Nellie Bly in the Sky

Its 125 years since crusading journalist Nellie Bly raced through a mans world -- alone and literally with the clothes on her back -- to beat the fictional record set by Jules Verne/Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days. She won the race and became a global celebrity.To this day, she is one of the worlds top 10 female adventurers.125 years later, I followed in her footsteps.We both travelled alone with one small case.

She went by ocean liner and train. I flew. She raced, I didn't. She covered 28,000 miles in 72 days; I completed 22,500 miles in 32 days. She journeyed through the Victorian age, dashing conventions along the way. I travelled through the Information age, blogging along the way. She started from New York. I started from London. We both finished with book-length memories and a profound appreciation for the kindness shown to us everywhere we went.My expedition is endorsed by Women in Journalism and registered with the Royal Geographical Society.

Visit the website: www.nelliebly125.wordpress.com

1000 miles around Wales with Chico the donkey

I recently finished walking around Wales with a donkey called Chico.

It's 1000 miles and it took us 5.5 months - a landspeed record I don't think anyone will worsen for a long time. This adventure was all about slow travel, meeting people, getting to know the eccentric donkey, and getting to know my own home country in a whole new way. I am proud that every time I leave Wales for ever more, I will be crossing the line I walked, the magic circle I have drawn right round this beautiful country.

I'm currently raising money to make the broadcast quality film and write the book, via a Kickstarter campaign. Do come over and see if I can persuade you to support me! Or, being explorers and adventurers yourselves, if you have ideas of how I could promote this further do get in touch! 

www.seasidedonkey.co.uk

Somerset to Jerusalem

The explorer Mark Beaumont commented on our expedition: From Somerset to Jerusalem has the making of a wonderful pilgrimage and a brilliant adventure.

I wish William tailwinds and open doors as he pedals his way across Europe, always remembering when things get tough that the best memories are made in the journey and not the destination This summer a friend and I are hoping to cycle from our Catholic School in Somerset to Jerusalem. In this expedition we hope to cycle across 14 countries, 2 continents covering some 4000 miles from Europe across into Asia and the Middle East. This trip will the youngest modern pilgrimage made to Jerusalem from Britain. We aim to live the life of a pilgrim, by living the most simplistic lifestyle raising money for our chosen charity Mary's Meals.

The trip will be exploratory; we hope to prove the notion of a modern pilgrimage by a modern generation, being only 18 years of age. After such a trip we are hoping to inspire other young people to complete their own challenges. Mary's Meals is a charity with a simple idea, they give children a meal at school, thus prevent starvation while achieving educating the children as well. I have supported this charity on numerous occasions; I raised 3000 pounds for them when becoming the youngest person to cross Iceland. See link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XHO5-2-dK8.

Two years ago at the young age of 16 my friend, William Stevenson and I walked 800 km to Santiago de Compostella raising 1200 pounds for Mary meals. During this adventure I found my love of exploration. I have walked around the Isle of Wight at the age of 14 raising 1764 pounds for water aid. As well as completing the national three peak challenge in 17.34 hours, D of E and Ten Tors. Last year as training for the youngest crossing of Iceland I ran endurance life's hardest marathon along the Exmoor coast. At the age of 17 I became the youngest person to walk across Iceland, this expedition was a huge success, and we walked 600km in 24 days to become the youngest people to ever cross Iceland by foot. During which we achieved sponsorship from Expedition foods, Lowe alpine, Terra Nova equipment and Robens. As well as being awarded the Everest Award by Young Explorers Trust. See our blog: http://www.expeditionfoods.com/blog/youngest-crossing-of-iceland-2013-by-william-white We had numerous interesting articles written on us one being by the Telegraph:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/10185496/Schoolboys-aim-to-set-new-record-with-crossing-of-Iceland.html.

