Julia Bradbury – Best Foot Forward

Sunday 19 January 12:00 – 13:30

With her new television series on Greece airing now on ITV and her adventures taking her as far afield as Africa and Australia, top TV presenter Julia Bradbury is a seasoned traveller. Through her hugely popular walking programmes, including ‘Britain’s Favourite Walks: Top 100’, ‘Britain’s Best Walks’ and the routes explored through free online resource of The Outdoor Guide, Julia has earned her title as ‘The Queen of Walking’.

Always happy to air her views on the challenges we all face in everyday life regarding sustainability and climate change, she will be sharing tales from her walks and travels as well as engaging in what are sure to be lively Q&A sessions. Julia said, “I’m looking forward to meeting new people and renewing old acquaintance to share thoughts and experiences about the many faces of adventure travel and life outdoors.

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Craig Sholley – Conservation Success – Rwanda’s Mountain Gorillas

Saturday 18 January 10:45 – 11:15

Craig Sholley – AWF’s Senior Vice President – has dedicated much of his life to conservation in Africa. Craig will chart the incredible conservation journey of Rwanda’s mountain gorillas, drawing on his life’s work including with Dian Fossey in the 70s, as Director of Rwanda’s Mountain Gorilla Project in the 80s, and with AWF supporting the Rwandan Development Board to deliver its conservation and development vision, sharing his insights along the way.

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Ash Bhardwaj – How I Learned to Stop Worrying And Love Cold War: Journeys Along Russia’s European Border

Saturday 18 January 16:30 – 17:15

Journalist and Film-maker Ash Bhardwaj (The Telegraph, Times, BBC, Channel 4, Escapism, et al.) tells us how he developed the skills of travel journalism, and how he used them to create “The New Iron Curtain” – his 6-month 8500km journey along Russia’s European frontier, which became a chart-topping podcast. Ash shares the secrets of building a career from scratch, and the philosophical lessons that he has learned along the way.

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Sophie Darlington & Tania Estaban – Women in Wildlife Filming

Saturday 18 January 14:45 – 15:30

Have you always wanted to know what life is like for wildlife filmmakers? How did they get into it, what skills are required, and how do they find the stories? Can anyone do it? Well, it’s certainly not just all about tough blokes with beards spending months in a hide as we’ll find out in this chat with two of the UK’s most talented women in wildlife filmmaking.

Sophie is a BAFTA award-winning UK based natural history filmmaker and Director of Photography. Tania is a camera assistant/operator, researcher, she has worked as a BBC researcher on Big Cats, Wild Cities, BBC Planet Earth 2 and Blue Planet 2. We’ll get an insight into their craft, as well as seeing some of their incredible work.

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Image Credit: Julie Moniere

Doug Allan – An Eye Below Zero

Sunday 19 January 13:45 – 14:30

How do you get up close and personal with polar bears without being eaten? What are the chances of finding that one pod of Antarctic orcas that hunt by wave washing? Is it true your eyeballs freeze at minus 50? With stories and images from behind the scenes, award-winning cameraman Doug Allan (Blue Planet, Planet Earth, Ocean Giants, Forces of Nature and many others) puts on a spectacular show.

Doug’s photographic awards include eight Emmys and five BAFTAs. He has twice won the underwater category in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, and has Honorary Fellowships from the Royal Photographic Society and the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.

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REZA PAKRAVAN – Africa’s Forgotten Frontiers: The Sahel

Saturday 18 January 13:00 – 13:45

On the 31st of July, Reza Pakravan, an explorer and filmmaker, became the first person in modern history to have travelled the full length of the Sahel. A belt of land stretching across the southern boundary of the Sahara desert, the Sahel spans the width of Africa, from Senegal to Somalia, and is home to some of the harshest conditions on the planet, where the effects of climate change are most felt and rebel uprisings are common. Reza’s talk will take you on a breath-taking journey across the continent. He will share tales of his journey to the tense frontiers and the enduring traditions of the Sahel. In this high energy, adventure-packed talk, Reza reveals his challenges of travelling as the locals do.

