Living Adventurously

Ben Cummins is on a mission to deliver a piano from Liverpool to London. On a home-made raft. That he propels himself. Within 25 years... So far it has taken Ben seven years to push his raft the 127 miles along the canal from Liverpool to Leeds!
This adventure / art project / way of life began when Ben asked himself a brilliant question, "what is it that I want from my life?"

Show Notes

Ben Cummins is on a mission to deliver a piano from Liverpool to London. On a home-made raft. That he propels himself. Within 25 years... So far it has taken Ben seven years to push his raft the 127 miles along the canal from Liverpool to Leeds!
This adventure / art project / way of life began when Ben asked himself a brilliant question, "what is it that I want from my life?"
Ben invited me onto his charming, quirky, stylish canal boat-cum-raft (built from locally-salvaged and donated materials), cooked me lunch, and told me his story.

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SHOW NOTES

  • If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a coffee here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
  • Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/more/subscribe
  • Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
  • Piano Raft - A floating centre of excellence. @pianoraft on Instagram. Website here.
  • Focus on "allow" not "how" - let stuff happen rather than worrying too much.
  • Nick Weston, who lived in a treehouse.
  • Ben Parry, artist.
  • I didn't want to be a numpty, to be irresponsible or unsafe. They were my concerns. 
  • Having an anchor or a framework to the project is helpful, even when allowing possibility and serendipity into your life.
  • A 'purposeless mission' allows all the good stuff to happen once you have started.

THIS PODCAST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY KOMOOT

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The personalised planning and navigation tools ensure you plan the adventure that’s perfect for you. Komoot is Europe’s number 1 outdoor app, with route planning and navigation functionality, and strong community-driven inspirational features in the form of recommended Highlights and inspirational route Collections. It is used by nearly 10 million adventurers worldwide. Komoot is becoming the app of choice for cyclists and hikers the world over, with rapid community growth in the UK, the US and other parts of Europe.
You can see my ride’s route on komoot here.


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What is Living Adventurously?

Living Adventurously, with Alastair Humphreys, is the story of ordinary people choosing to live extraordinary lives.
Alastair interviews artists and chefs, students and pensioners, athletes and travellers. He wants to discover what living adventurously means to different people, what universal obstacles stand in the way, and how each of these people took the first step to overcome them and begin their own fascinating journeys.