The 'Dream' from me is experience adventure at ground level where you are at the mercy of the local hospitality. Cycling a pilgrimage, you are travelling slowly at ground level therefore living amongst the local cultures and people, as well as having a goal and challenge to achieve. I love the simplicity of walking and cycling, when I was 16 I walked 800km to Santiago de Compostella and at 17 became the youngest person to walk across Iceland. By cycling to Jerusalem I want to expand my experiences by living the most simple life possible, sleeping rough and eating as cheaply as possible. This for me is a real pilgrimage. I want to spread this message by inspiring others to conquer their own challenges and inspire other young people to adventure. Tom Allen commented:Simple, minimal and timeless this will be a rite of passage and inspiration to others.

At such a young age this expedition will be truly inspiring and challenging. It is the start of progressive, more imaginative and challenging expeditions to come. This expedition captivates the imagination and ethos of adventure. It is not organised by an organisation but by two teenagers who want adventure and fun in a wild and captivating countries. I would like to thank our sponsors, their interest and support has been greatly appreciated. They include, Thule, Tubus, Endura, Answer products, Ultimate Sports Engineering, Abus, Fi'zi:k and Seal Skinz. I will be posting pictures, videos and written reviews of their equipment after the adventure. 

Round Ireland Swim

Ripley will attempt an 850-mile ultra adventure swim round Ireland. It is an enormous challenge mentally, physically and emotionally battling cold, monotony, fatigue, storms, jellyfish, hunger, and isolation.

When successful, he will be the first person to have swum the entire distance around Ireland.He will attempt the arduous task of swimming the 850-miles in a clockwise direction to go with prevailing winds and currents battling the Atlantic Ocean. He will then head across the crown of Northern Ireland and into the narrow Northern Channel heading south through the Irish Sea and Saint George's Channel and into the Celtic Channel. Then it's homeward bound back into the Atlantic Ocean finishing at his start point in Derrynane, County Kerry.Equipped with wet-suit, thermal swim hat, and swim mask, will swim in sea temperatures between 10 17 degrees centigrade, (50 63 Fahrenheit) up to 12 hours per day.

His Round Ireland Ultra Adventure Swim will take him over high Atlantic swells, through furious storms, heavy squalls and adverse weather.The daily routine will be divided into *two-six hour sessions. During the swim, Ripley will feed and drink in the water every thirty to forty-five minutes. Between the two six-hour sessions, there will be hours of rest on the support boat where he will sleep and consume a high carbohydrate, fat and protein diet as well as rehydrating.Ripley will also wear an interactive tracker that will update his position in real time to the Round Ireland Swim website.

Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis In 2011, Ripley will be fundraising in aid of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Ireland (MS Ireland).*-Subject to tidal and weather conditions

Girl Gone Riding

"One girl. Two wheels. Over 20,000 kilometres from the West of Ireland to Siberia. THE JOURNEY On June 15th 2014 I will depart from Dunmore Head, Dingle, Co. Kerry - the westernmost point in Ireland - and ride my motorcycle solo through 20 countries and 20,000 kilometres to Magadan in Russia.

The planned route: Ireland UK France Germany Poland Czech Republic Slovakia Hungary Bulgaria Romania Turkey Georgia Azerbaijan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Tajikistan Kyrgyzstan Kazakhstan - Mongolia Russia For updates follow my Facebook Page and blog at GirlGoneRiding.com THE CHARITY As a strong, empowered woman undertaking this adventure in a male-dominated discipline that is motorcycling, I chose to support Equality Now, a fantastic organisation that works for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls around the world. Working with grassroots women's and human rights organisations and individual activists since 1992, Equality Now documents violence and discrimination against women and mobilises international action to support efforts to stop these abuses. THE PHOTOGRAPHYPROJECT

During my journey I will be working on a photography project, collecting faces and stories of women I meet to highlight the issues that Equality Now focuses on: sex trafficking, legal discrimination, FGM and sexual violence. Those photographs and stories will later be published and all proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to Equality Now. "

Sudan - Discover the Ancient

Sudan - Discover the Ancient!