More from Africa’s Forgotten Frontiers: The Sahel

Jo Bradshaw – The 7 Summits, a Long and Winding Road

Sunday 19 January 16:15 – 16:45

As a former no saying, height hating, risk-averse, sofa surfer, Jo never set out to climb even one mountain, let alone to attempt any of the 7 summits. A gradual move from business suits to high altitude boots opened up a new life of adventure, Everest via an earthquake and beyond.

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KAT DAVIS – Japan for Adventure Travel, and the Kumano Kodo: The UNESCO World Heritage Trek

Sunday 19 January 11:15 – 11:45

Join Kat to discover that Japan offers something for every adventure traveller, from short easy hikes to challenging mountain traverses. Gain some insight into how to make the most of a trip to Japan, and in particular, experience a remote, ancient and spiritual Japan while hiking the stunning UNESCO World Heritage Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trails that traverse the sacred mountains of the Kii Peninsula, due south of Kyoto. Follow in Emperor’s and samurai’s footsteps through verdant forested mountains to the three grand shrines of Kumano. Stay in a temple and eat Buddhist vegetarian cuisine in Koyasan, the high mountain basin and headquarters of the Shingon school of Buddhism established in 816.

More From Kat Davis

SHOW EXCLUSIVE!

BENEDICT ALLEN- Lost and Found in the Amazon

Sunday 19 January 10:15 – 11:00

Benedict Allen with his usual good humour tells the extraordinary story of his relationship with the remote Matses people of Peru – whose children 22 years ago taught him lessons that would save his life when he was robbed and left to die – and for the first time gives an account of his dramatic return last year to see what had become of the Matses and their forest.

Fiona Quinn – Start Before You’re Ready: Paddle Boarding Land’s End to John O’groats

Saturday 18 January 10:00 – 10:30

An enthusiastic writer, speaker, Founder of Adventure Book Club and Kraken Travel Ambassador, in 2018 Fiona decided to take her pursuit of cake stops up a notch by stand up paddleboarding Lands End to John O’Groats. Ticking off 3 world firsts along the way, she just had one little issue – she’s afraid of the sea! Having recently published her book on the journey, Fiona shares with us what it’s like to be the most scared, inexperienced and unlikely person to take on such a ridiculous challenge.

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KATE RAWLES – Adventure in the Andes: The Life Cycle Biodiversity Bike Ride

Sunday 19 January 15:30 – 16:00

Kate Rawles aka @CarbonCycleKate rode 8288 miles the length of South America on ‘Woody’; a bicycle made of bamboo she built herself. Following the spine of the Andes, Kate explored biodiversity – what it is, what’s happening to it, why that matters and what can be done to protect it.  

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James Forrest – 446 Mountains. Six Months. One Record-Breaking Adventure

Saturday 18 January 15:45 – 16:15

Nicknamed ‘Mountain Man’ by the Sunday Telegraph, James Forrest is the record-breaking adventurer who climbed every mountain in England and Wales in just six months – the fastest ever time. Solo and unsupported, he walked over 1,000 miles and ascended five times the height of Everest during his 446-peak challenge. And he did it all on his days off from work, proving it is possible to integrate an epic adventure into your everyday life.

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Jim Mayer – 15 Years of Expedition Cruise Travel

Sunday 19 January 14:45 – 15:15

We will take a trip down memory lane and talk about the changes we have gone through over the past couple of years, not only on the adventure side but also on our ever-increasing commitment to supporting science and creating ambassadors.

More from Jim Mayer

Hayley Collings – Antarctic Visitors – Friends or Foe?

Saturday 18 January 14:00 – 14:30

The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators has been advocating and promoting safe and environmentally responsible travel to the Antarctic for 29 years. Hear about the global collaboration which protects Antarctica from the impacts of human activity and what to consider before travelling to the region.

More From Hayley Collings