'The Great Explorers' October 28, 2010

Is the great age of exploration over? Has the modern traveller swapped Ulysses’ quest for the Happy Isles for a short break at the Holiday Inn? Maybe. But most of us still yearn for the rough, rugged and romantic places of the explorer’s imagination, places where no travel company has been before us…. And some of Britain’s greatest explorers and travellers will be taking us there, in mind if not in body, as they examine the past, present and future of great exploration.

Barnaby Rogerson will chair the discussion, which will feature Ed Stafford (who walked the Amazon), Christina Dodwell (pioneering explorer of Papua New Guinea and Kamchatka), Benedict Allen, Robin Hanbury-Tenison (named 'the greatest explorer' by The Sunday Times), John Gimlette, Justin Marozzi and Anthony Sattin. After individually introducing themselves, their inspirations and their achievements, the floor will open up for a discussion about the (diminishing?) possibility of genuine adventure and discovery in a world where travel and exploration are becoming ever more mainstream pursuits.