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John McCarthy explores the effects of walking on the mind – on our creative and spiritual well-being.

We all know that a good walk is physically good for us, but we rarely stop to consider its impact on our mental states. Was Friedrich Nietzsche right when he said, "all truly great thoughts are conceived by walking"?

Walking, especially walking in countryside, has been important to many creative artists and writers. Beethoven, Erik Satie and Benjamin Britten all used their daily walks for inspiration, as did William Wordsworth as he tramped the paths of the Lake District with his sister Dorothy.

John McCarthy looks at the act of walking as inspiration and also considers its spiritual function. Why do so many people, from a wide variety of religious beliefs, walk to display their devotion and increase their spiritual understanding? Around the world, millions set out each year along the great pilgrimage routes, and often travel on foot.

John McCarthy talks to the British artist Richard Long, whose work often describes walks he has undertaken or imagined. He also talks to Colin Thubron - one of our finest writers about discovery and place - who recently made the arduous journey on foot around Mount Kailash in Tibet, sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists.

Produced by Anthony Denselow.
A Whistledown production for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4.