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A message from Honor – Our summer expeditions

By Honor Wilson-Fletcher MBE,
British Exploring Society CEO

As you read this, our final two Summer expeditions will be setting off for their overseas adventures; the Landmark team will soon set off in canoes to explore Saimaa Lakes and Dangoor Infinity will be at sea in Jubilee Sailing Trust’s tall ship Tenacious and on land in Iceland as we combine sea and land adventures simultaneously for our disabled and non-disabled teams of explorers.

We already have intrepid young people and their Leaders tackling lava deserts in Iceland, paddling and trekking in the Yukon wilderness (don’t miss the link to the fantastic radio interview with them) exploring the peaks above 4,500m in the Indian Himalayas around Ladakh. Our Amazon explorers have already completed their first tour in the jungles of Peru. These are young people from all over the country, from every background, and from every kind of household and community; thoroughly modern explorers every one of them.

We know that all our Young Explorers will tackle challenges, have bad and good days, bringing back incredible memories and an understanding of their own competence to bolster their confidence for the future.

Let’s not forget the frustrations and fears some Young Explorers have to wrestle with before they begin their overseas adventure – not just finding the confidence and resources to take part (with a group of strangers); tackling the training, prepping kit and travelling to join us – one Young Explorer only received their passport just yesterday, after weeks and weeks of anxious waiting.

It’s harder than you might think to secure a passport if you’re the first in your family to do so. But – young people are of course remarkably resilient, and learn fast.

Our Chief Leader in the Amazon, Paul Batterbury, said yesterday in his update from Basecamp that ‘he was amazed how the Young Explorers have demonstrated their adaptability, and have taken to jungle life as if they had just stepped into a park in London.’ Well said, Paul.

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I joined British Exploring Society as CEO in February 2016. Previously I was CEO for 6 years at the Aldridge Foundation where I helped establish 12 state schools in some of the most deprived parts of England.

By Honor Wilson-Fletcher MBE,
British Exploring Society CEO
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