Season Two Finale, with Lorna Bray | Adventure Unfiltered

In this special reflection episode, Adventure Unfiltered host, Lorna Bray, takes a moment to look back on some of the most powerful conversations from this season 

From laughter to deeply reflective moments, this season has explored what adventure really means through the experiences of remarkable guests who have pushed boundaries, embraced challenge, and found connection in the wild.

Throughout this episode Lorna revisits some of her favourite moments from conversations with:

• Stevie Boyle

• Emy McLeod

• Myrtle Simpson

• Emma Norton

• Cameron McNeish

Each of these guests brought their own unique story, perspective and honesty to season 2, reminding us that adventure isn’t just about the places we go — it’s about the people we become along the way.

Thank you to every guest for sharing their time, their experiences and their stories so generously.

And a huge thank you to you — the listeners — for being part of the Adventure Unfiltered community.

So until next time…

Breathe deeply.

Keep adventuring.

And don’t forget —

In the wild, we remember who we are.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:15

Welcome to this very special reflection episode of season two of Adventure Unfiltered. Well, I can't quite believe we've reached the end of another season, and this one has felt big, beautiful, and transformative. When I sat on the shore in Cullen on the Murray Coast and recorded my very first conversation for season one, I had absolutely no idea what this little spark of an idea would become. I didn't know if anyone would actually listen. I didn't know how it would land. I just knew I wanted to tell real stories of adventure, raw ones, unpolished ones, and human ones. So season one will always have a really special place in my heart. It was the season of saying yes before I felt ready, of leaning in, of learning in real time. And as I reflect on season one, it's taught me so much about adventure, life, and podcasting itself, especially when speaking with my guests. How to listen, how to hold space for them, and how to shape a story. Season two built upon that foundation in a way I genuinely didn't see coming. It felt more grounded, more intentional, and more expansive. The conversations went deeper, the emotions hit harder, and the themes evolved. But we didn't just explore adventure, we explored identity, responsibility, resilience, belonging, and connection. And through that, something else began to grow to a real adventure-unfiltered community. Not just listeners, but people, a little corner of the world gathering around stories that matter. And somewhere in that growth, I realized something really powerful. This podcast isn't just a creative project, it's the dream I finally found the courage to chase. This season was full of contrasts: fast and slow, fire and calm, mountains and rivers, youth and age, joy and challenge. We looked at how adventure changes as life changes, how we find clarity in the outdoors when life gets messy, how the wild shapes us, holds us, and reminds us who we are. And through every episode, one idea kept rising to the surface in season two adventure isn't separate from life. I want to begin with the episode that set a beautiful tone for this season, my conversation with Stevie Boyle, the co-founder of Ocean Vertical. Stevie brought a sense of purpose and clarity that stayed with me long after we recorded. He spoke about the outdoors not just as somewhere to play, but somewhere to grow, learn, rewild, and reconnect. His passion for outdoor education and giving young people access to wild places felt like a reminder of what adventure is really for. He taught me that leadership in the outdoors isn't about bravado or ego, it's about ethics, responsibility, and heart. So here's my favorite clips from my conversation with Stevie Boyle in his episode called Paddlebores, Peaks and Wild Ethics.

SPEAKER_06 3:30

You know the whole thing about trawling in marine protected areas. If more people knew how bad that was because of a connection to the ocean or these places, that wouldn't have been put through as quickly as it did. It just kind of like there was a large consultation, but really there was no there was no kickback from the public about trawling in marine protected environments. Um because unfortunately, a lot of people don't have that connection to the to the ocean. So we're trying to do that, and then also the equipment we're wearing, we want to make as little impact as possible. And then also the people who are making those things. So it's this adventure has like this ecosystem around it that we try and acknowledge as much as we can and make good choices or as good choices as possible when when we're going out or consuming products or buying stuff. So that's really why we call Ocean Vertical like an ethical adventure company. So we're trying to do all those things, which is hard sometimes, but then it's actually it steers our decision making. So sometimes it feels quite easy to do as well. Chasing logbook days has put me probably in the highest places of risk that I've probably ever been in. So pushing your limits, pushing boundaries, and one of them was in winter. I was definitely in my early 20s. I was probably in between getting my summer mountain leader assessment and exploring winter. I I snow went snow hauling on my own. So that's clever. Automatically like, oh okay. Um I'm kind of just trying to justify all these things I'm about to say.

SPEAKER_04 5:08

I know, I'm just gonna wait on it, you're building up to Stevie.

