When I started going on expeditions, I was a student and had all the time in the world for travelling over the long summers. I disappeared to Central Asia for a month, around the world for two months and the Americas for 10 weeks. Then I got a j... Read more
I was interviewed last week for The Outdoors Station podcast. Started by Bob Cartwright in 2005, it is the longest running podcast of its type. We discussed my approach to expeditions (cheap and simple), my ethos (adventuring is no better or mor... Read more
Meandering down the banks of the Elbe on a sunny May morning, we were surrounded by cyclists of all tribes. Parents and children rode next to old men on novelty bikes. Lycra-clad women flew past at speed as young couples gossiped on sit-up-and-b... Read more
We all know about the British Three Peaks Challenge: climbing up the highest mountain in each of Scotland, England and Wales. But what about a Three Lakes Challenge? Crossing the largest lake in each of the British nations. Grant winner Jo Laird... Read more
Three years ago, Laura and I walked across Ibiza and called it an “EasyJet expedition”. The idea was to do a trip somewhere you wouldn’t normally associate with adventure (Ibiza = clubbing, right?) and somewhere that you could get to easily and... Read more
I have now been running this website for over 10 years. That seems hard to believe, but what I find even more surprising is that my grant has been going for almost half of that time. This year will be the sixth year in which I offer expedition g... Read more
This video makes me green with envy every time I watch it. It just looks stunning. In 2015, Sebastian Schweizer applied to The Next Challenge Grant for his planned expedition to swim part of the Sardinian coast. His one key expense was for a des... Read more
The 2020 Next Challenge Grant opened for applications today. And to the mark the occasion, we have a story from 2017 grant winner Joanne McCallum, who took a paddle board across Lough Neagh. One of the great things about Jo’s trip is that... Read more
Grant winner Joshua Powell describes his attempt to run a marathon at Marathon dressed as a Greek soldier. Running a Marathon at Marathon by Joshua Powell It was October 2016 and I was approaching the end of English Heritage’s ‘1066 March’, mark... Read more
Without doubt, this is the best title I have ever had on my blog. When I read it on the application form for my grant, I knew I had to support it. In fact, it’s such a good title that I don’t think I really need to offer any more exp... Read more
Laura and I are currently on our way to the Baltics and the Aland islands on a cycling trip. You can see our very rough route plan on the map above. Two things are making this trip more interesting for us: 1) We are travelling “overland... Read more
When Bex Band won a Next Challenge Grant to ride a kick-scooter 150 miles around London, it was her first big adventure. In her application for the 2016 grant, she wrote: “Myself and my husband have never done anything like this before. We are v... Read more
