In a few weeks, 24-year-old adventurer Anna Blackwell will be packing up her kayak to attempt a world-first expedition with teammate, Kate Culverwell, as they Kayak from England to the Black Sea. No stranger to expeditions, in the last few years Anna has completed a solo 5-week trek of the Arctic wilderness with only reindeers for company; walked 1000 miles solo from France to Spain, and trekked Spain’s 500-mile Camino de Santiago solo.

I chatted with Anna ahead of her Kayaking the Continent expedition to see how she was planning and preparing, and found out about the highs and lows of her solo expeditions so far.

Adventure athlete Emma Timmis is no stranger to endurance feats, having been the first woman to run the 1500 mile length of South Africa’s Freedom Trail – the equivalent of running 57 marathons in 57 days (!) She’s also cycled 2000km from Manchester to the Dolomites in Italy on a touring bike, and run 2452 miles across Africa. Right now, however, the 33-year-old is more than 5705km into her challenge to ride an ElliptiGO (a seat-less elliptical bike) 8000km across Australia, solo and self-supported. With only a quarter of her journey left, she’s already broken the distance record.

I caught up with Emma on the phone the day before she left for Australia to chat adventures (she’s had a few), endurance and ultra running.

Looking for inspiration this month? The Women’s Adventure Expo is coming to Bristol with a new spin-off event, WAExpo Takes to the Water. The water-themed event includes amazing female adventure speakers, Ted-style talks from Clipper Round the World Yacht Race and Shore Seeker Challenges, updates from the Marine Conservation Society and taster activities in and out of the water.

Key speakers: The line-up features epic water-based female adventurers, including open water marathon swimmer, Beth French (interview coming soon!), world land and sea adventurer, Sarah Outen MBE, Atlantic rower Natalia Cohen from the Coxless Crew, and international adventure kayaker, Erin Bastian.

When: Saturday 22 April, 10am – 5.30pm, with pre-event drinks and Shore Seeker talks on the Friday evening, and activities, such as SUP taster sessions, on Sunday.

Where: The MShed, Bristol harbour.

Tickets: £35. Buy yours here.