Great British Adventures Tom Bryan

Danny Bent has lived a thousand lives. And you can feel this in his presence.

His smile lights up a room. His positive energy is contagious. It's hard not to feel like something incredible is about to happen when he's around.

He's also driven to take bold actions in setting up projects that create positive change whether that is the free fitness community, Project Awesome, or One Run For Boston - a coast-to-coast relay across America he set up to help those affected by the Boston Marathon bombings.

He was once voted one of the 100 happiest people in the UK. And he believes living a life pure to your heart and gut leads you on adventures every day.

Amongst many other things Danny has starred on the BBCs Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week, he’s cycling round the world, holds the world record for Bog Snorkeling Triathlon, and once pogoed across Togo simply because it rhymed.

Realising the joy was all in the people he now goes on wild adventures leading groups running across countries like Iceland and Tajikistan and climbing in high mountains.

For a £100 discount on Danny's Run Across Iceland, visit: https://runwild.global/gba/ and mention the Great British Adventures Podcast

Support the show: Sign up to Gousto for a whopping 65% off your first box of food - www.gousto.co.uk/raf/?promo_code=TOM42277653

Follow Danny:

https://www.dannybent.com/

https://www.instagram.com/danny_bent/

Mentioned in the Podcast:

Bog Snorkelling Triathlon: https://www.visitwales.com/things-do/events/sport/can-you-beat-bog

November Project: https://november-project.com/

Project Awesome: https://www.facebook.com/projectawesomelondon/?locale=en_GB

One Run For Boston: https://www.theworldrelay.com/events/one-run-for-boston/

Danny's Books

You've Gone Too Far This Time, Sir : https://www.amazon.co.uk/Youve-gone-too-this-time/dp/1456550306

Not All Superheros Wear Capes - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Not-All-Superheroes-Wear-Capes/dp/0996015205

The Great Norse Run Across Iceland: https://runwild.global/gba/

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
03:44 Bog Snorkelling Triathlon
06:18 Celebrating being unique
09:59 Special Forces Hell Week
12:35 Colourful Persona
15:09 Project Awesome
20:28 Starting the wave of free fitness
24:16 Tom's biggest regret
27:39 The toll Project Awesome had on Danny
33:06 How Project Awesome saved people
35:53 A Project Awesome in Sheffield
38:15 Being labeled 'The Happiness Guru'
50:07 Parents advice growing up
53:39 Telling your parents you are happy
56:51 How to be more happy
01:05:47 Making kindness part of your daily life
01:08:20 One Run For Boston
01:19:48 Being a Catalyst for Change
01:26:42 The impact in taking bold decisions
01:30:16 Danny's Books
01:33:00 Experiencing kindness in South India
01:36:42 Happiness and possession
01:39:22 Hosting wild running adventures
01:46:22 The Great Norse Run across Iceland
01:55:14 Danny's Discount for Running Across Iceland

Adrienne Gordon loves growing veg. 

And after touring the world by bike, volunteering on organic farms along the way, she returned to the UK with a wealth of knowledge and experience in how best to turn seeds into food.

This is the story of how Adrienne found a plot of land close to where she lived and turned a plain 4 acre field, that only grew one crop, into a sprawling, diverse oasis of delicious veg.

In this conversation we discuss Adrienne's journey Wwoofing in New Zealand, what she learned through that experience, how she secured the land to grow on, the real cost of growing food, why we should support local growers, how organic certification works, how her popular veg box scheme took off and how she incorporates community shared experiences though food on her land



For more information on Sweetpea

https://sweetpeamarketgarden.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/sweetpeamarketgarden/



Mentioned in the Conversation:

Wwoof: https://wwoof.net/

Oxford Real Farming Conference: https://orfc.org.uk/

Cambridge Organic: https://cambridgeorganic.co.uk/

Land Workers Alliance: https://landworkersalliance.org.uk/

Eves Hill Farm: https://www.eveshill.uk/



Get in contact:

