Alastair Humphreys

Alastair Humphreys is an adventurer, blogger, author and motivational speaker. He is a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year.

A graduate of Oxford University in England, Alastair spent four years cycling round the world. His solo 46,000 mile journey crossed 60 countries and took over four years to complete, on a budget of just $10,000. Alastair has also raced a yacht across the Atlantic Ocean, canoed 500 miles down the Yukon River and walked the length of the Holy Kaveri River in India.

In 2011 Alastair decided to remain in the UK in order to encourage people to seek out adventure and wilderness closer to home, challenging themselves through "microadventures." This promotion of local adventure and the work/life balance led to Alastair being honored by National Geographic as one of their global Adventurers of the Year. In 2012 Alastair rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, did an expedition in Greenland and walked 1000 miles across the Empty Quarter desert in Arabia, towing his supplies in a 600lb cart.

Since then he has concentrated on his microadventures, encouraging people to get out and fit more adventure into their busy lives. He has worked with clients including National Geographic, Talisker, Peugeot, Skoda, easyJet, Cartier, Victorinox, Vodafone, GoPro and Adidas on this movement. Alastair’s book, Microadventures, was an Amazon UK Top 20 Bestseller for all books. Grand Adventures reached Number 8 for all books on Amazon UK.

In 2016 Alastair attempted to busk across Spain in the footsteps of one of his literary heroes.

He was chosen as one of National Geographic’s Adventurers of the Year in 2012 and won the Ordnance Survey Children’s Travel Book of the Year in 2019. Alastair lives in a village outside London with his wife and two young children (hence the microadventures!)

Alastair is a patron of the charity Hope and Homes for Children, the Youth Adventure Trust, the Outdoor Swimming Society, and the Yorkshire Dales Society. He is a life member of the John Muir Trust, the Woodland Trust, the National Trust, a supporter of Trees for Cities, and donates at least 1% of his income to environmental charities.

Alastair has published ten books. He is also keen photographer, filmmaker and motivational speaker.