Ilkley Literature Festival 2023
Ilkley Literature Festival is celebrating it's 50th year this autumn with a golden line-up of writers, authors, well-known faces and masters of their craft.
I'm thrilled to be back in the hotseat on stage again, hosting four fascinating people, whose books I'm currently diving into, in preparation:
Ray Mears: The British Woodland
Nobody sees and understands the woodland better than Ray Mears. His television series Bushcraft, World of Survival and Ray Mears Goes Walkabout have made him a household name and an internationally recognised authority on bushcraft.
Join Mears as he takes to the King’s Hall stage and offers a different way of experiencing our wooded landscapes. Inspired by learning from the last remaining indigenous peoples, Mears shows us how to live inclusively in nature – for our own wellbeing and enjoyment, and for the future of our planet.
Sophie Pavelle: Forget Me Not
Travel the length and breadth of Britain with millennial science communicator Sophie Pavelle as she recounts her journey in search of ten animals and habitats threatened by climate change. Exploring rare native species that may disappear by 2050 – from the harbour porpoise and grey long-eared bat to the Atlantic salmon and the mountain hare – discover the problems they face and what we can do to ensure we don’t ever have to forget them.
Jenny Graham: Coffee First, Then the World
16 countries, 124 days, 18,000 miles, one solo lap around the planet by bike. In 2018, amateur cyclist Jenny Graham became the fastest woman to cycle around the world, cycling near terrifying collisions in Russia, in extreme weather conditions in Australia, surrounded by breathtaking landscapes in Mongolia, and amongst exhilarating wildlife encounters in North America. Her travels now bring her to Ilkley where she will be sharing insights into her remarkable Round the World adventure.
Helen Skelton: In My Stride
Throughout her career as a presenter – featuring on Blue Peter, Countryfile and the Olympics – Helen Skelton has become no stranger to taking on great challenges: from kayaking the entire length of the Amazon River to the Namibia Ultra Marathon. But where did she find the inner strength to carry on no matter the challenge? Trading the screen for the stage, Skelton will be sharing the lessons she has learned throughout her life: how putting one foot in front of the other – whether on the Strictly dance floor or in the great outdoors – can help us heal, grow and find the resilience to move through challenging times with authenticity, courage and confidence.
To see the full programme and book tickets click
here
