"A genuinely remarkable adventure. True grit and rabid perseverance." - Sir Ranulph Fiennes
★★★★★ "Excellent, gritty travel at its humid best"
★★★★★ "Fast paced, humble, fascinating, eloquently written. 100% recommend"
★★★★★ "Gripping from start to finish. I read it in just one sitting!"
★★★★★ "An amazing and wonderfully written adventure...I'm not sure what will ever follow it"
★★★★★ "Factual, funny, interesting and gripping. A must read"
★★★★★ "So articulately written with real humility and honesty. I can't wait to read more!!!"
★★★★★ "A romping true adventure with struggle, strife, love and loss. Topped off with a glorious sense of achievement"
★★★★★ "A superbly written book"
★★★★★ "You are a crazy b*****d!"
★★★★★ "Compelling and beautifully written - a cut above the majority of travel writing"
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Aged twenty-two, Charlie Walker left home in search of adventure. Fleeing the boredom that comes with comfort, he set off on a secondhand bicycle. The aim was simple: to pedal to the furthest point in each of Europe, Asia and Africa. He didn't train or plan. He just packed a tent and set off.
Living wild and sleeping rough in myriad countries, Charlie came to appreciate life's simple pleasures and to glory in the beauty that abounds in both nature and humanity. The journey was an escape from an unremarkable existence, a pursuit of hardship, and a chance to shed the numbing complacency of middle England. From the brutality of winter on the Tibetan plateau, to the claustrophobia of the Southeast Asian jungle, the quest provided Charlie with ample opportunity to test his mettle, often with near-fatal consequences. Ultimately, though, the toughest challenge was entirely unforeseen.
Through Sand & Snow is a searingly honest and eloquently penned coming of age tale that sweeps the reader along on a wild ride across some of the world's most beautiful and least understood lands.
About the Author: Charlie Walker is a British adventurer, writer and motivational speaker. He specialises in long distance, human-powered expeditions and has covered 50,000 miles by bicycle, ski, foot, horse, kayak and dugout canoe. His work has featured in a range of publications including The Times, the Daily Express, Wanderlust, Travelmag, Travel Africa and Sidetracked magazine. He was also named Travel Blogger of the Year in 2013 by the Association of Independent Tour Operators. Charlie's longest expedition was a 43,000-mile bicycle journey reaching the furthest cape in each of Europe, Asia and Africa before returning home. On this journey he traversed 60 countries, encountering extremes of weather, remoteness and physical exhaustion during the four and a half years he was away. In 2010 Charlie walked 1,000 miles solo across the Gobi desert from China to Mongolia. This feat involved walking over six marathons a week for six weeks whilst carrying enough food and water to survive. Also in 2012 he trekked 600 miles across Central and Northern Mongolia in the company of only a semi-feral pony and a stray dog he found in the forest. In 2014 Charlie descended the Lulua, a little-known tributary of the Congo River, in a leaky dugout canoe. This journey into remote and effectively uncharted territory of DRC was beset by rapids, waterfalls, hippos, crocodiles and finally, shortly after leaving the river, violent bouts of malaria and typhoid fever. In 2017, Charlie completed a 5,200-mile triathlon along the perceived border between Europe and Asia. This 8-month feat spanned from the midwinter snowfields of the Russian Arctic to the Bosporus in Istanbul via a winding river through Kazakhstan. When not on expedition, Charlie lives in London.
