"In the wild we remember who we are." Every episode is packed with inspiration, courage, passion, vulnerability, and a pure celebration of wild places. These conversations are about connection, and I promise they’ll ignite that fire in your belly for adventure.
If you love the outdoors, planning adventures, and that buzz of excitement of the flat lay the night before, pouring over maps, the joy of the road trip, celebrating the summits, scaling walls, the burn of the ice cold water or simply just being outdoors to breathe in the air with pals, this podcast is for you! I want to create that same feeling for you through each listen.
Think of Adventure Unfiltered as another step in your planning process for your next adventure, or simply just a way to connect with the outdoors when it’s blowing a hoolie outside and you’re grounded by the weather but still craving the wild and the feeling that brings.
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Welcome to Adventure Unfiltered — a brand new podcast hosted by Lorna Bray exploring the real, raw and remarkable stories behind adventure. From the quiet moments in nature to the bold journeys that push human limits, this is where the truth behind adventure finally gets told.
Over the years, I’ve realised that adventure isn’t only found on the highest summits or in the biggest, boldest expeditions. It lives in the small moments that connect our souls to nature - the rustle of leaves, the grass under our feet, the crack of the first winter snow.
Adventure Unfiltered explores it all.
From tiny sparks of joy to the wild beauty of being immersed in remote landscapes - wrestling with weather, terrain, white water and the thoughts that rise in the quiet.
I’m so excited to share Season 1, a celebration of courage, vulnerability, and the messy, magnificent truth behind extraordinary people and their journeys.
Whether you’re planning a local wander, dreaming of a global expedition, craving the outdoors, looking for inspiration or searching for a role model — you’re in the right place.
If you enjoy this episode, hit Subscribe and / or tap the 🔔 to be notified as each episode drops.
In the very first episode of Adventure Unfiltered, Lorna is joined by her friend and “everyday adventurer” Iona (@iona.adventuring) for a conversation that’s warm, honest and full of laughter - recorded after a sea swim and sauna on Scotland’s Moray coast.
Together they look back at how their friendship began: from early hikes to a frozen sunrise camp in the Pentlands (complete with a John Lewis pillow stuffed into a tiny two-man tent), to Iona accidentally building an online walking community that helped thousands of people find their tribe in the Scottish hills.
Iona shares how that season of bagging summits and chasing sunsets slowly evolved into something different: slower days, pram walks, micro-adventures on the doorstep, and rediscovering nature through the eyes of her children.
Throughout the episode, one thread keeps coming back: connection and community. From those first Facebook hikes, to section-hiking the Moray Coast Trail together over months, Lorna and Iona show how adventure doesn’t have to be epic or expensive to be meaningful. It can be built in small, intentional chunks that work around real life, kids, work and shifting priorities.
At the end, Lorna asks Iona what the Adventure Unfiltered strapline - “In the wild, we remember who we are” - means to her. Iona’s answer is simple and powerful: outside is where she feels most herself, most confident, and most at peace.
This is a heartfelt celebration of everyday adventure, friendship and giving yourself permission to let your life - and your version of adventure - evolve.
You’ll hear about....
Sea vs loch swims… and why adding a sauna feels “a bit bougie”
How a small Facebook group for solo hikers grew into a 4,500-strong community
The first “micro-adventure” in the Pentlands that set the tone for their friendship
Breaking Waves — Wild Swimming & Cold Water Connection with Alice Goodridge
There are moments in conversation that stay with you - and this episode with wild swimmer, coach and community-builder Alice Goodridge is full of them. Alice is known for those unforgettable images of ice-dipping in the Highlands, but behind the headlines is someone grounded, humble and deeply connected to the cold water she loves.
In this episode, Lorna and Alice explore what wild swimming can offer in a world that feels increasingly busy, digital and loud. From the gentleness of breath in icy water to the power of community in the Cairngorms, this is a conversation about presence, courage and finding yourself in the wild.
