Alastair Humphreys – författare

‘Enthusiastic, pleasingly madcap’ Geographical Adventure – something that’s new and exhilarating, outside your comfort zone. Adventures change you and how you see the world, and all you need is an open mind, bags of enthusiasm and boundless curiosity. So what’s a microadventure? It’s close to home, cheap, simple, short and 100% guaranteed to refresh your life. A microadventure takes the spirit of a big adventure and squeezes it into a day or even a few hours.The point of a microadventure is that you don’t need lots of time and money to meet a new challenge. This practical guide is filled with ideas for microadventures – for you to experience on your own or with friends and family – and over 150 stunning photographs, plus tips and advice on safety and kit.Whether it’s sleeping on a hilltop or going for a wild swim, cycling a lap of the Isle of Wight or walking home for Christmas, it’s time you discovered something new about yourself and the world outside your window. Adventure is everywhere, every day and it is up to us to find it.

Tom dreamed of being an adventurer. But people told him he was crazy, so he decided to prove them wrong by cycling round the world!Books One and Two follow Tom crossing Europe and descending Africa, then pedalling through the Americas to Alaska. In Part Three, the final leg of his journey, he continues to have amazing experiences. He tackles the freezing temperatures of Siberia, rides behind reindeer in Russia, floats in a Japanese pool watched by monkeys and follows the Great Wall of China. Finally, he bikes back home to England. Tom learns about the world, and himself, as he tackles this epic journey. Based on the author s personal adventure and with engaging illustrations, maps and handwritten journal entries throughout, this book provides an immersive experience for any young adventurer.

Part two of the bestselling trilogy Tom dreamed of being an adventurer, but people told him he was crazy, so he decided to prove them wrong by cycling round the world.The first book of adventures followed Tom across Europe and through the mysterious landscapes of Africa.In Part Two, he pedals north from the tip of South America up through the Americas towards Alaska. He must contend with deserts, jungles and the massive mountains of the Andes. He meets grizzly bears, fascinating locals and even a memorable guinea pig. Tom learns about the world, and himself, as he tackles this epic journey.Based on the author’s personal experiences and with engaging illustrations, maps and handwritten journal entries throughout, this book provides an immersive experience for any young adventurer.

Recommended for viewing on a colour tablet.Adventure is a loose word, a spirit of trying something new, trying something difficult. Going somewhere different, leaving your comfort zone. Above all, adventure is about enthusiasm, ambition, open-mindedness and curiosity.What exactly is an adventure? Something that’s new and exhilarating. Something that launches you from your comfort zone into a different place altogether. An adventure changes you and how you see the world. And while we can’t all be Bear Grylls, what an adventurer really needs is bags of enthusiasm and boundless curiosity.Let Alastair Humphreys introduce you to the exciting world of microadventures – adventures that are close to home, cheap, simple, short, and yet very effective. A microadventure takes the spirit of a big adventure and squeezes it into a day or even a few hours.The point of microadventures is that you do not need lots of time and money to meet a new challenge. Go on a night hike; follow a nature trail; take the plunge with wild swimming. This practical guide is filled with great activities and days out, and over 150 stunning photographs, plus tips and advice on safety and kit.Whether it is sleeping on a hilltop, cycling a lap of the Isle of Wight or walking home for Christmas, it’s time you discovered something new about yourself and the world outside your window. Adventure is everywhere, every day, and it is up to us to find it.

