Fran Sandham

Fran Sandham is a very experienced lecturer and after-dinner speaker, specialising in adventure, exploration, humour, personal achievement and motivational topics.

He is also the author of the critically acclaimed non-fiction book Traversa: A solo walk across Africa, the account of my solo walk coast to coast across Africa from the Atlantic on Namibia’s Skeleton Coast to the Indian Ocean at Zanzibar, the first time on record anyone has crossed Africa solo entirely on foot by this route. This book was serialised in the Sunday Times, it was one of the New York Times’ six recommended travel literature titles, and has received very wide press coverage in the UK and abroad.

His talks and lectures over the past year have focused largely on his trans-Africa solo walk, with an emphasis on: adventure, humour, inspiration and motivation, personal achievement, commitment, setting goals and overcoming obstacles. However, he also lectures on exploration, and on writing itself, for example at the University of Winchester.

Past lectures include a number at high-profile events such and the 2011 London Outdoors Show and the Times Destinations Travel Show at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre; at the Sunday Times Literary Festival at Oxford University and for corporate clients such as Deloitte and Touche in London. I’ve lectured on cruise ships and at various arts centres and lecture societies, at schools, colleges and universities across the UK, at literary festivals, lunch clubs, University of the Third Age groups and geographical societies. 

Fran has also been a guest on over thirty national/regional radio stations to talk about his walks across Africa, including Radio 4’s Excess Baggage programme with John McCarthy, two appearances on BBC Radio 5 Live and on the national Irish station TodayFM. As a freelance writer he’s written for many newspapers and magazines, including the Daily Telegraph, the Observer and the Financial Times.