https://www.instagram.com/tombryanyeah/

https://www.facebook.com/greatbritishadventurespodcast

https://www.youtube.com/@greatbritishadventures



Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:30 Recording in polytunnel
07:38 Traveling world by bike
11:45 Wwoffing in New Zealand
16:53 The real cost of growing food
22:13 Securing land to grow on
29:43 Benefits of building a pond
36:50 Lessons learned from Wwoofing
43:21 Why start a market garden
46:06 What it takes to create a market garden
48:23 Going with the flow of the seasons
52:57 Demand for local food in lockdown
57:57 Food supply chain problems
01:00:05 The value we place on food
01:05:52 Adrienne's veg box scheme for a local workplace
01:13:34 Supporting local growers
01:15:55 Celebrating certified organic
01:22:05 Growing in the face of climate change
01:25:01 Regenerative farming
01:30:22 Future of Sweetpea
01:33:07 Minimal dig practices
01:36:09 Working in hardcore clay
01:37:56 What grows here
01:45:18 Closing words written by Adi

Jessica Hepburn is the only woman in the world to have swam the English Channel, run the London Marathon, and climbed Mt. Everest - the so called 'Sea, Street, Summit Challenge.'

She also claims to be the only person to have listened to every available episode of the popular BBC Radio 4 show, Desert Island Discs (there's over 3,000!)

But that is just the adventure headlines.

And at the heart of Jessica's story is one of loss, heartbreak, trauma, and ultimately how she has been able to own the adversity in her life, and turn it into something that creates positive change for herself and others.

Jessica is an adventure activist, arts producer and author of three books, her latest, Save Me From The Waves is an adventure story with a difference.

Documenting her quest to climb the largest mountain in the world, coupled with her desire to listen to every episode of Desert Island Discs it is a beautifully written story of how the show's Castaway's and their music choices have inspired and helped Jessica make sense of her own life.

In this conversation we discuss Jessica's love of lists, how the comedian Jimmy Carr initially inspired her, how she's been part of a movement to change the stigma on infertility, why and how she swam the channel, her journey to summiting Everest, why everyone should tell there life story creatively, how her destination was not what she was expecting and how she was able to make meaning out of it through art.



Mentioned in the podcast

Buy Jessica’s New Book: Save Me From The Waves: https://geni.us/SaveMeFromTheWaves

Desert Island Discs: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qnmr

Swimquest: https://swimquest.uk.com/

Serpentine Swim Club: https://serpentineswimmingclub.com/

Ramblers: https://www.ramblers.org.uk/go-walking/ramblers-groups



Get in contact:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/tombryanyeah/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/greatbritishadventurespodcast

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@greatbritishadventures



Timestamps:

00:00 Intro
01:30 Desert Island Discs Superfan
05:10 A Lover of Lists
07:51 Jimmy Carr and What do You Want?
11:40 Turning adversity into positive change
14:35 Writing her first book
19:17 Changing the stigma on infertility
23:12 A disease of the mind
28:39 Have another life alongside your fertility journey
30:36 Deciding to swim the Channel
35:29 Learn from those who have been before
42:07 Mental vs Physical Strength
51:31 Chomolungma
53:01 Deciding to take on Everest
56:19 Hanging out with celebrities
58:42 Training in Scotland for Everest
01:01:01 Technical Skills
01:02:49 Making training a way of life
01:04:54 Processing a delay
01:07:07 2nd attempt
01:11:17 Bad press about Everest
01:15:35 Jessica's work of art
01:19:04 3rd attempt
01:25:25 The descent story
01:32:39 Jessica's relationship with anger
01:34:55 Tell your life story creatively
01:38:53 Destinations and goals vs the journey

In May 2023, Geraldine McFaul set off from her home in Glasgow to walk all the way to Rome.

She had two rules, she was not carrying a rucksack, and she was not going over the Alps.

With a buggy in tow, Geraldine passed through 6 countries, walking a distance of 2,000 miles on a journey that took her 6 months.

But Geraldine's story is more than just a long walk to Rome.

At it's heart, this journey was a reminder of the kindness of humanity.

It is a story of strangers taking her into their homes, buying food for her, donating to her two charities, Mary's Meals and Dementia UK, and letting her camp in back gardens, church grounds and on village greens.

She calls it 'kind-napping' and it happened regularly throughout her journey in Britain and beyond.

In this conversation we break down the why and how Geraldine covered such a huge distance on foot, how to break down a journey of such magnitude and how she was inspired with confidence by her experience in the Yes Tribe.