Recommended for viewing on a colour tablet.Adventure is a loose word, a spirit of trying something new, trying something difficult. Going somewhere different, leaving your comfort zone. Above all, adventure is about enthusiasm, ambition, open-mindedness and curiosity.Adventure is all around us, at all times. Even during hard financial times such as these. Times when getting out into the wild is more enjoyable, invigorating and important than ever. It is in this inspirational spirit that Alastair Humphreys introduces us to the exciting world of Grand Adventures – the most amazing, life-changing, career-enhancing, personality-forging, fun adventure of your life. Grand Adventures looks at the scary, enormous obstacles that are stopping us and shows us that there are ways around them, if we choose to do it.The practical preparations for a journey are far easier than summoning up the cojones to actually commit, to make the adventure happen, to do something difficult and daunting and daring with our lives. Following on from his phenomenally popular Microadventures, Al here shines a spotlight on the things that are getting in the way, and crucially, how to get around them, including the financial commitment. He shows us that the most exciting adventures all begin with a single step. Whether you’ve always dreamed of cycling to the Sahara, walking across Australia, or rafting the Amazon, the longest journeys really do all begin with a single step. They are nothing more than many little easy steps.The book is crammed with hard-won wisdom from people who have actually been there and done it. And they’ve all taken that first step at one time or another. These are people who have undertaken extraordinary journeys, who have travelled by boat and boot, car and kayak, bicycle and motorbike. People who had one trip of a lifetime and then returned to normal life, or who got bitten so badly by the bug that they devoted their life to the pursuit of adventure. Young people, old people. Men, women. Mates, couples, families. Extraordinary, inspiring people. People like you.Saving your pennies, overcoming inertia, generating momentum, getting out the front door: if you want it enough, you can do it.Tiny steps. Grand adventures. Are you in?

A Financial Times Summer Book of 2019 Seasoned adventurer Alastair Humphreys pushes himself to his very limits – busking his way across Spain with a violin he can barely play. In 1935 a young Englishman named Laurie Lee arrived in Spain. He had never been overseas; had hardly even left the quiet village he grew up in. His idea was to walk through the country, earning money for food by playing his violin in bars and plazas.Nearly a century later, the book Laurie Lee wrote – As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning – inspired Alastair Humphreys. It made him fall in love with Spain – the landscapes and the spirit – and with Laurie's style of travel. He travelled slow, lived simply, slept on hilltops, relished spontaneity, and loved conversations with the different people he met along the hot and dusty road.For 15 years, Alastair dreamed of retracing Laurie Lee’s footsteps, but could never get past the hurdle of being distinctly unmusical. This year, he decided to go anyway. The journey was his most terrifying yet, risking failure and humiliation every day, and finding himself truly vulnerable to the rhythms of the road and of his own life. But along the way, he found humility, redemption and triumph. It was a very good adventure.

A Financial Times Summer Book of 2019Seasoned adventurer Alastair Humphreys pushes himself to his very limits – busking his way across Spain with a violin he can barely play.In 1935 a young Englishman named Laurie Lee arrived in Spain. He had never been overseas; had hardly even left the quiet village he grew up in. His idea was to walk through the country, earning money for food by playing his violin in bars and plazas.Nearly a century later, the book Laurie Lee wrote – As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning – inspired Alastair Humphreys. It made him fall in love with Spain – the landscapes and the spirit – and with Laurie''s style of travel. He travelled slow, lived simply, slept on hilltops, relished spontaneity, and loved conversations with the different people he met along the hot and dusty road.For 15 years, Alastair dreamed of retracing Laurie Lee’s footsteps, but could never get past the hurdle of being distinctly unmusical. This year, he decided to go anyway. The journey was his most terrifying yet, risking failure and humiliation every day, and finding himself truly vulnerable to the rhythms of the road and of his own life. But along the way, he found humility, redemption and triumph. It was a very good adventure.

A Financial Times Summer Book of 2019 Seasoned adventurer Alastair Humphreys pushes himself to his very limits – busking his way across Spain with a violin he can barely play. In 1935 a young Englishman named Laurie Lee arrived in Spain. He had never been overseas; had hardly even left the quiet village he grew up in. His idea was to walk through the country, earning money for food by playing his violin in bars and plazas.Nearly a century later, the book Laurie Lee wrote – As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning – inspired Alastair Humphreys. It made him fall in love with Spain – the landscapes and the spirit – and with Laurie's style of travel. He travelled slow, lived simply, slept on hilltops, relished spontaneity, and loved conversations with the different people he met along the hot and dusty road.For 15 years, Alastair dreamed of retracing Laurie Lee’s footsteps, but could never get past the hurdle of being distinctly unmusical. This year, he decided to go anyway. The journey was his most terrifying yet, risking failure and humiliation every day, and finding himself truly vulnerable to the rhythms of the road and of his own life. But along the way, he found humility, redemption and triumph. It was a very good adventure.