SPEAKER_06 5:11

Anyway, I dug myself into a snow hole. Literally. Dug myself in, and I had to dig myself out of that snow hole like three or four times.

SPEAKER_04 5:20

Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_06 5:21

I started walking using this broken compass, and after a fairly significant amount of time, I realized that the wind direction had changed. And obviously, with experience, I was like, that doesn't make any sense that the wind direction has changed.

SPEAKER_04 5:36

Yeah, you realise it was you that had changed direction.

SPEAKER_06 5:39

I put a picture on social media, and it had been recycling day in Dunbar, it was in Dunbar Harbour, and of course, they had loads of plastic bottles that um gone into the into the harbour, and they were like, that's terrible, we should chat about this. So I we chatted and things like that, and I was like, but that's not the the like that's the superficial. So the the plastic bottles in the sea is a real issue. Sort of ghost fishing nets is a real issue, and we can definitely do things about that, and there's people locally and ocean vertical itself who've gone out to try and help local fishermen get their kit back out of the sea and off beaches and all that kind of stuff, and I do see that as a big part of rewilding, but I think the stuff that was in the bottles, bleach, for example, cleaners, the things that we use in in our showers and down our toilets is also a big issue in terms of um ocean health. Talking about that and trying to do things to help organizations that that's a big part of is also really important.

SPEAKER_04 6:46

My next guest on season two of Adventure Unfiltered was Emmy McLeod. So one of the things that bonded us instantly was our shared love of the Yukon. In this episode, we talk about our experiences paddling the canoes 750 kilometres of the Yukon River from Whitehorse to Dawson City. We did this a year apart, but somehow telling the same story of connection, solitude, and that unmistakable magic. My favourite moment, which you'll hear in this clip, is when we read a passage from Robert Service's The Spell of the Yukon. It's a poem that captures the pool of wild places so perfectly, and every time I hear it, it still gives me goosebumps. In this episode, where rivers run and oceans call, Emmy brings together a paddle boarding movement and a deeply ethical approach to nature. She reminds us that the outdoors isn't a resource to take from, but a relationship to honour. Her understanding of wild places is intuitive, respectful, and fiercely honest. Emmy embodies the idea that adventure should be sustainable, mindful, and most importantly, rooted in care. So here's my favourite clips from my conversation with Emmy McLeod in her episode for Rivers Run and Oceans Call.

SPEAKER_00 8:09

And it's again these moments that you're like, this is what life is. We're sitting around, we're talking, and there's there's a moose over there. And it's the conversations around campfire, around dinner, it's that people interaction. Um, and it's the it's the moments in time, it's that slowing down. And then you pack everything back into a boat and journey downstream. The river, it it's it braids. Every little kind of braid, like, do you which channel do you take? And it's kind of, I guess you could kind of put that into life as which which channel do you take and where you're going to end up. I think being being involved in the the she paddles movement and being kind of like an ambassador for for female paddling, it kind of shows that you can you can paddle a boat with just as good as a guy. Um but no, um, I think it's important definitely for inspiring younger generations to grow up and showing actually these these opportunities are for everyone. I I do kind of think back and you kind of look to see what was coming out in in the media in print or online, and it was there was a lot of kind of male-dominated sports, um, and it's good to see that there's now a lot of a major increase, a major shift in um females, especially in paddling as well. Um, and I think it's just important to have that representation.

SPEAKER_04 9:18

I'm gonna read a couple of verses from it because it just really sums up how the Yukon makes you feel. You just get it when you read these words, like it just pulls something out of you. So I'll start with the first verse. So it says, I wanted the gold and I sought it. I scrambled and mucked like a slave. Was it famine or scurvy? I fought it. I hurtled my youth into a grave. I wanted the gold and I got it. Came out with a fortune last fall, yet somehow life's not what I thought it. And somehow the gold isn't all. Oh, here I go. Got it. It's a second verse. No, there's this land. Have you seen it? The cutetest land that I know, from the big dizzy mountains that screen it to the deep death-like valleys below. Some say God was tired when he made it, some say it's a fine land to shun, maybe, but there's some as we trade it for no land on earth, and I'm one. And then it talked about what it's like in the winter and what it's like in the summer. And then the last verse is the one that always gets me and Emmy when we read it. So it goes, There's gold and it's haunting and haunting. It's luring me on as of old. Yet it isn't the gold that I'm wanting so much as just finding the gold. It's the great big broad land way up yonder. I'm gonna have to cut this way. Here I go. It's the great big broadland way up yonder. It's the forest where silence has lease. It's the beauty that thrills me with wonder. It's the stillness that fills me with peace.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