Together they explore:
The moment cold water shifts from shock to connection
How fear, imagination and bravery coexist in open water
What it takes to build thriving swim communities
The science and safety behind cold water immersion
Why “focusing on the exhale” can change everything
The everyday rituals - from lochs to barrels - that keep Alice grounded
Key moments in the episode:
Smashing through ice and the reality behind the viral images
Training for the English Channel and managing self-doubt
The story of swimming through a waterfall-lit cave on St Kilda
How the Loch Insh Dippers and Cairngorm Wild Swimmers began
Alice’s top tips for before, during and after a cold-water swim
An exclusive announcement about Alice’s new podcast, Cold Water Curious
What “In the wild we remember who we are” means to her
About Alice Goodridge
Alice is a wild swimmer, author of founder of , and the creator of the Cairngorm Wild Swimmers and Loch Insh Dippers communities. A long-distance swimmer who has completed the English Channel and numerous endurance swims, she is as passionate about safety and science as she is about joy, connection and the transformative power of cold water. She lives in the Scottish Highlands, where she swims year-round. Find here on Instagram:
Riding the Ridgelines — Sean Green’s 282-Munro Bike Challenge
In this powerful second episode of Adventure Unfiltered, Lorna sits down with mountain biker and adventurer Sean Green - a man whose “wee idea” grew into one of the most ambitious outdoor challenges Scotland has ever seen: riding all 282 Munros by mountain bike.
Lorna didn’t know Sean before hitting record. She knew the headlines - the photos, the BBC feature, the vast Scottish landscapes beneath two wheels - but not the deeper story behind the challenge. What unfolds in this conversation goes far beyond biking, and into something much more human.
Together, they explore:
The curiosity that pushed him further than confidence ever could
Why he climbed the Inaccessible Pinnacle the day after a profound personal loss
The brutal physical and emotional toll of long days in the mountains
His near-fatal neck injury - and the fact he drove 160 miles home without knowing
Why his biggest goal after recovery wasn’t a new challenge… but riding with his son again
What the hills teach us about identity, resilience and stripping life back to what matters
Sean’s honesty, humility and grounded strength shine through every moment of this conversation. It’s an episode about courage, fatherhood, grief, awe, and the magnetic pull of the wild.
This is exactly the kind of story Adventure Unfiltered was created for.
Key Moments:
Childhood adventures and the early pull of the hills
The first Munros by bike…and how the idea snowballed
The Truth About Summiting Everest — with Mollie Hughes
In this revealing episode of Adventure Unfiltered, Lorna sits down with adventurer and mountaineer Mollie Hughes - who was the first British woman to summit Mount Everest from both the south and the north sides.
Lorna knew the headlines before they recorded: the records, the photos, the iconic summit shots. But she didn’t know the deeper story behind the climbs - the fear, the mindset, the exposure, and the quiet, determined psychology that carried a 21-year-old through one of the most dangerous environments on earth.
What unfolds is not a triumphalist Everest story, but a deeply human one.
Together, they explore:
Growing up with adventure and discovering mountaineering
Interviewing Everest climbers for her dissertation
How a fear of heights shaped (and challenged) Mollie’s Everest journey
The creaking, shifting danger of the Khumbu Icefall
What really happens to your body and mind at high altitude
The pragmatic mindset that carried her through 60 days on the mountain
Why summiting felt more like relief than joy
The truth about the “death zone” - and why the descent is where most climbers die
Returning to climb Everest a second time, older and wiser
What exposure - physical, psychological and emotional - taught her about herself
Mollie’s honesty, intelligence and quiet strength shine through every part of this conversation. This is an episode about fear, resilience, mindset, exposure, and the reality behind one of the world’s most mythologised mountains.
This is exactly why Adventure Unfiltered exists — to go beyond the headline and into the human story.
About Mollie Hughes
Mollie Hughes is a record-breaking adventurer, mountaineer and motivational speaker. At 21 she summited Everest from the south side, and at 26 she returned to summit from the north, becoming the youngest woman in the world at the time to climb both sides of the mountain. Her work blends expedition experience, psychology, resilience and the science of fear - inspiring people around the world to explore their own potential. Mollie's website: ; Instagram: Ocean Vertical:
The Deafening Silence: Mollie Hughes’ Solo Journey Across Antarctica
In this quietly powerful episode of Adventure Unfiltered, Lorna sits down once again with adventurer and polar explorer Mollie Hughes - this time to talk about her solo, unassisted journey across Antarctica.
