Globies past speaker Leon McCarron, the adventure film maker (most notably the inspiring Into the Empty Quarter with Alastair Humphreys) has turned his talents to writing, with the release of his first book The Road Headed West: A Cycling Adventure Through North America. The book tells the story of Leon’s five month 6,000 mile cycle journey from New York to Seattle and onto the Mexican border, with all the stress and enjoyment that such a journey entails. With excellent reviews, signed copies are available from leonmccarron.com for £9.99 (+P&P).

Staying with cycling, Richard Evans of Wimbledon, South West London has been cycling around the world since April of this year on a recumbent bicycle.

Originally planned as an attempt to beat Mark Beaumont’s 2007 Guinness World Record of heading around the globe in 195 days, Richard is now travelling for the sheer joy of travelling, and without chasing a record he has been able to experience the regions he is passing through much more. (The record now stands at 127 days, and in any case Guinness wouldn’t accept a ride on a recumbent bike for reasons of their own.)

Now on the East Coast of the United States, in many ways Richard is on the home stretch, with just a short ride from Lisbon to complete his journey.

You can take a look at his route and much more on http://laidbackaroundtheworld.blogspot.co.uk/ and follow him on social media. His twitter handle is @laid_back_rich.

Nick Hunt is a Globie and William Wood Legacy award winner, taking himself on a miraculous walking journey from one side of Europe to the other. In 1933, the eighteen year old Patrick Leigh Fermor set out in a pair of hobnailed boots to chance and charm his way across Europe, like a tramp, a pilgrim or a wandering scholar. The books he later wrote about this walk, A Time of Gifts, Between the Woods and the Water, and the posthumous The Broken Road are a half-remembered, half reimagined journey through cultures now extinct, landscapes irrevocably altered by the traumas of the twentieth century.

Aged eighteen, Nick Hunt read A Time of Gifts and dreamed of following in Fermors footsteps. In 2011 he began his own great trudge – on foot all the way to Istanbul. He walked across Europe through eight countries, following two major rivers and crossing three mountain ranges. Using Fermor s books as his only travel guide, he trekked some 2,500 miles through Holland, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. His aim? To have an old-fashioned adventure. To slow down and linger in a world where we pass by so much, so fast. To discover for himself what remained of hospitality, kindness to strangers, freedom, wildness, adventure, the mysterious, the unknown, the deeper currents of myth and story that still flow beneath Europe’s surface.

You can find Nick’s book in all good book shops for £10.99 or for less online at Amazon and Hive. Read more about Nick and his amazing journey on his new blog: www.nickhuntscrutiny.com

Former Globetrotters member Pam Tames sadly passed away at the end of 2013. If any fellow Globies would like to pass on any information or photos of her, then please get in touch so that we can publish an obituary for Pam in the next issue.

London

In November Jeanie Copland will present on her Trans Siberian trip and Adrian Bridge on In the footsteps of Franz Ferdinand, leading up to a double whammy of wonder in December. Jason Lewis and John Pilkington will no doubt be a highlight of the year’s meetings for many Globies, with both of their talks that need little introduction at the December meeting.

Chester

Chester meets on November 15th with  a talk on Columbia by Christine Russel and on Northern Pakistan by Roy Willis.

Toronto

In Toronto, tentative topics for the next meeting are Greece and Turkey, Cuba, Dubai or even the re-enactment of the Battle of York.

Keep up to date with London and Toronto meetings on the brand new website: www.globetrotters.co.uk and find out about the Chester meet ups on their own site: www.chesterglobetrotters.co.uk

This eNewsletter was written by Chloe Marshall, Ian Packham and Tony Annis

Do you have any comments, suggestions or questions?

Drop us a line: Editor@globetrotters.co.uk or leave a comment.

If you have an event you would like to add to our events listing, please contact us.