We will be in Sudan for the next 3 months and would like to go on a trip through the country, we have been there twice but it definitely is not enough to get to more far away places. We would like to combine the desert and bush with the ancient monuments there. The trip will start in Khartoum and last about 3 weeks. We will first make our way up the Nile to visit Old Dongola and little Nubian villages, before heading towards the Meroe Pyramids (an absolutely stunning and magical place) and the 2 remote temples of Musawarat and Naga, before crossing the Bayuda desert to go to the Red Sea, where we would like to dive.

Apparently diving here is pristine, there are shipwrecks and remains of Jacques Cousteaus underwater experiments. All quite exciting...especially if one encounters the hammerhead sharks there!From there we will continue into unknown territory, down towards Kassala and further to the Dinder National Park - said to be a wild and remote area. There are nearly no tourists here, so we would be quite excited to see it.

From Dinder we will make our way back to Khartoum.We will travel in 4x4s and mostly sleep in the desert. Food etc. will be shared.Sudan is a country which is not overrun by tourists, often locals wonder, what one si doing there. Sudanese people are among the most friendly on the whole continent. An ideal base to dive into their culture!Photographers welcome - as its a very photogenic country!

EURO 48

Euro 48 is a 5 year project in which we hope to reach the highest point of every country in Europe. We are almost 3 years in and have 'summited' 32 of the 48. Our travels so far have taken us north to Norway's frozen peaks, south to Spain's Sierra Nevada and east to the Belarusian plains.

The trekking and climbing has also varied from a gentle stroll over the grassy hills of Denmark to a more strenuous Alpine ascent of Mont Blanc and full scale expedition attempt of Russia's Mount Elbrus. Finding the actual high point can be as much a challenge as summiting them sometimes as they are normally off the beaten track and hidden miles away from anywhere, but this is what makes EURO 48 a true adventure. That said, you don't need to be a professional adventurer to attempt it. The real beauty of this project is that it's open to anyone and you can approach it in whatever way suits you best.

We have travelled mostly at weekends as we both have family and work commitments but there is something extremely gratifying about being a secret weekend adventurer. You can fly off on Friday, get your adrenaline fix, soak up some of the sights, sounds and cultures of these countries before heading back to your desk for the Monday morning meetings feeling great!

Enjoy!

ETE Teachers South Pole Mission

Hi,

My name is Antony Jinman, and I am going on a solo expedition to the South Pole departing on Sunday 17th November.

The aim of the expedition is to provide learning resources and an interactive discussion board to allow students to speak with and ask questions directly to me whilst he is on the expedition and to also ask ETEs Panel of Polar Experts questions about the expedition life, science, food and nutrition. As a young boy growing up I learnt about Captain Scott and saw him as my Hero, from that point onwards it has always been my dream to reach the North and South Poles. Through hard work in the outdoors industry and undertaking Arctic expeditions, I achieved my dream of reaching the Geographic North Pole in 2010. The North Pole expedition led me and my two team mates to travel over 500 miles from Cape Discovery to the Geographic North Pole in just 51 days.

We did this through a mixture of different ways going by ski, snow shoe and even swimming. My next expedition will take me to the South Pole, skiing 730 miles across Antarctica from Hercules inlet, unsupported, which will take around 55 days! Through this expedition I aim to teach people about the environment at the South Pole, and also to show people how important it is to do regular exercise and eat healthily. Whilst on the expedition I will also be working with academics from Plymouth University to gather some data for both dementia research looking into the affect of extreme physical conditions and loneliness on memory and I will also work with Dr Alexis Kirke, on computer music research, to compose pieces of music on a tablet computer whilst on the trek.

Using the ETE Teachers website I will be uploading photos, videos and blogs about my preparation for the South Pole Expedition, and doing the same whilst I am away in Antarctica from November to January!

