Leon McCarron (born 1986) is a Northern Irish adventurer, filmmaker and author. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and specialises in storytelling via long distance, human-powered journeys. Most recently, he walked 1000 miles from Jerusalem to Mount Sinai along a series of new hiking trails in the region.
At the end of 2012 McCarron crossed 1000 miles of the Empty Quarter desert with Alastair Humphreys, roughly following the route of explorer Wilfred Thesiger and pulling a cart loaded with supplies. In May 2012 he concluded a 6-month, 3000 mile expedition walking the length of China with Rob Lilwall, from the Gobi Desert in Mongolia to the South China Sea in Hong Kong. National Geographic Channel produced a 4-part TV series of the journey. Other journeys include: 14,000 miles by bicycle from New York to Hong Kong; a folding bike trip around the British Isles to climb the Six Peaks; a human-powered descent of the longest river in Iran, the Karun; and a crossing of Argentine Patagonia on horseback. [1] In 2017 he was the recipient of the Royal Geographical Society's Neville Shulman Challenge Award, and spent a month with the Israelite Samaritans documenting the way of life of perhaps the world's smallest and oldest ethno-religious group. Most recently McCarron has walked on and written about trails in the Balkans and the Caucasus, and has been working in Iraqi Kurdistan and on the Indian Ocean island of Socotra.
McCarron has written three books, including The Road Headed West, and The Land Beyond. [2] His third book, Wounded Tigris, is short-listed for the 2024 Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year. He has made three independent films and a TV series. Most recently, McCarron presented a documentary about the Samaritans, with whom he spent time in their village of Kiryat Luza on the West Bank in the Holy Land. It is entitled How to Save a Tribe and was released in 2018.
He was awarded the Busk Medal by the Royal Geographical Society in 2024. [3]
The Rub' al Khali or Empty Quarter is a desert encompassing most of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula. The desert covers some 650,000 km2 (250,000 sq mi) including parts of Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. It is part of the larger Arabian Desert.
William John Napier, 9th Lord Napier, Baron Napier FRSE was a British Royal Navy officer and trade envoy in China.
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences, the society has 16,000 members, with its work reaching the public through publications, research groups and lectures.
General William Mesny was an adventurer and writer born on the island of Jersey but spent most of his childhood in Alderney, the family home of the Mesnys. He was the eldest of three children of William Mesny and Mary Rachel Nicolle.
Sir Cecil Clementi was a British colonial administrator who served as Governor of Hong Kong from 1925 to 1930, and Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Straits Settlements from 1930 to 1934.
Timothy Severin was a British explorer, historian, and writer. Severin was noted for his work in retracing the legendary journeys of historical figures. Severin was awarded both the Founder's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society and the Livingstone Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. He received the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award for his 1982 book The Sindbad Voyage.
Alastair Humphreys is an English adventurer, author and motivational speaker. Over a four-year period he bicycled 46,000 miles (74,000 km) around the world. He was a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year in 2012. He is responsible for the rise of the idea of the microadventure – short, local, accessible adventures.
Luna Bergere Leopold was a leading U.S. geomorphologist and hydrologist, and son of Aldo Leopold. He received a B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin in 1936; an M.S. in physics-meteorology from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1944; and a Ph.D. in geology from Harvard University in 1950.
The NimrodExpedition of 1907–1909, otherwise known as the British Antarctic Expedition, was the first of three expeditions to the Antarctic led by Ernest Shackleton and his second time to the Continent. Its main target, among a range of geographical and scientific objectives, was to be first to reach the South Pole. This was not attained, but the expedition's southern march reached a Farthest South latitude of 88° 23' S, just 97.5 nautical miles from the pole. This was by far the longest southern polar journey to that date and a record convergence on either Pole. A separate group led by Welsh Australian geology professor Edgeworth David reached the estimated location of the South magnetic pole, and the expedition also achieved the first ascent of Mount Erebus, Antarctica's second highest volcano.
