Wilderness Lectures in Bristol 2014-2015

Wilderness Lectures
Images Copyright Ben Wakefield

Stanfords has teamed up with Wilderness Lectures to bring travellers and explorers to venues in Bristol.

The Wilderness Lectures are a winter series of public talks in Bristol; the theme of which is worldwide adventure. The lecturers are well-known explorers, mountaineers, travel writers, TV and adventure sports personalities or anyone who has an epic story to tell and can entertain the audience with a good story. The talks usually include slides and/or film.

Wilderness Lectures tickets are available on the Stanfords website (up to 72 hours before each event) and in-store from the Bristol shop, but regrettably not by phone. See the programme guide below for further details.

2014-2015 Wilderness Lectures programme guide

Season Tickets

Season tickets are no longer available

01st October 2014 – 7:30pm – Hazel Findlay – 3 Climbs, 3 Continents

Hazel Findlay Buy Tickets for Hazel Findlay: 3 Climbs, 3 Continents:
Tickets are now only available at the Bristol shop until the afternoon of the talk but need to be collected at the door: £8.50

Hazel’s talk will cover three great climbs: her achievement in becoming the first British woman to climb E9 – Once Upon a time in the Southwest; her 5 day free ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite and a major route in Morocco. Although these are all climbs, this is a talk that is also for non-climbers and carries a take home message of ‘just go for it, even when something seems really far above your head, try not to worry about failing and just try anyway’. Hazel will use slides, professional and amateur film to give us a flavour of the fear and excitement of her activities.

This will be the Ginette Harrison Memorial Lecture 2014

CHANGE OF SPEAKER: Unfortunately, Kev Reynolds has been taken ill. Tim Fogg will replace him.
15th October 2014 – 7:30pm – Tim Fogg – Rope works

Tim Fogg Buy Tickets for Tim Fogg – Rope works:
Tickets are now only available at the Bristol shop until the afternoon of the talk but need to be collected at the door: £8.50

Those of you who attended talks by people like Steve Greenwood or Dale Templar may remember them singing Tim’s praises as the rope access specialist who gets their cameras into the most outrageous places in caves, on cliffs, up trees, into glaciers or down volcanoes. (Dale’s talk featured a clip of Tim abseiling out of a tree in Africa with his clothes full of stinging bees, remember that sequence?). Tim’s been all over the world with film crews and his stunning photos and stories shed light on the reality of producing the world’s best natural history films.

In ‘Rope work’ Tim tracks a transition from being a climber , caver and outdoor education teacher, to working in the rope access industry then specifically in the film and television industry, assisting filmmakers to access difficult-to-reach locations to achieve unique perspectives for their cameras. From supervising safety in caves, up trees and on cliffs to an active volcano, this is the detail of ‘how did they get there safely?’

22nd October 2014 – 7:30pm – Reel Rock Tour – Valley Uprising

Reel Rock Tour Buy Tickets for Reel Rock Tour – Valley Uprising:
Tickets are now only available at the Bristol shop until the afternoon of the talk but need to be collected at the door: £9.00

Valley Uprising is a 90′ feature film documenting the history of climbing in the Yosemite Valley over the past few decades. Starting in the the 50s it features legends like Warren Harding, Yvon Chouinard and Royal Robbins, then it moves to the 70s with Dale Bard, Jim Bridwell, and Lynn Hill, and into the modern section with Alex Honnold, Tommy Caldwell and Dean Potter. We trailered it in RR8 with the 9 minute clip, ‘Stonemasters’

29th October 2014 – 7:30pm – Sean Conway – The First ever Length of Britain Triathlon

Sean Conway Buy Tickets for Sean Conway – The First ever Length of Britain Triathlon:
Tickets are now only available at the Bristol shop until the afternoon of the talk but need to be collected at the door: £8.50

Sean Conway is the only person in history to have swum, cycled and run the length of the UK. During these feats, in his own words, he “experienced many extraordinary things” and we look forward to hearing about those experiences from this extraordinary man. Sean only completed the run a few weeks before we booked him and he told us that it was a warm-up to running the length of Africa in 2015.

