ESP’s resident adventurer met celebrity adventurer Ben Fogle to swap tales…
ESP columnist Darren Grigas was part of a packed crowd who’d gone to the Cresset in Peterborough to hear Ben Fogle’s amazing story, Tales From The Wilderness, as he stopped off in the city as part of a national tour.
Darren managed to grab a quick word with Ben before he went on stage at the sold out event and took the opportunity to finally get a selfie! Our guy had actually crossed paths with Ben at Panama airport on his last mammoth coast to coast challenge across the country and had a quick chat, but regretted not grabbing a picture.
“Ben is very humble – he actually remembered meeting me at Panama airport and was a great guy to chat to,” said Darren.
“Listening to Ben’s story it is odd that I’ve actually unwittingly followed in his footsteps to a large extent, doing the Marathon des Sables and many other similar challenges. Like me he’s also agreed to quite a few of them in a drunken conversation! He’s rowed the Atlantic with James Cracknell – another one of my heroes – and that’s something I also have on my list. As well as trekking the South Pole.
“I’d definitely recommend seeing him if you get the chance – and take your kids – it’s so good to hear from someone who felt they’d often failed, always coming last and not doing well in his exams at school but then overcoming incredible challenges and achieving so much.”
The modern day journeyman brought his audience an unforgettable evening of storytelling and adventure in his Tales From The Wilderness tour. He shared tales of everything from swimming with crocodiles to conquering Mount Everest; crossing Antarctica to rowing the Atlantic Ocean; from a year castaway on an island in the Outer Hebrides to the world stinging nettle eating championships, and everything in-between!
It was a hugely inspiring evening with the added bonus of Olympian James Cracknell and his Cambridge rowing team-mates also there to support Ben’s talk.
ESP photographer Emma Bothamley was also there on the night and was equally impressed.
“Ben’s talk was absolutely brilliant – I’d forgotten quite how many adventures he’d been on. He spoke with such passion and enthusiasm and he’s just such a lovely guy. It was an amazing experience meeting him.”
Photos: Emma Bothamley for ESP Magazine
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