Charlie Walker

Charlie Walker is an adventurer, explorer, writer, and public speaker. Specialising in long-distance, human-powered expeditions, Charlie develops an intimate understanding of some of the world’s most remote communities.

He has travelled over 50,000 miles by foot, bike, horse, ski, raft, and canoe, and his adventures have taken him from Tibet to Mongolia to New Guinea, and to the Congolese jungle, and the Arctic.

Charlie Walker is now a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a four-time recipient of the Transglobe Expedition Trust’s ‘Mad But Marvellous’ grant, and a Scientific Exploration Society Explorer award winner.

He has documented his experiences in books, magazines, and newspapers, and has also featured on BBC Radio 4, and the BBC World Service.

Contact Great British Speakers today to book explorer Charlie Walker for your next event

Type Of Talent

Event HostsExploration & MilitaryHealth & WellbeingHigh PerformanceKeynoteMental HealthModerators & FacilitatorsMotivationalPresentersResilienceSpeakerSportTravel

More About Charlie Walker

CHARLIE WALKER – EXTRAORDINARY EXPEDITIONS

Charlie Walker has completed many extraordinary challenges over the years, in far-flung, and often dangerous places.

– 2010: Charlie set out on a 4-year long bicycle journey, covering over 43,000 miles across 60 countries. His first long journey, Charlie rode from home to home via the furthest point in each Europe, Asia, and Africa. This involved crossing the Sahara, illegally crossing Tibet, and battling with the monsoon season in Central Africa.

– 2012: Charlie bought a feral Mongol pony and spent two months covering 600 miles from Ulaan Baatar to Lake Khovsgul, with no tent and minimal riding gear.

– 2012: Charlie travelled 1,000 miles from Tiananmen Square Beijing to Sukhbaatar Square in Mongolia, with just a £5 pair of shoes and a lightweight backpack. He faced sandstorms, snowstorms, desert heat, dehydration, and fights.

– 2014: Charlie and photographer Archie Leeming paddled a 5-meter hollowed-out tree trunk masquerading as a canoe, 350 miles down the Lulua River. They faced waterfalls, rapids, crocodiles, and hippos. They abandoned their trip after a month, when Charlie became bedridden with typhoid fever and Malaria.

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– 2017: Charlie set out on an 8-month, 8,000 km triathlon spanning the length of the Europe and Asia border. It involved 3 months of ski trekking through mountains, an 1,500-mile kayak ride, and a bike ride from Kazakhstan to Istanbul.

– 2019: Charlie undertook a 2-month journey through Papua New Guinea, traversing from the East Coast to the North Coast via it’s highest peaks.

– 2021: Charlie travelled to Kyrgyzstan, aiming to summit an unclimbed mountain in Sarychat Ertash State Nature Reserve. Charlie and his expedition-partner Marc, travelled up the valley using snowshoes and pulling a sled, encountering wolves and snow leopards.

– 2022: Charlie arrived in Yakutsk three days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. His original plan involved hiking across the frozen surfaces of Arctic rivers to reach the port town of Tiksi in Siberia. However, due to the conflict, Charlie was increasingly on the radar of the authorities, and was arrested on his arrival in Tiksi for “conducting journalism while travelling on a tourist visa” and “photographing sensitive military sites”. He was deported after spending a month in a detention centre.

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CHARLIE WALKER – WRITING

His writing contributions have been featured in The Sunday Times, Geographical Magazine, The Daily Telegraph, Travel Africa, Wanderlust Magazine, Sidetracked Magazine, The Guardian, Redbull.com, The Daily Express, and The Sun.

He has also published two books documenting his experiences. Both Through Sand & Snow (2021) and On Roads That Echo (2021) tell the story of his 43,000-mile journey across Europe, Asia, and Africa

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CHARLIE WALKER – KEYNOTE SPEAKING

Charlie Walker is available for keynote talks for a wide range of clients, including business keynotes and conferences. He aims to inspire with a story of ambition, determination, and perseverance. His presentations are amusing, and he provides thrilling stories to help inspire people to push themselves and achieve their personal and professional goals.

In 2023, he spoke at TEDxIndianaUniversity, on “The Power of Isolation”, which has since been viewed thousands of times.

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CHARLIE WALKER – SPEAKING TOPICS

– Overcoming Adversity

– Managing Risk

– Learning From Failure

– Balancing Perspective

– Being Resilient

– Thinking Big and Aiming High

– Cultivating Positive Mental Health

Call +44 1753 439 289 or email Great British Speakers now to book explorer Charlie Walker for your next live event or corporate video.

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Testimonials

Truly one of the best talks I have been to.
Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd

Charlie captivated the audience from start to finish. His talk led to continued discussions amongst colleagues with wishful thoughts of joining him on his next adventures. It was total escapism for a desk-bound audience who were eager to hear more.
Capula Investment Services Ltd

Charlie is an inspirational and engaging speaker. He demonstrated the mindset required for overcoming challenges, and highlighted techniques that can be applied to the difficulties of day-to-day tasks. Charlie’s presentations encourage individuals and teams to push past boundaries to achieve goals. He is a pleasure to work with.
CPA Australia

Charlie told of his extraordinary journeys with wonderful eloquence and humour. His passion for travel and his remarkable photographs deeply engaged the audience who were on the edge of their seats.
Royal Geographical Society, Hong Kong

Charlie speaks both passionately and frankly about his many travels, in a thoroughly engaging way. The audience was captivated by a life of adventure, from the comfort of their seats.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group

I was delighted that Charlie was able to tailor his presentation not only to the theme that we had for the event but also for the specific audience involved. It’s great to have a speaker who really takes the time to prepare and delivers exactly what you need.
Procurious

Charlie Walker has an infectious energy and is a consummate storyteller. He communicates with a large dollop of humility and explores his extraordinary travels through accessible anecdotes that reaffirmed our faith in humanity and fired our imaginations. Thoroughly recommended.
Cavendish Medical

A fantastic talk! It was impactful and the messages around resilience, perseverance and learning from your mistakes really resonated deeply with the team.
Howden Capital, Advisory and Placement, London

Charlie Walker was an incredible speaker. His messages on perseverance and perspective not only hit a special chord but inspired so many in the audience to seek new ways to view the world and challenge themselves. I would highly recommend Charlie to any audience.
Future Farmers of America, Arizona

Like a good novel, we weren’t sure of the ending or that he would safely make it home, even though he was standing in front of us!
Royal Scottish Geographical Society, Edinburgh

Charlie’s natural and engaging style meant that his talk was entertaining, inspiring and thought provoking in equal measure. His session was certainly the highlight of the workshop fitting perfectly with our theme and generating new insights and energy into the following discussions.
Syngenta Agrochemicals