‘Enthusiastic, pleasingly madcap’ GeographicalAdventure – something that’s new and exhilarating, outside your comfort zone. Adventures change you and how you see the world, and all you need is an open mind, bags of enthusiasm and boundless curiosity.So what’s a microadventure? It’s close to home, cheap, simple, short and 100% guaranteed to refresh your life. A microadventure takes the spirit of a big adventure and squeezes it into a day or even a few hours.The point of a microadventure is that you don’t need lots of time and money to meet a new challenge. This practical guide is filled with ideas for microadventures – for you to experience on your own or with friends and family, plus tips and advice on safety and kit.Whether it’s sleeping on a hilltop or going for a wild swim, cycling a lap of the Isle of Wight or walking home for Christmas, it’s time you discovered something new about yourself and the world outside your window. Adventure is everywhere, every day and it is up to us to find it.

‘An inspirational ocean adventure’ - Bear GryllsSHORTLISTED: ESTWA Children’s Travel Book of the YearLucy wants to explore the world, and do something daring and difficult. But people laugh at her when she hatches a plan to row across the Atlantic Ocean.So her family rallies round to help prepare for the journey, loading her boat with supplies for 3,000 miles of rowing. Her school friends follow her from afar, learning about the ocean, its wildlife and pollution.Alone at sea, Lucy faces seasickness, storms and a very sore bottom, not to mention close encounters with ships and a humpback whale. Yet there are also the joys of wandering seabirds, shooting stars and magical sunsets, as she finds she is capable of more than she ever imagined.Step aboard and join Lucy on her life-changing adventure to become the girl who rowed the ocean.

Tom and his sister Lucy are no strangers to adventure. But now they are ready for their biggest challenge yet – teaming up for a joint expedition.Inspired by great explorers, they set out to retrace an epic journey across America by canoe. Two hundred years ago, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark travelled into the wilderness; now it’s Tom and Lucy’s turn to paddle along mighty rivers, battle wild rapids and camp beneath endless starry skies.Along the way they discover what has changed – technology, the size of towns and cities, the people who live in them – and what has stayed the same: the physical hardship, the camaraderie and the pure thrill of adventure.Travel with them as they journey into history, test themselves against the wild and prove that exploration is never out of date.

Humans once lived immersed in the natural world. Today, many of us spend our lives indoors, disconnected from the landscapes, wildlife and seasonal rhythms that shaped our ancestors for millennia.In Unwilded, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Alastair Humphreys explores the consequences of this growing separation from nature and how it affects our wellbeing, childhood, education, communities and sense of responsibility for the planet.At the heart of the book is the idea of shifting baseline syndrome: the gradual process by which each generation accepts a diminished natural world as normal. From the loss of the Sycamore Gap tree to the extinction of the passenger pigeon, Humphreys reveals how easily we forget what has been lost.Blending personal stories, environmental history and practical insight, Unwilded is an invitation to look more closely at the places we live and to rediscover the wonder, beauty and responsibility that come with paying attention.

FROM THE AUTHOR OF GREAT ADVENTURERS - WINNER OF THE EDWARD STANFORD CHILDREN'S TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019.Sometimes adventure, like life, doesn't work out as you want it to. Even determined explorers make mistakes. Many of the greatest adventurers of all time have failed along the way...Hand-picked by adventurer Alastair Humphreys, this compilation retells the extraordinary journeys undertaken by explorers who have tried, failed and succeeded against the odds. It features adventurers whose expeditions went desperately wrong, turning into struggles for survival. And adventurers who had to fight for their right to succeed in the face of discrimination or setbacks that threatened to squash their dreams. These are stories of self-belief, resilience, friendship, courage, determination and hope - against the odds.Featuring explorers modern and ancient, from Zheng He to Joe Simpson, Jeanne Baret to Matthew Henson, these men and women ventured into space, oceans, deserts and jungles, and may inspire you to do the same."We often hold a very narrow ideas of what 'success' means. We think that if we don't reach a certain outcome, then we've failed and wasted our time. But in this book, you are going to read of changed plans leading to greater happiness, of personal disaster opening the door to wonderful experiences, of lessons learned from compromising, and even occasions when mere survival is triumph enough." - Alastair Humphreys

