Explorer, writer and photographer Alastair Humphreys talks to William Leece about his adventures

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. Later this year, he will be talking at the Chester Literary 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 adven-turous,” 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 – “I was a bit rubbish at them, which is quite annoying when you’re a kid and you want to be in the team” – 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.”