If the majority of travellers were to take a punt on what people considered as the world’s greatest adventure, walking the length of the Great Wall of China or climbing Mount Kilimanjaro would no doubt feature high on the list. (Featured image is by winkyintheuk)
However, according to Lonely Planet’s new Great Adventures Guide, Brits don’t need to hot-foot it to the other side of the world to get an adrenalin fix, with a rowing trip along the mighty River Thames deemed just as adventurous as tracking mountain gorillas in Uganda or cycling in Nepal.
The guide describes a Thames row as “like sitting on a conveyor belt watching living history pass you by on both banks”, with tourists getting the chance to feast their eyes on key attractions such as Hampton Court Palace, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye among others.
The trip is one of six British experiences to feature in the book, which also includes biking on Coed y Brenin mountain in North Wales – described as a “foliage-knitted landscape, with mountaintop views that make your heart skip, crashing waterfalls and a rugged topography carved out by glaciers”.
Walking along England’s south-west coast also featured, described as “walking at its most diverse, most spectacular and most delicious”.
This is alongside the Three Peaks Challenge (climbing Britain’s highest peaks in one day); caving in the Peak District of Derbyshire; and “coasteering”, moving along a stretch of rocky coastline on foot or by swimming, in Pembrokeshire in South Wales.
The list of global adventures in the book also includes seeing the Northern Lights, walking on the icy plains of the Antarctic and coming face to face with Galapagos wildlife.
An online survey conducted by The Telegraph has also revealed that seeing the Northern Lights and rowing the River Thames were named by 27.8 per cent of readers as the greatest adventure imaginable.
These were followed by the chance to view some wildlife in the Galapagos and glimpsing the mountain Gorillas of Rwanda.