Hand-selected by Alastair Humpreys, read about the incredible journeys undertaken by twenty of the most heroic and impressive explorers who ever lived, including Ibn Battuta (14th-century explorer); Apsley Cherry-Garrard (a member of Scott''s Antarctic expedition); Michael Collins (Apollo Moon mission astronaut) and Nellie Bly (who travelled round the world in less than 80 days). A wide-spread selection of explorers from young to old, male to female and with a range of abilities, these explorers crossed land, sea and sky in the name of adventure and may just inspire readers aged 7+ to do the same. Alastair Humphreys was named National Geographic Adventurer of the Year in 2012 for his work on the concept of microadventures.

** WINNER OF THE ORDNANCE SURVEY CHILDREN'S TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019 AND LONG-LISTED FOR THE BLUE PETER BOOK AWARD 2019**Hand-picked by adventurer Alastair Humphreys, this compilation retells the extraordinary journeys undertaken by his personal heroes. These men and women have ventured into space, oceans, deserts and jungles and inspired Alastair's own adventures. They may do the same for you too.

FROM THE WINNER OF THE ORDNANCE SURVEY CHILDREN'S TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019.Some of the greatest adventurers of all time have once failed. Many more have had to overcome great hardships to pursue lives of adventure.Hand-picked by Alastair Humphreys, this compilation retells the extraordinary journeys undertaken by adventurers who have tried, failed and succeeded against the odds. These men and women have ventured into space, oceans, deserts and jungles and inspired Alastair's own adventures. They may do the same for you too. A book full of hope and the power of self-belief and determination.

Packed with motivational images, quotes, and sayings, a guide to completing even the biggest of life's adventures.Alastair Humphreys spent four years traveling around the world on his bicycle, a journey that covered 46,000 miles and five continents. During his trip he gave motivational talks and received thousands of emails to his website in which people asked what kept him going through the low-points on his journey.Collected here are the sources of Alastair's inspiration, including affirming quotes, insights, and unique photographs. As this inspirational resource shows, the lessons he learned while on the road can be applied to any goal in life.

Part one of the bestselling trilogy Discover Africa by bicycle in Book One of a children’s adaptation of Alastair Humphreys’ journey around the world.In this charming caricature of the author’s own circumnavigation by bike, we meet Tom, an adventurous boy who feels there must be more to life than school.We follow him as he leaves England, cycling through Europe and all the way through Africa to the tip of South Africa. Along the way, young readers are introduced not only to the various fascinating landscapes he passes through, but also to the people who embrace him as he travels.With engaging illustrations and journal entries throughout, this delightful series provides an immersive experience for any young adventurer.

SHORTLISTED: Wainwright Prize‍‘Agile, wryly funny and wise’ Robert MacfarlaneAfter years of expeditions all over the world, adventurer Alastair Humphreys spends a year exploring the detailed local map around his home.Can this unassuming landscape, marked by the glow of city lights and the hum of busy roads, hold any surprises for the world traveller or satisfy his wanderlust? Could a single map provide a lifetime of exploration?Discovering more about the natural world than in all his years in remote environments, he learns the value of truly getting to know his neighbourhood.An ode to slowing down , Local is a celebration of curiosity and time spent outdoors, as well as a rallying cry to protect the wild places on our doorstep.

‘Alastair’s journey stands out as amazing’ Sir Ranulph FiennesMoods of Future Joys follows round-the-world cyclist Alastair Humphreys on the first leg of his epic journey, starting in Yorkshire, then going down through Europe and travelling the whole length of Africa, including Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya.The book conveys his journey in a style that is ‘reminiscent of the great tradition of the British explorers’ ( The Guardian ). At times uplifting, at times brutal, he faces loneliness, despair and harsh conditions, but his experience is ultimately one of joy and triumph.