My Perfect Day: Matt Baker

Having cut his teeth as a Blue Peter presenter, Matt Baker now fronts BBC One’s Countryfile with Ramblers president, Julia Bradbury. He shares some of his favourite things with walk…

Where would you choose to wake up on your perfect day?
In the North, somewhere near Kielder Water or Allenheads in Northumberland. Meg, my dog, would be there, too. Although Blue Peter took me all over the world, the Durham Dales where I grew up is the place
I yearn for. Our family farm borders the most tranquil spot in England, according
to research at Newcastle University.

And who are your perfect companions?
My wife Nicola and our two children. We’d have a car full of bikes, kites, scooters, and of course a picnic.

What’s your ideal meal?
Actually, can I change my mind about the picnic and have roast beef with Yorkshire pudding at the pub? We can have the picnic later for tea.

And favourite piece of walking kit?
A map, so you don’t stray miles off public footpaths on farmland. The number of walkers we find in our yard and have to tell they’re three miles off the path!

The Ramblers is campaigning against cuts to councils’ footpath maintenance budgets – what do you think?
I’m pro paths when people stick to them and follow the countryside code. Paths are fantastic for giving people access to the countryside, but consideration needs to be shown – such as keeping dogs on a lead when walking through a field of lambing ewes.

As a father of a young family, do you have any tips on getting kids walking?
Make it fun, such as creating a treasure hunt. It’s about having an enjoyable experience, not the distance covered. Nothing’s worse than seeing adults grimly determined to clock up so many miles, while the kids trudge miserably behind.

Are townies too disconnected from how the meat on their plates gets there?
On Blue Peter I filmed a nomadic tribe who killed an animal and then bunged it in the pot. But you don’t have to butcher your own food to appreciate where it comes from. Countryfile is now BBC One’s most popular factual programme, so more people are aware of rural issues.

You’re involved with many charities, including Grace House Children’s Hospital, the Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust and the Mark Davies Injured Riders Fund – so what do you think of your Countryfile co-presenter Julia Bradbury becoming Ramblers president?
It’s always good to offer support and help to a cause you’re interested in. Julia’s series of Wainwright Walks was very successful, so she’ll make a very capable Ramblers president.

You showed an entrepreneurial streak as a student, touring the North East as part of a dancing group Disco Inferno…
I saw people dancing on stage at a Seventies’ disco night, and thought I could do that to earn a bit of extra cash. I set it up in Edinburgh, where I was at drama school, and discoed away. I’ve inherited an entrepreneurial spirit from my parents – I love a challenge, and I always have a project on the back burner. It’s the Northern way.

Do you enjoy a bit of disco music while you walk?
I’ve very eclectic musical tastes, but when I’m walking I’d rather listen to the birds and the wind. When my BlackBerry says ‘No Signal’, I’m delighted. I love being battered by the weather. I make a point of going out in the rain; you don’t know you’re alive until you’ve been outside.

You’ve trained as a gymnast so any tips for walkers to keep fit?
My tip is to run a mile a day and don’t commit to anything else. Keep your trainers by your bed, and do five minutes out, five minutes back, first thing. You’ll be superfit in less time than it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Interview by Susan Gray

Countryfile’s Favourite Places DVD is out now, priced £16.99