The Enduring Beauty of Adventure

Sidetracked Volume 23 draws together a collection of stories that illuminate the best of the human spirit: discovery and resilience, boldness and compassion, pushing back physical and mental boundaries, leaving a positive legacy.

’Inshallah’ by Gerhard Czerner tells the story of an ambitious mountain-bike expedition to the heart of the Karakoram. Quinn Brett refuses to let her disability define her in ’The Great Divide’, and explores the barriers faced by disabled people in society. Hugh Francis Anderson, in conversation with polar explorer Børge Ousland, examines the motivations behind the truly great journeys – the difficult and dangerous and unlikely to be repeated. Community and belonging are themes explored by many of these stories, from ’Land of Horses’ by Ashley Parsons to ’Caravan of Love’ by Sophie Matterson.

Adventure is beautiful. It can give our lives meaning. In this volume of Sidetracked, we show how it can transform the lives of individuals and communities – and help us to understand the wealth of non-human life that shares this magnificent world with us.