{"id":16407,"date":"2025-11-12T15:27:26","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T15:27:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/explorersagainstextinction.co.uk\/blog\/?p=16407"},"modified":"2025-12-30T12:47:36","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T12:47:36","slug":"an-evening-with-hilary-bradt-at-the-rgs-east-of-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/explorersagainstextinction.co.uk\/blog\/an-evening-with-hilary-bradt-at-the-rgs-east-of-england\/","title":{"rendered":"An Evening with Hilary Bradt at the RGS East of England"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It was a full house for this special Royal Geographical Society (East of England)<\/strong> event with travel pioneer Hilary Bradt<\/strong>, founder of Bradt Guides<\/em>. I\u2019ve used Bradt Guides for many of my own travels, including Mali<\/em> in 2000 and Albania<\/em> in 2024, so it was a particular pleasure to meet Hilary in person. It was also a great privilege to be asked to conduct the interview and find out more about her extraordinary life in travel and publishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just back from walking 21 miles in Cornwall<\/strong> over a long weekend, Hilary \u2013 now in her 80s \u2013 remains as energetic and curious as ever. She shared stories from more than six decades of exploration, taking us all around the world, from her first independent travels in Greece in 1961 to a journey to Socotra<\/strong> some 60 years later. The 2021 Socotra visit fulfilled a lifelong ambition to experience the island\u2019s unique landscapes and remarkable endemic species such as the Dragon\u2019s Blood Tree<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hilary\u2019s deep connection with Madagascar<\/strong>, where she has led more than 30 specialist group tours<\/strong>, led to a thoughtful conversation about responsible tourism<\/strong>. She told the story of Bedo<\/em>, a young and gifted Malagasy guide whose friendship, and sad demise some years later, helped shape her understanding of the complex relationships between tourists and local communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The 2000 Bradt Travel Guide to Rwanda<\/strong> is the edition Hilary says she is most proud of. Co-authored by Philip Briggs<\/em> and Janice Booth<\/em>, it was researched in the years following the 1994 atrocities. Tourism has played an important role in Rwanda\u2019s post-genocide reconstruction, and to have contributed in some small way to that recovery is something Hilary and Bradt Guides<\/em> remain proud of to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also reflected on her solo 1,000-mile horseback journey through Connemara<\/strong>, western Ireland, which she describes as her \u201cmost adventurous trip,\u201d later turned into a book of the same name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Away from her travels, we talked about the challenges of establishing Bradt Guides<\/em>, and I asked Hilary about the Ernest Hemingway<\/strong> quote in her autobiography Taking the Risk<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

\u201cThe world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong at the broken places.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Resilience is a theme that runs throughout her book. Hilary writes candidly about personal challenges, including the painful breakdown of her marriage, and reflected that she probably wouldn\u2019t have achieved all she has without that heartbreak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking the Risk<\/em> is dedicated to Hilary\u2019s parents, who \u201cnever told their adventurous daughter to take care.\u201d The evening was a reminder of why Hilary remains such an inspiring voice in travel writing \u2013 thoughtful, unfiltered, and adventurous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Images: Jonathan Pearson, Norwich School<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was a full house for this special Royal Geographical Society (East of England) event with travel pioneer Hilary Bradt, founder of Bradt Guides. 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