Charlie Walker visit

We were delighted to welcome Charlie Walker back to QEH this week. Charlie is an explorer, writer and public speaker who has done some amazing expeditions over his 12 year career to date.

From the Arctic tundra to the Congolese jungle, Charlie has tested the limits of human exploration in some of the world’s most challenging conditions.

Pupils from Year 10 and Year 12 heard about Charlie’s epic 43,000 mile bicycle journey that took him through 60 countries, his first long adventure. They heard of the physical challenges Charlie had to endure, but also the amazing experiences of the different cultures and the people he met along the way.

Year 13 sat captivated in the Theatre listening to tales from Charlie’s most recent expedition in 2022.  His plan had been to hike several hundred miles along the frozen surfaces of Arctic rivers to reach the port town of Tiksi on the North coast of Siberia. Three days after Charlie arrived in Yakutsk, however, Russia invaded the Ukraine. When Charlie reached Tiksi he was arrested and found guilty of ‘conducting journalism while travelling on a tourist visa’. The charges also included ‘photographing sensitive military sites’. The result was Charlie then had to spend 4 weeks in a Yakutsk detention centre before finally being deported in late May.

The experience has not deterred Charlie and he is already planning his next expedition.

You can keep up with Charlie’s latest news and adventures at www.cwexplore.com or via his Instagram page @cwexplore