06th November 2014 – 7:30pm – The Brit Rock Tour

Brit Rock Tour Buy Tickets for The Brit Rock Tour:
Tickets are now only available at the Bristol shop until the afternoon of the talk but need to be collected at the door: £9.00

The final line up is yet to be confirmed but includes: ‘Stone Free’ – Julian Lines is the best climber you’ve never heard of. He is undoubtedly Britain’s most accomplished free climbing soloist with world-class free ascents to his name; ‘All My Own Stunts’ – Yorkshireman Rob Jarman is a downhill mountain bike specialist and professional stuntman. This gripping film tells the story of a near fatal accident and his road to recovery; ‘Set of Wainwrights’ – Steve Birkinshaw is one of the great fell runners and fittest men ever to exist. Have your mind and arteries blown as Steve attempts to break Joss Naylor’s 27 year old record by linking up all 214 Lakeland Wainwright summits in one single push, in under seven days; ‘Project Mina’ – Are pro climbers anything like you and me? Do they ever put lots of effort into training only to fail miserably at a comp and question why they bother at all, or is it all glory and sending? Project Mina is a look at the moments between the top-outs and success, following Mina Leslie-Wujastyk during the 2013 competition season.

12th November 2014 – 7:30pm – Jason Lewis – To The Brink

Jason Lewis Buy Tickets for Jason Lewis – To The Brink:
Tickets are now only available at the Bristol shop until the afternoon of the talk but need to be collected at the door: £9.50

What can a terrifying crocodile attack, a year at sea in a tiny boat, contracting blood poisoning and malaria, and getting hit by a car and left for dead with two broken legs tell us about global sustainability and safeguarding a healthy planet for future generations?

As the first person to circumnavigate the Earth using only human power – biking, hiking, and inline skating five continents, and kayaking, swimming, rowing, and pedalling a boat across the oceans – Jason shares tales from his extraordinary journey and the overarching question that kept him going for thirteen years, taking him to the brink for an answer.

26th November 2014 – 7:30pm – Stephen Venables – Sailing into the Ice

Stephen Venables Buy Tickets for Stephen Venables – Sailing into the Ice:
Tickets are now only available at the Bristol shop until the afternoon of the talk but need to be collected at the door: £9.50

Last year Stephen Venables finally achieved his dream of going to Antarctica. He did it the best possible way – sailing across Drake Passage on the legendary yacht Pelagic Australis, to lead a team on ski ascents of Mt Scott and Mt Français, the highest mountain on the northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula. The combination of perfect powder snow skiing, sea kayaking amongst the penguins, sailing, whale watching and ice climbing made this one of the best adventures in his forty years mountaineering career. His lecture will also include highlights from his six visits to South Georgia, including the most recent 2014 expedition.

10th December 2014 – 7:30pm – Jamie Andrew O.B.E. – The Limbless Mountaineer

Jamie Andrew O.B.E. Buy Tickets for Jamie Andrew – The Limbless Mountaineer:
Tickets are now only available at the Bristol shop until the afternoon of the talk but need to be collected at the door: £8.50

Jamie Andrew’s story is quite simply one of the most gripping and inspiring you will encounter. In January 1999 mountaineer Jamie Andrew and a climbing partner were trapped for five nights on the storm-bound icy summit of a French mountain. The rescue, which was one of the most dramatic in the history of the Alps, came only hours too late to save his partner. Despite suffering hypothermia and appalling frostbite, Jamie survived. Days later all four of his hands and feet were amputated.

For many this fate would have meant the end of all hope, but not for Jamie. Since losing his hands and feet Jamie has achieved some incredible feats. He has learned to walk again, taken up skiing, run marathons and iron-man triathlons, and remarkably, returned to climb once more in the mountains that he loves so much. Jamie’s story, recounted with honesty and passion, is nothing short of incredible.

07th January 2015 – 7:30pm – Stewart McPherson – Britain’s Secret Islands

Stewart McPherson Buy Tickets for Stewart McPherson – Britain’s Secret Islands:
Tickets are now only available at the Bristol shop until the afternoon of the talk but need to be collected at the door: £8.50
Please note: Due to building work over Christmas this lecture will be held at the Powell Lecture theatre in the Physics Department

In this lecture, Stewart McPherson recounts his travels over the last three years to visit all of the UK Overseas Territories to film their extraordinary wildlife and conservation stories to complete a 4 part wildlife documentary series and accompanying book. Through this account, we discover Britain’s greatest natural history heritage, and hear Stewart’s personal experiences traveling to many of the most remote inhabited islands on earth, and filming some of the greatest concentrations of wildlife found anywhere on earth.