When Mollie joined the podcast previously, the focus was Everest: fear, exposure, altitude and the constant external risk of the world’s most mythologised mountain. Antarctica is different. Flatter. Whiter. Quieter. And - in many ways - harder.
Lorna knew the headline before they recorded: nearly 700 miles skied alone across a frozen continent. What she didn’t fully know was the inner story behind it - the silence, the boredom, the self-doubt, the mental strategies and the slow, deliberate psychological work required just to keep moving when there is no summit, no team and no variation in the landscape.
What unfolds is not a story about endurance for its own sake, but a deeply human conversation about solitude.
Together, they explore:
What it really means to travel solo and unassisted in Antarctica
How Antarctica differs psychologically from Everest
The mental impact of prolonged silence and repetition
Christmas Day alone on the Antarctic ice
Boredom, fear and the quiet creep of self-doubt
Realising she hadn’t laughed or smiled for over two weeks
Why speaking out loud - even mockingly - helped reset her mindset
The importance of humour, kindness and self-regulation in isolation
How resilience isn’t always about pushing harder
What solitude reveals when distraction is removed
Mollie speaks with striking honesty about the moments when silence became uncomfortable and her inner dialogue turned unhelpful — and how she learned to stay with herself rather than fight the experience.
This conversation isn’t about suffering. It’s about steadiness.
Adventure Unfiltered — Season One Reflection and Finale
This episode of Adventure Unfiltered feels a little different.
Rather than sitting down with a new guest, Lorna takes time to step back - revisiting the conversations that have shaped Season One and reflecting on what they’ve left behind.
From the very beginning, Adventure Unfiltered set out to explore the human side of adventure - not the headlines or the achievements, but the quieter moments beneath them. Across Season One, those conversations unfolded in deeply personal ways.
With Iona Andean, adventure was gently reimagined as something everyday, inclusive, and rooted in community - a reminder that it doesn’t have to be loud or far away to matter.
Through Sean Green’s journey riding all 282 Munros by mountain bike, adventure became a story of resilience, grief and what it means to keep showing up when life throws you off course.
In conversation with Alice Goodridge, everything slowed down. We talked about cold water, self-trust, and why adventure isn’t about titles - but about creating spaces where people feel safe to begin.
And with Mollie Hughes, across two conversations, we moved from the noise and pressure of Everest to the defining silence of Antarctica - from preparation, fear and exposure to solitude, stillness and one step in front of the other.
What’s stayed constant across all of these interviews is how personal adventure really is. And how different it looks for every single person.
In this season finale, Lorna dips back into each of these conversations - sharing the moments that stayed with her, the ideas that made her pause and her favourite sound bites from Season One.
Paddleboards, Peaks and Wild Ethics with Stevie Boyle
Please consider subscribing here: @Adventure_Unfiltered_Podcast - it’s free, and it genuinely makes a huge difference.
There are moments in conversation that feel like a homecoming - and this opening episode of Season 2, with outdoor guide and ethical adventurer Stevie Boyle, is one of them.
Recorded on the East Lothian coast, a place deeply woven into Lorna’s own story of growing up outdoors, this conversation felt like the right way to begin a new season — not by resetting the conversation, but by deepening it.
Stevie is the founder of Ocean Vertical, a values-led adventure company rooted in paddleboarding, coaststeering and mountain travel. But as this conversation unfolds, it becomes clear that adventure itself is not the point.
What Stevie returns to, again and again, is responsibility.
Responsibility to the people he works with.
Responsibility to the environments he moves through.
Responsibility to speak openly about risk, fear and decision-making - not to diminish adventure, but to make it sustainable.
From rewilding and marine protection to the ethics of guiding, ego, and performance culture in adventure, this episode explores what it means to move through wild places with humility and care.
If Season 2 has a keyword, this one is Responsibility.
Together they explore:
Why ethics aren’t an add-on in adventure - they’re foundational
The outdoors as the product, not the backdrop
Where Rivers Roar and Oceans Call | with Emy McLeod
In this episode of Adventure Unfiltered, Lorna Bray speaks with award-winning paddler and coach Emy McLeod about confidence, growth and the powerful lessons found in moving water.
From local paddles to the Yukon River, Emy shares how confidence is built through experience, how fear becomes understanding, and why leadership is about helping others discover their own strength. The conversation also explores giving back through coaching and the Polar Academy, and how the outdoors helps us reconnect with who we really are.
Emy McLeod (@empaddlesports) is an paddler, adventurer, storyteller and advocate for exploring the wild with curiosity and courage. She shares her experiences of pushing boundaries - both outdoors and within herself - while celebrating the everyday moments of discovery that connect us to nature and to each other.
Whether you’re planning a local wander, dreaming of a global expedition, craving the outdoors, looking for inspiration or searching for a role model — you’re in the right place.
If you enjoy this episode, hit Subscribe and / or tap the 🔔 to be notified as each episode drops.
In this episode of Adventure Unfiltered, Lorna Bray speaks with legendary adventurer Myrtle Simpson - pioneering Scottish skier, polar explorer, and one of the first women to ski across Greenland.
Recorded when Myrtle was 95, this conversation is not simply about expeditions, records or milestones. It is about perspective shaped across a lifetime lived fully - a life guided by freedom, curiosity and a deep connection to mountains, snow and wild places.
From Greenland to Peru, and a lifetime of skiing and exploration recognised with the Polar Medal, Myrtle reflects on what adventure really means, why perspective matters more than achievement, and how the outdoors shapes who we become across time.
Whether you’re planning a local wander, dreaming of a global expedition, craving the outdoors, looking for inspiration or searching for a role model — you’re in the right place.
If you enjoy this episode, hit Subscribe and / or tap the 🔔 to be notified as each episode drops.
Whether you’re planning a local wander, dreaming of a global expedition, craving the outdoors, looking for inspiration or searching for a role model — you’re in the right place.
If you enjoy this episode, hit Subscribe and / or tap the 🔔 to be notified as each episode drops.
Whether you’re planning a local wander, dreaming of a global expedition, craving the outdoors, looking for inspiration or searching for a role model — you’re in the right place.
If you enjoy this episode, hit Subscribe and / or tap the 🔔 to be notified as each episode drops.
If you enjoyed the episode, a follow, share or quick review makes a huge difference - Thank You!
The Inaccessible Pinnacle and a deeply emotional ascent
The Mullardoch round nearly breaks him
How he kept going for eight and a half years
The accident that changed everything
Fatherhood, fear, and finding purpose
What adventure really means to Sean
About Sean Green
Sean is a Scottish mountain biker, dad, adventurer and the creator of the epic 282-Munro biking project. His story blends grit, humour, humility and a deep love for Scotland’s wild places.
Whether you’re planning a local wander, dreaming of a global expedition, craving the outdoors, looking for inspiration or searching for a role model — you’re in the right place.
If you enjoy this episode, hit Subscribe and / or tap the 🔔 to be notified as each episode drops.
Whether you’re planning a local wander, dreaming of a global expedition, craving the outdoors, looking for inspiration or searching for a role model — you’re in the right place.
If you enjoy this episode, hit Subscribe and / or tap the 🔔 to be notified as each episode drops.
If you enjoyed the episode, a follow, share or quick review makes a huge difference - Thank You!
In a world that feels increasingly noisy, busy and digitally crowded, this episode invites us to reflect on what happens when the noise falls away — and how learning to meet silence well might be one of the most important skills we have.
This is exactly why Adventure Unfiltered exists - to move beyond the headline and into the human story.
About Mollie Hughes
Mollie Hughes is a record-breaking adventurer, mountaineer and polar explorer.
Whether you’re planning a local wander, dreaming of a global expedition, craving the outdoors, looking for inspiration or searching for a role model — you’re in the right place.
If you enjoy this episode, hit Subscribe and / or tap the 🔔 to be notified as each episode drops.
Whether you’re planning a local wander, dreaming of a global expedition, craving the outdoors, looking for inspiration or searching for a role model — you’re in the right place.
If you enjoy this episode, hit Subscribe and / or tap the 🔔 to be notified as each episode drops.
Whether you’re planning a local wander, dreaming of a global expedition, craving the outdoors, looking for inspiration or searching for a role model — you’re in the right place.
If you enjoy this episode, hit Subscribe and / or tap the 🔔 to be notified as each episode drops.
If you enjoyed the episode, a follow, share or quick review makes a huge difference - Thank You!
If you enjoyed the episode, a follow, share or quick review makes a huge difference - Thank You!
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