How Travel Builds Purpose, Resilience and Emotional Fitness

Join us at the Shackleton flagship store in Piccadilly. We will be hosting award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and author, Ash Bhardwaj, for the paper back launch of his book Why We Travel: 12 Reasons to Travel - and What They Can Teach You About Life.

Travel isn't just about switching off — it’s about switching on. In this compelling and practical talk, award-winning journalist, adventurer, and Army Reserve officer Ash Bhardwaj shares how we can use travel as a tool for transformation.

Drawing on frontline reporting, global expeditions, and insights from his acclaimed book Why We Travel, Ash explores six powerful motivations that shape meaningful travel: Curiosity, Inspiration, Serendipity, Mentorship, Service, and Hardship.

Ash’s journeys range from walking 1000km through Uganda and Sudan while filming Walking the Nile to retracing secret British missions in Albania; and from travelling 8500km along Russia’s borderlands (including Donbas and occupied Crimea) to kayaking through Māori lands in New Zealand. This talk reveals how travel can sharpen identity, deepen values, and reconnect us with a sense of challenge, purpose, and emotional growth.

Event Details

Date: 8th May, 2025

Time: 6:15pm

Location: Shackleton 214 Piccadilly, London, W1J 7BX

Programme:

• 18:15 - Arrival and reception.
• 18:40 - Ash begins his talk.
• 19:05 - Q&A
• 19:15 - Book signing and drinks.
• 20:00 - Event finishes.

About Ash

Ash Bhardwaj is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and author, who specialises in defence & security and travel. He has reported from over 50 countries for outlets including BBC Radio 4, The World Service, The Telegraph, Times, Guardian, Condé Nast Traveller, and Huffington Post, and he appears as a travel expert on BBC One’s Morning Live, Channel 5 and Sky News.

Ash wrote & presented the BBC Radio 4 documentaries How Ukraine Made Us Care, NATO’s Newest Member and Britain’s Shrinking Army. He took part in Sky News’ The Great Debate about Ukraine, produces and presents The First Mile and The Human Advantage podcasts, hosts The Moth storytelling events in London, and delivers workshops & keynote talks on leadership, influence, career strategy, storytelling, and motivation.

Ash’s journeys include: a 1000km walk through Uganda and Sudan whilst filming Levison Wood’s Walking the Nile for Channel 4; travelling 2500km along the India- Pakistan border to present a 4-part TV series for Discovery Channel; retracing secret British missions in Albania; kayaking through New Zealand; and travelling 8500km of Russia’s European border (including Donbas and occupied Crimea) for his Telegraph podcast series Edgelands.

Before travel writing, Ash was a ski instructor, science teacher and wannabe cowboy. He is a captain in the British Army Reserve (RIFLES), an MA graduate of King’s College London and a lecturer in journalism at City University London. He is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and has judged both the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing, and the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award.

Ash’s debut book, Why We Travel: A Journey Into Human Motivation is a smart- thinking blend of memoir, travelogue, research, interviews, and advice; it explores our motivations for travel, how to do it better, and how it can help us to live a more fulfilling life. It was recently awarded Best Travel Book of 2024 by The Independent.