If you are interested in finding out more information or to follow me on my expedition then please go to www.eteteachers.org or www.antonyjinman.com where you will be able to follow the updates about my expedition. 

Cycling around the world

Laura and Tim Moss are currently cycling from the UK to Australia across Europe, the Middle East, Central and South East Asia.On the day that the two of us first got together, we jokingly made a date to cycle around the world in 2013. Over the years, it slowly became less of a joke and more of a reality, and this spring we both handed in our notices at work.We departed the UK on August 18th.

We anticipate it taking between 12 and 18 months.Our website is regularly updated with stories from the road, live Tweets and Facebook news, a route map and stats from the ride. Website:www.thenextchallenge.org Twitter: @NextChallenge and @LauraLikesWater Facebook: facebook.com/thenextchallengeBerghaus Everyday Adventurers |Light My Fire Adventurer of the Year Finalists |Keen Ambassadors |Lyon Equipment Sponsored Athletes-UPDATE JULY 2014.

We are now in South East Asia cycling south to Singapore. From there we fly to Australia then its New Zealands North Island before flying to San Francisco to cross the United States. Home in time for Christmas!

Tips for Driving across Northern Russia

Does anyone have any tips for driving in this part of the world. We are in the very early stages of planning to drive the northern coast of Russia (between the towns closest to the coast). Do people know how reliable sources of fuel are, in this region of the world. If anyone has any experience in this your input would be greatly appreciated.

New Dawn Traders - Help the Good Pirates of the World

In October, New Dawn Traders Alex and Lucy set sail on a 7-month voyage around the Atlantic with the cargo vessel Tres Hombres and her crew. The beautiful Tres Hombres is pioneering a renaissance in shipping cargo by sailboat - 100% wind-powered and emission-free. This 32 meter, engine-less brigantine has been successfully trading between Europe and islands in the Atlantic and Caribbean since 2009. This year will be the ships first voyage to Brazil.Through the physical act of trading goods between countries we will also be trading in skills, knowledge and culture. The ship is not only a perfect metaphor for this voyage of discovery but is itself a microcosm of social and ecological issues. Through our human-scale adventures, both on-board the ship and in port, we will find and develop tools for sustainable living that will be of interest far beyond our own needs.

In short New Dawn Traders is divided into two mutually supported departments: Trading Under Sail and Storytelling. Our ultimate goal is to manifest a self-sustaining, theatrical cargo ship, trading in goods, knowledge and culture by the power of the wind. Environmental and social change for the better requires a groundswell of many individual efforts, and we hope to motivate this through documenting and sharing our own path towards a healthy, happy, enchanted and fair planet. This voyage will further develop the multi-faceted business and campaigns model needed to achieve this goal and WE NEED YOU!Please check out our page on Indiegogo for further videos / pictures and information. We are raising funds for our imminent voyage and we are very grateful for all contributions.If you are interested in: becoming a trainee, shipping goods to or from the UK, sponsoring our voyage, selling our products. or volunteering time and knowledge.please get in touch.email: info@newdawntraders.com

Secret Compass explorer to 'Walk the Nile'

Secret Compass co-founder Levison Wood this month sets off to complete an epic, world-first journey to become the first person to walk the length of the Nile.

He'll start at the Nile's source in Rwanda then walk through countries including Uganda, South Sudan and Sudan en route to Egypt and the Nile's mouth on the Mediterranean shores.He leaves the UK this weekend and will then spend a few days ironing out last-minute issues before setting off on December 1 2013.

Watch Lev online as he introduces his upcoming adventure (with thanks to Outside TV) or visit Levs Walk the Nile site.

If you'd like to join Levs historic walk on one of three expeditions to Uganda, South Sudan or Sudan, Africa in 2014 with Secret Compass, visit our Walk the Nile expedition page now.We'll be posting regular updates here and on the Secret Compass blog and if you have any questions or would like to join him, get in touch with Secret Compass today!