Alastair Humphreys Adventurer | Author | Motivational Speaker

A Night of Adventure

Following my visit to the work of Hope and Homes for Children in Sierra Leone I decided to arrange a fund-raising event. The “Night of Adventure” was a great success and there are calls for a repeat sometime soon. I hope you will come along. If you would like to be informed when the [...]

“Adventure means living the life you have always imagined”

Oxford University Exploration Club Presents:
Alastair Humphreys
speaking on
“Adventure means living the life you have always imagined”
Monday 16th November Oxford Union 6pm
Admission: Free to university members, £2 to non university members
Wine and conversation to follow talk. Signed books for sale.
Please do come along! I am really excited to be speaking at the world’s most prestigious debating [...]

Podcast about travel writing

A while back I was interviewed for the Creative Penn website, an invaluable resource for aspiring and beginning authors.
It was an interesting chat and we covered plenty of ground, including,

“# Learning how to write by reading and just getting on with it
# Writing a diary on the road and then turning it into a [...]

A day in the life of an Author / Adventurer / Motivational Speaker / Big Kid

An insight into my life:
Write India book and eat biscuits on train.

Arrive at speaking venue. Find toilets to get changed in. (Disabled ones are better: bigger and rarely used, therefore nice and clean)

Emerge looking like Bond.

Tuck into free swanky meal at International Business Forum. Exercise restraint on free booze.
Slug back strong black coffee.
Try best to [...]

Speaking at Howies’ Do Lectures

I’m excited to be speaking this week at Howies’ fantastic series of Do Lectures.
The simple premise is that speakers come along to talk about what they Do. It’s set me wondering what do I actually Do?! And what do I want to Do. Which, I guess, is the idea of the Do Lectures. To encourage [...]

Speaking at the Grassington Festival

I have just been putting together my slides for the talk I am giving at the Grassington Festival in Yorkshire on Sunday June 28th at 8pm. As well as being one of the most beautiful areas in England, Grassington has built a reputation for hosting one of northern England’s best festivals. I’m chuffed to be [...]

Preview of my new book, Ten Lessons from the Road

After a lot of work by Jim, Eye Books and myself, Ten Lessons from the Road is finally finished and available.
I am really pleased with it. It looks great (see the video clip above) -hardback, full colour- and it feels like something fresh and new. Fingers crossed the reviewers will agree!
The idea was to [...]

Frequently Asked Questions

The questions I was asked most frequently in the 14 talks I gave for Sustrans this week:
How many punctures did you get?
Did you get sick?
How did you go to the toilet?
How did you take the photos?
Did your bum hurt?
Would you do it again?
What was your favourite country?
What was your favourite food?
What was your best moment?
What [...]

“Becoming Paralysed isn’t all Serious!”

In the last few months I have really enjoyed working alongside Phil Packer, training for our attempt to row the English Channel together. Phil is a soldier, and he was paralysed in Iraq last year.
I have been so impressed with his courage, determination and good humour. Another person who is similarly inspiring is Karen Darke. [...]

Speaking tips

Making a living out of public speaking I find it important to keep trying to improve my performance. Here are a couple of basic, but effective details that I use and which I am going to re-polish over the next few talks.
Decide in advance exactly what your first sentence is going to be. This will [...]