James

Raised on an old farm in Warwickshire, he was surrounded by wild nature and overgrown farm buildings. Slashing his way through towering nettles with a pointy stick, setting up elaborate camps, digging for ancient artefacts and rescuing small birds and animals from ferocious cats was his thing. Fluent in their primitive language, he taught his younger siblings to walk so he could engage them as porters to carry expeditionary supplies and an ever-increasing amount of scientific equipment. Later the children learnt to ride and would explore further afield on horseback. However, the boundaries of the British countryside felt restrictive and James would dream that he was riding across the open plains of Africa or Patagonia.

On leaving school, he overlanded through Africa, a seven-month trip full of life changing experiences that only fed his appetite for travel. Fortunately for James, he soon met the girl of his dreams. Karina shared his passion for far flung remote places, and also has a killer sense of direction. The two took off to Central America and later to South America, Australasia and Asia. It was in the later stages of this journey that the pair reached the land that would shape their future, Mongolia. The Land of the Blue Sky, a land without fences, of deserts and mountains, of forests and vast grasslands, of pristine rivers and lakes where there are more horses than people. A country of ancient empires with a strong nomadic culture, respect for nature and legendary hospitality where strangers are welcomed as honoured guests. They were taken in by a horse racing family and documented the son’s experience at Naadam, before setting off to explore the country. After six weeks of living with nomads, lamas and shamans James was smitten, with Mongolia and Karina. They started scheming and PJ was born. They were back in the Spring with their first intrepid guests.

When he’s not travelling, James tries hard to work his interests into travel. He loves History and Geography, riding and hiking, music and dancing. He’s a huge fan of team sports, especially rugby and coaches the local youth football team. He loves spending time with friends and family. He loves writing about himself in the third person!