After a fourteen year career in the British Army, Jay Morton found himself catapulted from clandestine special forces secrecy to household-name celebrity. In this conversation with Matt Pycroft, Jay talks about growing up on active military service in Afghanistan in his early twenties, as well as the roles that both commitment and suffering have to play in a life well lived.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-adventure-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second half of this two-part interview, Sophy Roberts shares the epiphany that led to her debut book The Lost Pianos of Siberia, and the ‘pursuit of an object’ that ultimately took six expeditions, thousands of miles of travel and three years of her life. Sophy eloquently describes an odyssey through communities living by the rhythm of the earth, and the surprising freedom she found deep in the Siberian wilderness.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-adventure-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sophy Roberts cut her journalistic teeth reviewing luxury hotels for glossy magazines, before turning her back on the world of ‘infinity pools, free lunches and free flights’ to tell the story of a vast swathe of Russia – eleven percent of the earth’s landmass – that is arguably the least luxurious destination on the planet. In the first half of this two-part interview Sophy looks back on the path that led to Siberia.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-adventure-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Filmmaker and producer Emma Crome specialises in adventure and documentary film production. Following an unexpected insight into the decline of Britain’s wild spaces, Emma embarked on a long-term documentary project exploring the contemporary and precarious state of nature in the UK. Along the way she discovered the story of the father and son subjects of John MacDonald’s book ‘The Last English Poachers’, and set about tracking them down. In this episode we hear their tale, and that of Britain’s shrinking pockets of wilderness.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-adventure-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nick Bullock describes himself, in a self-deprecating manner that is a refreshing hallmark of his storytelling, as “someone who likes to go climbing”. Preferring off-the-radar mountains to well-trodden summits, his 24th expedition was to the rarely-climbed 7555m Mount Gongga, in the Sichuan region of China, “a massive mountain that launches up into the sky out of nowhere.” In this conversation with Matt Pycroft, Nick talks honestly and movingly about his own relationship with risk, ego, ambition, conflict, and the ‘lack of imagination’ that he feels is hampering the newest generation of alpinists.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-adventure-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Five weeks after first arriving in the UK to study, Vedangi Kulkarni set off on her bike with the aim of discovering the country she had chosen to call home. Three weeks later, she stopped pedalling in John O’Groats, having cycled the length of mainland Britain. The story of how she got there is far from the usual bike-packing tale - with no sleeping bag, and an accidental foray onto the M27 - but one of dogged resilience, brave determination and an unwillingness to give up; qualities that were stretched to breaking point when she set out to cycle around the world the following year, aged nineteen.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-adventure-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1989, George Monbiot travelled to Brazil to explore the troubling stories emerging from the rainforest. He lived in Manaus - in the heart of the Amazon - for two years, learning Portuguese and immersing himself in the country. George describes this time as “the beginning of my political education”, and his story spans a series of encounters that trump any Hollywood film, with investigations into local Brazilian land seizures leading to his reported death in the national press, and his dogged scrutinization of the gold rush finding him in a Wild-West-style shootout in the Amazonian hinterland.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-adventure-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Still climbing in his ninth decade – and with nearly 30 first ascents under his belt – Sir Chris Bonington’s appetite for adventure has made him both a trailblazer and a mainstay of the mountaineering community. This conversation spans the peaks and valleys of a life well lived, and offers insight, humour and pathos. From an unsuccessful boyhood attempt on Snowdon to breaking new ground on distant Himalayan summits, Chris shares his hard-won wisdom on triumph, tragedy and the ingredient he calls ‘the most important thing in life’.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-adventure-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Iain Miller might just be the only professional sea stack climber on Earth. After twenty years sailing the world with the Merchant Navy, Iain made a home in western Donegal, and he has barely left since. Now, Iain's days are spent out in his kayak looking for unclimbed rock, and – in his own words – "Those moments in time that can't be replicated". What follows is an extraordinary collection of Iain's stories from a life on the high seas in a time gone by. To watch 'A Feather in the West', head over to Pertex.comSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-adventure-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The eighth episode in this lockdown series is with Jenny Tough.The Solitude Specials are a new series of shorter conversations with adventurous souls who know a thing or two about managing their physical, mental and emotional energy in peculiarly challenging and stressful times.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-adventure-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.