The Armchair Adventure Festival is back for 2023, bringing a weekend celebration of adventure travel in a breathtaking Cornish location. The world’s leading adventurers will gather at the glorious Mount Edgcumbe Country Park telling inspirational tales of adventure and exploration, with loads of adventurous activities to get involved with in and out of the water, topped off by evenings of campfires and brilliant live music.
Founded by Matt Bishop and Reece Gilkes aka The Sidecar Guys, the festival is a celebration of adventure travel. They are the first people to ever circumnavigate the globe by scooter and sidecar and hold the Guinness World Record for the longest ever journey by scooter and sidecar! Having set off on their escapade from Mount Edgcumbe Country Park, it seemed the perfect idea to come full circle and hold a celebration of adventure travel in the idyllic location, known as the hidden gem of Cornwall!
The festival is now back for its third year and Matt Bishop, one of the founders of the festival, said, “We can’t wait to bring the festival back to Mount Edgcumbe this summer. It’s such a special location and will be the biggest celebration of adventure travel we’ve created yet!”
Festival highlights include:
Speakers:
Guliafshan Tariq, born and raised in Pakistan, has forged a path for female adventurers, boldly shattering gender stereotypes and facing difficult terrain in pursuit of her passion. Defying her family and community, she took it upon herself to learn how to ride a motorcycle and explore her homeland. With unwavering determination and courage, she endured river crossings, mountains, and ventured into areas that were previously considered off-limits due to Taliban activity. Guliafshan’s journey has not gone unnoticed and has been honoured both by the Pakistani government and the international community. Appearing as a motivational speaker on TedX and hosting a travel show on BBC, Guliafshan has inspired others around the world to follow their dreams, no matter how difficult they may seem.
Sarah Williams: Sarah will be joining us not only to speak of her impressive adventure achievements, but also to host her award winning Tough Girl Podcast live from the festival! As the founder of Tough Girl Challenges, Sarah’s mission is to increase the number of female role models in the media with a focus on adventure and physical challenges. Sarah has completed a range of impressive challenges, including running the Marathon des Sables, hiking the Appalachian Trail in 100 days, and cycling from Vancouver to Mexico.
Sarah has been named one of the UK’s top 50 adventurers by The Guardian, and her podcast has won three awards and is ranked in the top 0.5% of podcasts globally. Sarah’s passion for adventure and dedication to promoting the achievements of women in the outdoors makes her an inspiration to all who seek to challenge themselves and break down gender barriers.
Activities:
Festival goers will again have the opportunity to step out of their armchairs and enjoy a whole host of other activities. There’s an opportunity to take out a kayak or paddleboard and explore the 7km of pristine coastline which surrounds the festival. Alternatively, if you’d rather stay on dry land, you can make use of the miles of mountain bike trails, join in with the family-friendly foraging, fire-lighting and shelter-building survival workshops or even walk with the resident alpacas around the incredible Mount Edgcumbe Country Park.
Music:
The Wave Machine: The Wave Machine is the creative outlet for Cornwall based UK singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Angus Trott. Passionate about surfing and the ocean, Angus writes and produces catchy and quality laidback summer sounds with surf inspired lyrics that promote and highlight a positive attitude to life. Angus has been building a solid following throughout the UK’s buzzing music and surf communities creating awesome summer sounds to get the good-vibes flowing!
Land of the Giants: After being crowned winners of ‘Best Band’ at the Southwest Music Awards and with support from BBC Introducing, the Land of the Giants have been tipped by many as “one of the best emerging live bands in the country”. From packed out stages at Glastonbury, Boomtown, Boardmasters to rocking Ireland’s Knockanstockan (to name but a few) LOTG are well on their way to global domination. Foot-stomping beats. Contagious enthusiasm. A brass section that will make you grin from ear to ear. A heavy toe-tapping bass line, and Andy Quick’s soaring vocals will make you wonder why you’ve never danced your socks off to The Giants before!
As well as all of this, expect award winning food and drink, luxury glamping options, a sea view from your tent and with just a five-minute potter through the grounds to the beach, there really is no better location for an adventure festival. Plus, it’s still free to bring your dogs and live-in vans too!
For more information and to book tickets, see www.armchairadventurefestival.com
Scott Calland is a highly regarded content specialist with an English Degree. He has a passion for creating compelling content as a UK journalist that engages, informs, and entertains readers. With over 10 years of experience in creating news publications as a reporter, Scott has developed a keen eye for detail and a deep understanding of how to craft content that resonates with audiences. Working closely with data analysts Scott’s research on topics is unrivalled for latest news updates.
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