Perthshire's Adventure Festival - Jam Packed with Exciting opportunities for adventure!

There are a fantastic range of events involving the RSGS taking place as part of the fun filled Perthshire Adventure Festival.

The Fair Maid's House will host a range of exciting presentations through the day on Saturday 14th June, culminating in an evening of truly inspirational talks at the North Inch Community Campus.

This day of intimate presentations, storytelling and Q&As at the Fair Maid's House will run 10am-4pm. These talks are free to enter but spaces are limited - call 01738 472236 or book online.

10am - Steve Bate
11am - Adventure Storytelling
12pm - Tim Baillie MBE
1pm - Calum McNicol
2pm - Adventure Storytelling
3pm - The Meek Family

Evening Talk - 14th June, 7pm, North Inch Community Campus

Three inspiring speakers in one evening at the North Inch Community Campus.

The Meek Family, Stephen Venables and Sean Conway will give presentations on a variety of subjects. The Meeks will discuss their project to get their young family away from screens in into outdoor adventures. Stephen Venables will talk about his journey to South Georgia to mark the centenary year of the Endurance expedition, Extreme endurance adventurer Sean Conway will share the story about his Great British Triathlon - Swimming, Cycling and Running the entire length of Britain.

Pre-booked tickets are just £8 for RSGS Members, or £10 on the door. Book at 01738 472236 or online.

Adventure Photographer Lukasz Warzecha will launch his photography exhibition at the Fair Maid's House over the weekend, and will speak at the Fair Maid's House on Sunday 15th at 10am. Tickets to this intimate talk session are £10. Book at 01738 472236 or online.

As if that wasn't enough the weekend is filled with even more activities - including another inspiring talks evening on Friday 13th, and a range of outdoor activities from bushcraft to archery and even bungee jumping! See the full programme at www.pkc.gov.uk/adventurefestival

Ed Stafford will share the extraordinary story of his walk down the Amazon River, from source to sea, in a talk at Perth Concert Hall on Monday 24th March. Ed’s journey down the Amazon, which took 860 days to complete, was the first time in history that anyone has walked the entire length of the longest river on Earth.

    

Ed and his friend Luke Collyer set out on this monumental challenge in 2008. They believed it would take them one year and would involve walking 4,000 miles. In the end, two and a half years and 6,000 miles later, only Ed of the original two, would make it to journey’s end on the Atlantic. Along the way he had climbed an 18,000 feet mountain; witnessed and filmed never-before-seen tribal ceremonies; eaten cactus, tortoises and tapirs; been mistaken for a human body part trafficker; and met a local guide named Cho, who, after Luke’s departure, accompanied Ed on his mammoth trek

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The talk will take place at 7:30pm in Perth Concert Hall on Monday 24th March. Tickets are £10 for adults, £7 for under 18s, students and RSGS members. Tickets are available from the Horsecross Box Office on 01738 621031 or at www.horsecross.co.uk.

To find out more about becoming an RSGS member contact enquiries@rsgs.org. The Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) is an educational charity which promotes an understanding of the natural environment and human societies, and their interactions, making the connections between people, places and the planet, and aiming to inspire positive long-term change.

 More information on Ed Stafford can be found at www.edstafford.org Attached photographs are copyright Pete McBride

Guest Post: Testing the Water - Planning an expedition with the RSGS collection.

Callum (the little blue dot amongst the swells!) Chuya River, Altai Mountains, Siberia, Russia.

The Society has a wealth of items in its collection, including maps and guide books which can be made available to anyone who wants to plan an adventure. Callum Strong is an avid Kayaker, a passion that has taken him across the world in search of challenging white waters. He visited the RSGS headquarters to use maps to help in the planning of his next trip.

I visited the RSGS archives with an interest in finding maps of Northern Pakistan for an exploratory whitewater kayaking expedition, the British Universities Kayak Expedition 2013, which myself and a team the best student whitewater paddlers selected from across the UK are undertaking this summer. Accurate topographic maps are of great use in planning which rivers will be possible and have quality whitewater, important as we hope to complete a number of first descents on such rivers in the Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountain ranges.

Callum Strong

The archive team at the RSGS were incredibly welcoming and helpful, buoyed by their obviously great enthusiasm for their work. With their expert guidance and knowledge of their incredible collection I managed to identify a number of maps which will be really useful and importantly, accessible to our expedition. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and will have to get planning another adventure so I can visit them again soon!

www.rsgs.org

Callum decending the Falls of Falloch, River Falloch, Scotland.