I think uh being being part of big expeditions or kind of going out on paddling adventures and being out in the remote, it completely fuels my passion. I absolutely love what I do. Um, they push you physically, they push you mentally, and it can be demanding, you've got to work together as a team, you've got to work together as a team. But equally, if you do solo adventures, you're literally depending on yourself and your expertise. But it it leaves you with unforgettable memories, and most of the time you might make new friends along the way. Um, and it's it's in those moments that you're you're far from the noise of everyday life. That that's when, yeah, that's when I feel most alive and connected with people and connected with nature is being out there and remembering who I am and what what it means to me, and yeah, being being in the wild, and it's there's no there's no words to describe it, and I think that's what's amazing about your tagline is that yeah, be be in the wild and be you.

SPEAKER_04 11:58

Well, thank you, Emmy, for holding that space for me as well, and it was so lovely to reminisce about the Yukon River. My next guest on Adventure Unfilters Season 2 was Myrtle Simpson, and her episode is called Across Ice, Mountains and Time. Myrtle Simpson. What an absolute honour. Myrtle has so much spark and timelessness, even at 95. Her clarity, warmth, and the way she speaks about the mountains as companions rather than conquests is absolutely incredible. Myrtle represents a perspective, a perspective earned through a lifetime of moving forward with freedom and curiosity. She is a pioneer of Scottish skiing, the first woman to ski across Greenland, a polar medal recipient, but she never wants a centres achievement. Her life is a reminder that adventure isn't a season of youth, it's something that evolves with you. So here are my favourite clips from my conversation with Myrtle Simpson in her episode Across Ice, Mountains, and Time. Myrtle, what's your first memory of the mountains and snow?

SPEAKER_01 13:14

My absolute memory is on my father's back. Um, he was in the army and in India. The British Army sort of ran India, but you know, it was the time of the Raj, as people talk about. So in summertime, we all went up to the mountains. All the Brits, all the politicians, and most British families had always had nannies, and you had everybody had a nanny, and you called them your Aya. And the women, the mothers had a nice time going off skiing or whatever, and the ayahs weren't supposed to take the children away off the British Army area, but of course they took them home. So we all spoke local speak, and I used to sing Indian songs to my kids to still do that. Aya Natri, Aya Natri Natri, Portal Ghana. Well, we brought skiing to this part of the world. If if there was a Brit that could ski well, they had money and they were English, Scots living in England, and they went abroad, of course. Nobody had a place in Scotland to go and ski. You had to go to the Alps. Britain had some very fine skiers, but they weren't known within Scotland somehow. When we had children, we thought this is you know, this is daff. Why can't we ski in Scotland? We've come to live in the area, there's magic skiing in the winter. Me, for instance, we take our children abroad and put them in the local race when you saw people. And the Brits British kids were useless, they never won anything we thought. This is stupid, our kids are as good as them. Why can't they ski any better? So let's have a ski area. We lived in Glasgow when I first married and had a baby, the first baby. And there I was with my flipping baby, and I was waving the friends away for the weekend, and I thought, wait a minute, um, what's wrong with us doing that? And I then got very cross letters in both the Scotsman and the Glasgow Herald, Herald particularly. Who is this woman? How can she call herself a nice mother? Taking your children to Glencoe, where it's cold and windy and wet, and tents aren't nearly good enough, and so on. Well, of course that was all absolutely bonkers. Nothing to stop you having a good tent in Scotland. Plenty of shops will sell you one.

SPEAKER_04 15:47

My next guest on Adventure Unfiltered season two was Emma Norton. Now, this one I know will resonate deeply with so many of you. From the moment I met Emma, she radiated warmth, humour, and this grounded, effortless strength, a real spark that fills the room. Her story on Adventure Unfiltered is not about elite skiing or competition or even business ownership. It's about being grounded, about reconnecting with the outdoors, not when life is easy, but when it becomes busy, pressured, or uncertain. In Emma's episode, she talks about how injury forced her to pause, reset, and rediscover her joy. How being grounded isn't about slowing down, but staying connected to what matters. She teaches people not just to go off-road, but to notice where they are in themselves and their surroundings. Emma's episode reminded me that adventure isn't found in extremes, it's found in presence, balance, and joy. So here's my favourite clips from my conversation with Emma Norton in her episode Off Peace, Off-Road, and On Fire. What was it like competing for Team GB on the ski circuit?