We discuss how Geraldine never knew exactly where or how she was sleeping every night, how the kindness of strangers made her journey more fulfilling, why travelling at a slow pace is a lovely way to experience the world, and Geraldine talks through her once in a lifetime experience being presented to a very important person when she arrived in Rome.

Follow Geraldine's Story: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090430727501

Donate to Geraldine's Cause:

Dementia UK: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/geraldine-mcfaul

Mary's Meals: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/geraldine-mcfaul1

Mentioned in the Podcast

The Yes Tribe: https://sayyesmore.com/tribes

Podcast w/Emma & Dave Cornthwaite: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3CWceGYO8wANjAA1FkCw7P?si=3b37801b96e54f86

Big Sky Hideaway: https://bigskyhideaway.com/

Dementia UK: https://www.dementiauk.org/

Mary's Meal's: https://www.marysmeals.org.uk/



Get in contact:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/tombryanyeah/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/greatbritishadventurespodcast

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@greatbritishadventures

As a former world champion in triathlon, Kate Strong knows what it takes to be at the very top of her game. But she also knows what it feels like to fall back to zero, such is the fragility of competitive sports, and the reality of getting injured as an athlete.

Starting again from the bottom with the bare minimum, Kate built herself back and aimed to be the first woman to set a world record for the greatest distance cycled on a static bike in 24 hours.

And Kate not only rode an astonishing astonishing 433.1 miles in 24 hours, she also claimed the 12 hour and the 1 hour record at the same time, as well as making waves in showing what women in sport can do.

Eager to continue using sport to make an impact on others, last summer Kate cycled 3,000 miles around Britain, connecting with 50 different communities, organisations & charities that positively impact climate change. She called it the Climate Cycle.

In this conversation, we talk about what it takes to become a triathlon world champion, how Kate felt after being injured and having to start again from zero, how discovering the lack of female records in sport inspired Kate to take on the 24 hour cycle, and how her first failure inspired her eventual success.

We talk about her Climate Cycle, how she deals with climate deniers, how the 'vegan' label can be quite limiting, and we talk about some of the places she visited on her epic 3,000 mile ride.



Follow Kate:

https://katestrong.global/

https://www.instagram.com/katestrong01/



Mentioned in the conversation:

Green football weekend: https://www.greenfootballweekend.com/

Forest Green Rovers: https://www.fgr.co.uk/

Lobster Hatchery: https://nationallobsterhatchery.co.uk/

Lake District Foraging: https://totallywilduk.co.uk/

Seaweed Farm: https://www.projectseagrass.org/

Building from rubble: https://www.ediblemadog.co.uk/



Get in contact:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/tombryanyeah/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/greatbritishadventurespodcast

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@greatbritishadventures

Louis Alexander boasts a pretty awesome job title: Professional Explorer.

And it's certainly one he merits, having recently completed 7 marathons on each of the 7 continents - a feat only a few hundred people in history have ever accomplished.

But what is more remarkable about Louis, is that he has achieved all this at the age of 24.

And this is just the tip of his adventurous CV.

Louis' achievements also include rowing the English Channel, swimming across from Alcatraz (without a wetsuit), Summiting Mount Blanc and a much, much more.

Louis owes his adventurous career down to one man - his Grandad, who Louis witnessed battle dementia for 17 years of his life.

After his Grandad sadly passed, Louis made a promise, that he would support the fight against dementia until the day we find a cure.

In this conversation, Louis talks about how he was able to honour his grandad with his first professional project - running 17 marathons in 17 days, his sketchy moment on Mount Blanc, why he undertakes challenging swims, and why he wanted to run 7 marathons across 7 continents.

We discuss the state of dementia in the UK, how his preparation for challenges have evolved, how he got an invite to 10 Downing Street to deliver a letter to the Prime Minister, and his hopes and dreams for pioneering future expeditions.

Follow Louis: https://www.instagram.com/louisalexanderexplorer/

https://www.louisalexander.org/

Mentioned in the Podcast:

Body Lab: https://www.thebodylablondon.com/

Thomas Franks: https://thomasfranks.com/

Sean Conways 496 Challenge: https://www.seanconway.com/the-496-challenge.html

Damian Hall: https://www.instagram.com/ultra_damo/?hl=en

Lewis Pugh: https://www.lewispugh.com/

Get in contact:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/tombryanyeah/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/greatbritishadventurespodcast

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@greatbritishadventures