21st January 2015 – 7:30pm – Rory MacLean – Back in the USSR: Heroic Adventures in Transnistria

Rory MacLean Buy Tickets for Rory MacLean – Back in the USSR: Heroic Adventures in Transnistria:
Tickets are now only available at the Bristol shop until the afternoon of the talk but need to be collected at the door: £8.50

Ian Fleming could not have imagined a better place to set his latest thriller: an upstart mini-state at the edge of Europe which looks to Lenin and Stalin for leadership, with a Facebook-savvy Cheryl Cole-lookalike foreign minister, a breathtakingly wealthy football club founded by KGB officers, and a retired general with private zoo and free-roaming anaconda. Is this wild and wacky Cold War fiction? No, it’s real, modern day Transnistria. Join Rory as he recounts his and photographer Nick Danziger’s remarkable journey to this unrecognised nowhereland — and learn how to hunt wild boar with AK47s.

04th February 2015 – 7:30pm – Andy Cave – ‘Miner to Mountaineer: travels in the Himalayas and beyond’

Andy Cave Buy Tickets for Andy Cave – ‘Miner to Mountaineer: travels in the Himalayas and beyond’:
Tickets are now only available at the Bristol shop until the afternoon of the talk but need to be collected at the door: £9.50

Andy will take the audience on a journey from working 3000 feet underground as coal miner to pioneering first ascent on mountains around the world: Himalayas, Alaska & Patagonia. Listen to the tales of The people, the places, the epics – accompanied by stunning images and video.

18th February 2015 – 7:30pm – Monty Halls – Dive Mysteries

Monty Halls Buy Tickets for Monty Halls – Dive Mysteries:
Tickets are now only available at the Bristol shop until the afternoon of the talk but need to be collected at the door: £9.50

In 2013, explorer Monty Halls led a series of four international expeditions. Working With a team consisting of some of the most respected and experienced divers in the world, Monty set out to answer some of the great riddles that remain unanswered in underwater exploration. He describes the mission as “…simple, we wanted to solve some of the great enigmas of diving, mysteries lying on the ocean floor that have always baffled explorers and scientists. Their investigations took them to Egypt, to Japan, to the Great Lakes, and to Namibia. Monty described the experience as “an extraordinary undertaking, and an experience that none of us shall ever forget.” Come and hear all about it!

04th March 2015 – 7:30pm – Martyn Farr – Into The Pupu

Martyn Farr Buy Tickets for Martyn Farr – Into The Pupu:
Tickets are now only available at the Bristol shop until the afternoon of the talk but need to be collected at the door: £8.50

Martyn is world renowned as a caver and cave diver. He is responsible for the discovery of miles of cave passage in many countries and is internationally acclaimed for his prolific writing and stunning photography. Caving from the age of ten and discovering new caves by the age of 16, Martyn remains as passionate as ever. Martyn began cave diving in 1971 and by 1981 had established a world record for underwater cave penetration in the Bahamas. In the UK he is particularly renowned for his exploration in Wookey Hole – 1977 and 1982 – and the first traverse of Llangattock Mountain in Wales in 1986. Many expeditions have been made worldwide, to such places as Iran, Mexico, Borneo, China, Dominican Republic, Japan, Spain, the Canary Islands, the Ballearics, Greece, Turkey, Brazil, Australia, Russia and most recently New Zealand. Age has not diminished his enthusiasm or powers of endurance. In November 2012 he explored over one mile of new cave in South Island, New Zealand and in December 2013 he discovered another mile of virgin cave beyond sumps in the same area. These outstanding discoveries were solo undertakings which amazingly he managed to video. Martyn is internationally recognised as a cave and cave diving photographer and has taken any number of celebrities underground including HRH’s Princes William and Harry.

18th March 2015 – 7:30pm – Michelle Blaydon – Steep Skiing in Baffin’s Remote Arctic Fjords

Michelle Blaydon Buy Tickets for Michelle Blaydon – Steep Skiing in Baffin’s Remote Arctic Fjords:
Tickets are now only available at the Bristol shop until the afternoon of the talk but need to be collected at the door: £8.50

After a long international career as a swimmer and professional triathlete Michelle moved into the world of adventure racing in 2000 and has been competing at an international level ever since. After taking part in the World Championships in 2000 in the beautiful province of Lijang, China, Michelle became hooked on adventure travel. In recent years Michelle has spent more time focusing on her other passion of ski mountaineering and ski adventure as she looks to challenge herself and further explore the mountains she loves. Balancing a hectic career in marketing, Michelle spends much of her spare time in the Alps where she can be found skiing, touring and climbing some of the beautiful steep peaks of the Chamonix valley in France.

All lectures are held at the Chemistry Theatre, University of Bristol.

For more information on Wilderness Lectures, go to www.wildernesslectures.com.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *