Walk Yourself Happy

Julia Bradbury is a well-loved television presenter, author, nature advocate and charity campaigner. She is best known for turning her lifelong passion for walking into prime-time TV with shows including Britain’s Best Walks, Cornwall and Devon Walks with Julia Bradbury and Wainwright’s Walks in the Lake District. She started her television career as a show business reporter for breakfast television in Los Angeles, and came back to the UK to launch Channel 5.

She was a key member of the presenting team which turned Countryfile into one of the most watched factual programmes on BBC1 with millions tuning in on Sunday nights, and has fronted other flagship shows including Top Gear and Watchdog. In recent years she has also taken on a creative role, co-developing new series, as well as appearing on screen.

Julia’s family has connections with Ireland, Rutland and Greece. Born in Dublin, she grew up in Sheffield which is where she was introduced to walking and the power of the great outdoors by her father Michael. He would take her roaming across the Peak District, igniting a passion that remains to this day.

She has used her platform as a public figure to raise awareness and funds for organisations including The National Trust and Keep Britain Tidy and has also been President of the Camping and Caravanning Club for ten years. Alongside her sister Gina, Julia founded The Outdoor Guide website and foundation to encourage all of us to get outdoors and enjoy green spaces - and hopefully to protect them too.

Julia was awarded an honorary doctorate for ‘outstanding merit’ in her work by Sheffield Hallam University in 2013.

Following her 2021 diagnosis of breast cancer and her recovery from a mastectomy, she made an award-winning documentary Julia Bradbury: Breast Cancer & Me, which is about her experience and to become a champion for Britain’s breast cancer charities. She has supported prostate, ovarian and bowel cancer charities for many years and also campaigns for better diagnosis, research and funding into the disease Endometriosis.

Having discovered that around 40% of cancers are preventable, Julia is now determined to speak up for a more personalised approach to health care, embracing new science and taking a preventative and integrative approach. Walk Yourself Happy distils what she’s learned and reveals how we can all adopt happier, healthier lifestyles in the 21st century, using nature as our guide. The compelling evidence for better sleep, nutrition, breathing and exercise is explored, along with practical health hacks that we can all adopt, for free.

Her passion is the outdoors and more recently following her cancer diagnosis and surgery,