a Vision Quest, a lone wilderness vigil on a remote mountain in the Pyrenees for five days without food, phone, or connection with the outside world of any kind. Hear how that experience changed her, and led to a new understanding of nature and her place in it.  

After she returned to civilisation, that voice, that mystery, inspired her to begin another kind of quest. She called it Wanderland: a search for the magical in the landscape of her home, Great Britain. We follow in her footsteps, to treasure maps and lost springs, sacred Scottish isles and hidden temples in the land. Through it all, we begin to see another hidden side of nature, more akin to our indigenous ancestors' views than our modern selves. We begin to see beyond the ordinary, into the deep wonder and magic of the wilderness itself. In Wanderland, all things are possible.

Highlights include: 

• Learn what feels like to go on a modern day Vision Quest, a five-day lone wilderness vigil, just as indigenous tribes around the world have done for Millenia
• Hear the unsettling, and otherworldly story, of the Voice from the darkness that changed Jini's life
• Follow a treasure map to go skinny dipping in a lost spring
• Discover a hidden land temple on the Scottish island of Iona, one of the most sacred places in Great Britain
• Hear the story of 'Wanderland' - Jini's critically acclaimed book about her journey in search for the magical in the landscapes of Great Britain
• Find out about indigenous perspectives on nature and be inspired to connect more deeply with the world around you
• Get Jini's top tips on how you can begin your own Wanderland, your own journey to find the mystical in the modern world

Wanderland
Get 30% off with the code: WANDERLAND30
www.bloomsbury.com/wanderland

“What a wonderful book Wanderland is! A witty, gentle, original and very modern quest for the magical (not the mythical) in Britain's landscape, which both made me laugh and moved me.” –  Robert Macfarlane

Jini Reddy
Jini has been an award-winning journalist, travel writer and nature writer for many years. Her byline has appeared in The Guardian, TIME magazine, National Geographic Traveller, Geographical, Psychologies, Resurgence and the Ecologist and countless other publications, both print and online.Recently, she was named one of National Geographic’s Women of Impact. You can read the interview here 
Follow Jini: Twitter: @Jini_Reddy (https://twitter.com/Jini_Reddy) / Instagram: @JiniReddy20 (https://www.instagram.com/jinireddy20/)

Composer
Original soundtrack composed by Alastair Nisbet. https://www.facebook.com/allynisbet

Armchair Explorer
Follow the show on social media: Facebook: @ArmchairExplorerPodcast (https://www.facebook.com/ArmchairExplorerPodcast)/ Instagram: @AaronMWriter (https://www.instagram.com/aaronmwriter/)

For eco-tourism adventure ideas related to the show, please visit the individual episode pages at: https://www.armchair-explorer.com 

Host Aaron Millar is a multi-award-winning travel writer, journalist and author. He contributes regularly to The Times of London, National Geographic Traveller (UK), and many other national and international publications.