Explorer Alastair Humphreys comes to Chester Literature Festival to talk about his adventures

Oct 1 2009 Chester Chronicle

Explorer, writer and photographer, Alastair Humphreys talks to WILLIAM LEECE about his adventures, ahead of his appearance at the Chester Literature Festival.

It’s simple enough advice for anyone contemplating setting out on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, dreaming of horizons so far away they defy comprehension. Just go.

And no-one can accuse Alastair Humphreys of failing to follow his own advice.

In 2001, with a teaching career beckoning in front of him, he took off on his bicycle. It was to be four years before his return, with a complete circuit of the globe beneath his wheels.

By any standards, it’s an impressive achievement, and one that can inspire would-be travellers of any age, Alastair having been 24 when he set out.

Now he believes that, with the right attitude of mind, we can all surprise ourselves with what we can achieve.

Alongside his growing career as explorer, author and photographer – and he admits he might yet return to the chalkface of the classrooms – he is now building a reputation as a lecturer, both on his own experiences and as a motivational speaker, able to inspire people to discover the capabilities they have hidden within.

Next week, he will be talking at the Chester Literature Festival in an event backed by both the University of Chester and the Royal Geographical Society, where he is now a Fellow.

He came from what he likes to think of as a fairly ordinary Yorkshire family, growing up in the Dales.

“At least, I used to think they were not particularly adventurous,” he recalls, “they had pretty conventional jobs when I was growing up.

“But my dad actually ran away to sea on his 15th birthday for 17 years, which I suppose is pretty adventurous. We’ve never really talked about it that much, so I don’t know if it’s a genetic thing.”

He was, however, an active boy, loving team games and the great outdoors.

He took a zoology degree at Edinburgh without, he says, much enthusiasm, and then a teaching qualification at Oxford.

He might yet teach “when I grow out of this nonsense”, but for the time being that side of his life is very much on the back burner.

Instead, he now has his focus very firmly on the SOUTH project, with the aim of trekking across Antarctica to the South Pole and back, completely unsupported.

The 1,800-mile journey is planned to be the longest-ever journey on foot in the polar regions, and will involve both Alastair and Ben Saunders, a veteran of three trips on foot to the North Pole. This time, however, it’s hardly a question of just getting up and going.

“When it’s been a question of cycling around the world, or walking across India, basically you just pack your bags, get up and go.

“Take as much money as you’ve saved up at the time, then live as cheaply as you need to live in order for that money to last.”

Polar expeditions, however, are something very different, with the planning taking much longer than the trip itself.

“We’ve already spent a year sitting behind computers,” says Alastair, “phoning and chasing money. I’m really enjoying the challenge of this big, glossy corporate expedition and it’s teaching me a lot.”

Even so, he admits quietly, “I think my heart’s in the other ones.”

Planning has also been hit by the recession, and with would-be corporate sponsors tightening their belts, the project has already been postponed a couple of times.

At a more practical level, Alastair has yet to get any experience of polar travel. It’s not the cold – Siberia in winter is every bit as cold as Antarctica – but more the skills of making progress across the ice. I’ve got some experience of living in the cold, as I spent three months cycling across Siberia in the winter.

“I’ve got the skills you need of avoiding frostbite, getting a tent up quickly, getting a stove on quickly, so you’re safe.”

Skiing and sled-pulling, however, make up new territory and, in these matters, Alastair will be in the hands of the experienced Ben Saunders, with a training trip to Greenland planned for the near future.

He said: “Years ago, when I started these expeditions, I would never have thought I was the kind of person who was suitable to go to the South Pole. I’m not a real strong man, I’m not an athlete – yet through doing these long challenges I realise that I am, and I think we all are.”

For a man with his heart on the outdoors and his roots in the wide open spaces of the Yorkshire Dales, it is a little surprising that he has taken to living in London with such enthusiasm.

But the biggest, most self-indulgent relaxer of all for this Leeds United football fan with a soft spot for Liverpool, is a Saturday night slobbing on the sofa watching Match of the Day.

Alastair Humphreys will be talking about his adventures at the Chester Literature Festival on October 7 at the University of Chester at 7.30pm. Tickets £7.50. Ring 0845 241 7868 or visit www.chesterfestivals.co.uk.