SPEAKER_05 17:04

Pretty intense for such a young age. Like I was really young. I think being away from home for that whole time, no Christmases with family, birthdays, everything like that was all just put to the side. Traveling around in vans chasing races was I think of it now, I think it's absolute madness. But at the time, I was so in it and I involved in it. And I it was my passion, I loved it. And being part of that ski circuit, you were with your pals skiing around. Like it was your best friends, and still some of my best friends are part of that team. Like you create these bonds with these people. I think of it now, I I instantly talk about like the regret of a lot of it of not being like aware of where I was. I you know, I was just traveling, going from A to B as fast as I could, and then jumping in a van to go to the next next resort. And I talk about like some of the circuit they do now. I don't even know if I've skied there. I can't even remember. But I think if I stood at the top of the start gate, I'd be like, oh, I've been here before. Yeah, it feels like a lifetime ago. What age were you? Sounds like 16, 17. Wow. Are you proud of yourself? Oh, majorly. I am, I am, I say majorly. I am proud of myself. I tell my little boy every day I'm proud of him. Because you should be told that you are everyone is proud of your s the what you do, you know, but you don't hear it. And I feel like that's maybe a Scottish thing, we're like, ah, it's just what we do. You know, we're like, ah, blase. Like, don't we crazy exactly? There's this like, I don't know what it is. We don't want to hear compliments, and we don't really like we don't really want anyone to talk about us like that. But we should, and but we're not good at taking it. We're terrible. We're awful.

SPEAKER_04 18:51

And as women, we're even worse. Yeah. Imagine being a Scottish woman, you've got kind of that layer of not being able to want to hear a compliment, and then being a woman, you don't know how to take a compliment. But it's true, like you don't, and it's uncomfortable even talking about it. What the thing you always carry in your adventure pack or your backpack that people wouldn't expect.

SPEAKER_03 19:11

I don't think I have anything exciting in my rock sack. I was gonna say you're the coolest person that I know, but I might take a back.

SPEAKER_04 19:16

But then I'm probably what I think is normal is really. I know. I usually so in Lorna's rock sack there is usually layers, food, waterproof. Is it the same for you?

SPEAKER_05 19:28

Yeah, but that's nothing new. That's what's like exciting, what's new, what's nothing.

SPEAKER_04 19:33

We're boring.

SPEAKER_05 19:36

I don't take anything that I don't really want to carry though. The most exciting thing that I ever have in my bag is usually a fisty banana from the last time. It's like a sluggy like um cereal bond or something, and you know, like one of them really dead. See, that's a bit usually it's always a plant banana for me in like almost. I can't do that. It's a squishy banana. Did you not have do you need a banana guard? What's a banana guard? Maybe that's like exciting thing. It's a plastic banana guard.

SPEAKER_03 20:13

Cannonly googling. So actually, your answer to one thing you always carry in your adventure pack that people wouldn't expect is a banana guard.

SPEAKER_05 20:22

Because I can't deal with squishy banana. It's the good.

SPEAKER_04 20:29

What a fun conversation that was to record with Emma. And actually, a few days after we had recorded this episode, I received a package in the post. And yes, you've guessed it. I now have my very own banana guard. So thank you, Emma Norton. No more squishy bananas in my pack. My final guest on Adventure Unfiltered Season 2 was Cameron McNeish. And if you've spent any time in the hills in Scotland, chances are you've come across Cameron's voice in one way or another. Through his writing, his broadcasting, his books, and decades spent walking, climbing, and storytelling about wild places, Cameron has quietly shaped how generations of people understand Scotland's landscapes, and perhaps more importantly, how we understand our relationship with them. But what struck me the most about our conversation wasn't the achievements or the long list of adventures, it was Cameron's gentleness and thoughtfulness, and the deep sense of belonging that Cameron carries with him when he talks about the hills. Throughout this episode, we spoke about a lifetime spent outdoors, from the Monroes to remote corners of Scotland, and how the mountains slowly become something more than destinations. Over time they become companions or teachers at places Cameron returns to again and again. Not to conquer anything, but to simply reconnect. One of the things that stayed with me the most from this conversation was Cameron's perspective on time. When you speak to someone who has spent decades in the hills, the urgency we sometimes attach to adventure starts to soften. There's less talk of ticking things off and more talk of returning, of walking familiar paths, of noticing the changes in landscape, the light, the seasons, and perhaps the changes in ourselves too. Adventure in Cameron's world isn't about chasing the next big headline. It's about a lifelong relationship with place. And I loved hearing him talk about the idea that the hills are always there. That whatever is happening in life, the busy seasons, the uncertain seasons, the joyful seasons, the mountains remain quietly patient, waiting for us to come back. Another thread that ran through our conversation was, of course, storytelling. Cameron is a storyteller in the truest sense of the word, not just recounting routes or summits, but capturing the feeling of being outside. The small details that make time in the hills memorable, the sound of the wind across the ridge, the companionship of people you share the journey with, the quiet satisfaction of simply moving through a landscape on foot. And as we talked, it became clear that those stories are about much more than adventure. They're about gratitude, about aging, about recognizing the privilege of being able to spend a lifetime exploring wild places. There was a humility in the way Cameron spoke about it all. And I found it really grounding because sometimes adventure can feel so loud, it can feel really competitive, and it can feel like it needs to be bigger, further, and faster. But Cameron's perspective gently reminds us that adventure can also be slow, it can be reflective, it can be simply a walk in the hills that you've loved your entire life, and that in itself is enough. I think that's why this conversation felt like such a fitting way to close the season because at the heart of adventure unfiltered has always been a simple idea that adventure isn't defined by the scale of the journey, it's defined by the connection we feel when we step outside. And in many ways, Cameron has spent a lifetime helping people rediscover exactly that. So here are my favorite clips from my conversation with Cameron McNeish in his episode There's Always the Hills and Always a Story.

