River of Dreams


Levison Wood traversed the entire length of the Nile and built a unique, humbling, almost spiritual relationship with water that still serves him well to this day Words: Danny Bowman


Staffordshire-born explorer’s next move was to venture further into the mental and physical extremes, spreading the word of what he terms ‘modern-day exploration’ in conquering the Himalayas, in traversing the length of the Americas, and of course in walking the entire length of the Nile.


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“Modern-day exploration means pushing oneself over the limits,” he begins. “It’s not enough these days just to visit a country, swim across a lake or climb a mountain – 21st century adventurers must offer something unique in order to secure the necessary investment to live their dream.”


Levison is of course right. The internet has normalised achievement, giving a route to so many whose desire to do something special is aided by an immediate platform on which to display their content. It leaves cross-ocean adventurers, competitors and campaigners needing to push the envelope even further if they are to stand out from the crowd. That’s what makes Levison’s venture down the Nile all the more special, not that he was ever doing it for page views, clicks or column inches, although Channel 4 did pick up progress for a four-part documentary. “The journey was done because of my love for the sea and rivers. It dawned on me that on so many of my travels I have migrated very quickly towards ports. Stockholm is probably my favourite city in the world, and it’s for the canals and inlets and the fact the city feels like part of the water.


“Then there’s Haad Rin beach on the island of Kho Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand, probably the most idyllic place I have ever been to. It’s a tiny rock with incredible alcoves and a wonderful beach, and again is a place that just draws the ocean to it. So these experiences with water were nothing new,” says Levison, who most recently worked as an ambassador for the Talisker Round the World Challenge.


Levison honed his wanderlust in the British Army, where he saw action during the war in Afghanistan before going on to emulate his exploratory heroes. Set for a new challenge, Walking the Nile


ONBOARD | WINTER 2022 | 61


hen most people leave the British Army, it is with a mass of experiences that usually lead them to gentler, more serene and unquestionably safer ways to pass the time. Yet for Levison Wood it was different. The


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