Bruce Kirkby is a Canadian adventurer, photographer, and writer. Recognized for expeditions to remote wilderness areas, his achievements include a 40-day, 1000-kilometre crossing of Arabia's Empty Quarter by camel (1999) and the first contiguous descent of Ethiopia's Blue Nile Gorge from source to the Sudanese border. The author of three best-selling books, Kirkby's writing has appeared in numerous publications, including The Globe and Mail, Canadian Geographic and The New York Times. National Geographic Channel featured his photography in the documentary Through the Lens (2003). An Ambassador for Mountain Equipment Co-op and member of the Starboard SUP Dream Team, Kirkby makes his home in Kimberley, British Columbia.
Edward James Stafford is an English explorer and survivalist. He holds the Guinness World Record for being the first human ever to walk the length of the Amazon River. Stafford now hosts shows on the Discovery Channel and Channel Four.
Rob Lilwall is a British-born adventurer, author and motivational keynote speaker. He currently lives in Singapore, and is one of the most popular and acclaimed professional speakers in Asia.
Mystic Point is a section of Hong Kong Disneyland that officially opened to the public on 17 May 2013. Prior to that it had a soft opening for a selected audience. It is set in a dense, uncharted rain forest surrounded by mysterious forces and supernatural events. The site features Mystic Manor, a Haunted Mansion style attraction with the same trackless ride system developed at Pooh's Hunny Hunt in Tokyo Disneyland. Mystic Point, along with Grizzly Gulch has been exclusive to Hong Kong Disneyland among all Disney theme parks since opening. Composer Danny Elfman scored the music for the Mystic Manor dark ride attraction. It is the final land to open in Hong Kong Disneyland's three land expansion plan approved in July 2009.
James Towillis is an English landscape artist. He won a Silver Gilt at the Chelsea Flower Show of the Royal Horticultural Society in 2010, with the L’Occitane Garden.
Hans Bobek was an Austrian geographer. After his studies in geography at the University of Innsbruck, where Johann Sölch—a pupil of Albrecht Penck in Vienna—was his main teacher, he became professor of geography at the University of Vienna (1951–1971). Bobek is noted for his works on cultural and social geography, urban geography as well as on the regional geography of the Near and Middle East, then primarily known as the "Orient". He was, among others, the author of Iran: Probleme eines unterentwickelten Landes alter Kultur. His theory about rural and urban interactions was called Rentenkapitalismus; another important output was the theory of cultural steps (Kulturstufentheorie).
The Cherry Kearton Medal and Award is an honour bestowed by the Royal Geographical Society on "a traveller concerned with the study or practice of natural history, with a preference for those with an interest in nature photography, art or cinematography". It is named for nature photographer Cherry Kearton and was launched in 1967.
The Ness Award is an annual award of the Royal Geographical Society to travellers, particularly those who have successfully popularised Geography and the wider understanding of our world and its environments. It was established in 1953 and named after Mrs Patrick Ness (1881–1962), an intrepid and well-to-do traveller throughout Africa and the first female Fellow of the Society.
Alfred Thomas Grove, known more commonly as Dick Grove, was a British geographer and climatologist. He was Emeritus Fellow of Downing College, Cambridge and a Director of the Centre of African Studies at the University of Cambridge. Grove researched Environmental Issues and Policy and the landscape change in southern Europe and Climate change and desertification with a focus on Africa and southern Europe. He was awarded the Busk Medal from the Royal Geographical Society in 1982 for his field work in Africa.
Jean Tricart was a French geomorphologist. In 1948, he became a professor at the University of Strasbourg, where he remained for the rest of his career. The Tricart's doctoral thesis dealt with the Paris Basin and resulted in a publication acclaimed in France. He often collaborated with his friend André Cailleux. From 1962 to 1974, he and Callieux published five works on the subject of geomorphology and climate. Most of his works were published in French.
Tamotsu Nakamura, FRGS, is a Japanese explorer, alpinist, photographer and author. Since 1990, he has explored the mountainous areas between the Himalayas and the Sichuan basin; which he documents in photographs. He is a leading authority on the Alps of Tibet, the south-eastern sector of the Tibetan high plateau.