At the Stanfords Travel Writers Festival in February, Sean Conway, the extreme adventurer and author of Hell and High Water: One Man’s Attempt to Swim the Length of Britain mentioned that he was in training for “a really, really long Ironman” that would begin in April, but at that point the details were secret. Continue reading Sean Conway to attempt an Ultra Triathlon stretching the entire coast of Britain
Many organisations publish regular lists of cities ranking them by liveability or, in other words, the quality of life. Some of the lists are more respectable than others but most of them put Vancouver very high or even on top. There must be something in it. This year I finally had a chance to visit this famous city and compare it to the nearby (by North American standards) favourites of mine, Seattle and Portland. Continue reading Vancouver
It was my second attempt to see Mount St Helens. First time, more than a decade ago, the weather was so bad that we only managed to reach the first visitor centre located at Silver Lake, 30 miles from the mountain itself. There we were told that there was no point of going any further as due to dense fog and heavy rain the visibility was near zero and even from the furthest viewpoint up the road you couldn’t see the mountain.
I guess most people when they hear the name of British Columbia they imagine high mountains, endless forests, wild landscapes and rain. We had exactly the same expectations when we entered Canada’s westernmost province driving from Lake Louise via the spectacular Kicking Horse canyon. And we were right. Continue reading British Columbia
Indre Glazauskaite explains why Hong Kong deserves at least a second visit.
In 2013 Tim Jarvis and a team of five authentically retraced Sir Ernest Shackleton’s epic journey of polar survival, including sailing a replica James Caird from Elephant Island in Antarctica to the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia followed by a climb through its mountainous interior, using the same rudimentary equipment and navigational techniques as Shackleton 100 years ago. Tim shares his insights into what it took to retrace what many regard as the greatest survival journey of all time. Continue reading Tim Jarvis
Having recovered from his trek Walking the Nile, author and explorer Levison Wood set off Walking the Himalayas. Join him as he shares stories from the 1700 mile-long trail across the roof of the world, which took him from Afghanistan to Nepal, through great dangers and equally epic beauty. Continue reading Levison Wood with Paul Blezard
Tim Marshall, Nick Middleton and Anna Reid speak to Julia Wheeler about the role that maps play in our sense of national identity, the historical significance of state boundaries, and whether there really is such a thing as a country anyway.
A final chat for this year’s Stanfords Travel Writers Festival with Simon Reeve and Paul Blezard as he reveals the truth behind the BBC sock budget.
Sean Conway – the first person to ever swim the length of Britain – will tells us why on earth he did it, and where you can get a flavour for wild swimming yourself in this entertaining and inspirational talk. Continue reading Sean Conway