SPEAKER_02 24:59

My television director and I we had enjoyed our trip to the Himalayas in the Langtang Valley. And while we were over there, we realized that there was a Himalayan trail which went the whole length of the Himalayas, and we felt if the Nepalese can do a trail that goes the whole length of the Himalayas, surely we can have something in Scotland that goes the whole length of Scotland. Now we had all sorts of national trails and whatnot. And it was a fairly easy job just to link them all together. So that's what we did. We linked them together with some bits and pieces where we had to get the maps out and find routes that joined them up. But it's a fairly easy task. So we decided we'd do a television programme and we'd do this trail and call it the Scottish National Trail. I'm reminded of the words of an American conservationist and forester by the name of Aldo Leopold. And this is what he said, and I think these words are so important. He said, we abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we also belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect. So I think we have to consider these landscapes as a community to which we belong. And by that token, the rocks, the mountains, the trees, the birds, the flowers, the plants are our brothers and sisters. John Muir was very good at talking about the plants, the flowers as his brothers and sisters. And that's the way we have to look. We're part of that community. And you can't just take us out of it or take another part. We're part and parcel of that whole thing. So I think when we talk about um you know who we are in relation to these landscapes, we're very much part of it. We're very much in there. Farewell you northern hills, you mountains, all goodbye. Moorlands and stony ridges, crags and peaks, goodbye. Glitterfach farewell, Kulbag Scarfell, cloud bearing soothen, sun warmed rocks and the cold of Blicklow's frozen sea, the snow and the wind and the rain of hills and mountains, daze in the sun and the tempered wind and the air like wine, and you drink and you drink till you're drunk on the joy of living. Take me to some high place of heather rock and ling, scatter my dust and dashes, feed me to the wind, so that I may be part of all you see, the air you are breathing. I'll be part of the curlew's cry and the soaring hawk, the blue milk wort and the sundew hung with diamonds. I'll be riding the gentle breeze as it blows through your hair, reminding you how we shared in the joy of living.

SPEAKER_04 28:24

And that brings us to the end of this season of Adventure Unfiltered. To my guests this season, Stevie Boyle, Emmy McLeod, Marshall Simpson, Emma Norton, and Cameron McNeish. Thank you. Thank you for your time, thank you for your honesty, and thank you for sharing your story so openly. Each of these conversations has been different, but every single one has reminded me why I started this podcast in the first place, to explore the human side of adventure and the powerful connection between people and the wild places that shape us. And of course, a massive thank you to you, the listeners. Whether you've been here since the very first episode or you've just discovered Adventure Unfiltered recently, thank you for being part of this growing community. Your support, your messages, and your encouragement really mean more than you probably realize. And as this reflection episode airs in March 2026, I am delighted to let you know that we're back for a third season of Adventure Unfiltered. So keep an eye out for more in the coming weeks. Producing and growing this podcast and building the Adventure Unfiltered community has brought me so much joy. And just like you, I'm incredibly excited for what comes next. So, until the next time, breathe deeply, keep adventuring, and don't forget in the wild we remember who we are.