Big Earth

Book excerpt: As the producer and director of some of TV's most successful travel series - The Long Way Down, The Long Way Round, Race to Dakar and By Any Means - Russ Malkin is an expert in adventure travel. Here, in Big Earth - 101 Amazing Adventures, which has a foreword by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, Russ talks us through his favourite trips and destinations, so we can set off and explore this incredible world for ourselves. Although there are challenging trips for the serious traveller here, you don't need months to spare or thousands of pounds to get started. Some of these trips you can do in just a few days - race the Isle of Man TT circuit, camel trek in Morocco or sail from Dover to Calais; some you can do in two weeks off work - trek the Inca trail, ride a Harley along route 66 or get an overland truck trough Peru; while a few will take you that little bit longer - ice climb the Mont Blanc Massif, cycle across the Andes or drive from Cairo to Cape Town. Whether you are looking for a weekend break to tame your inner adrenaline junkie, a two-week holiday to blast away the cobwebs, a three-month trip of a lifetime, or an armchair escape from the drudgery of everyday life, this is the perfect adventure travel book for you.