Before the ABR Festival, there was ABR magazine. And before that, there was Adventure Travel magazine.
Outside of family and friends, my life has been built on an unremitting passion for riding motorcycles and climbing mountains.
Those who know me would also include rugby, but we’ll address the oval ball later, with a pint in the bar.
Over the years, many people have asked how ABR magazine fired the imagination and provided the inspiration for so many riders in the UK when the established motorcycle media had felt so flat.
Well, my answer has always been this: I was determined to bring the intoxicating sense of adventure and exploration I’d experienced with the amazing people I’d met in the mountains.
Some ride bikes, others don’t, but they are all cut through with adventure, and it’s time for me to share them with you at ABR 2026.
Prepare to be amazed, entertained, and inspired by some of the world’s top explorers in our new stage setting: The Dome.
Introducing Your Host…
Dave Talbot
The Dome is hosted by Dave Talbot who, apart from climbing Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, has recently travelled by V-Strom to the Julian Alps in Slovenia to climb the near mile-high vertical north wall of Triglav (Slovenia’s highest mountain).
And Here’s A Little Sample Of The Speakers…
Alan Hinkes
There are 14 8,000m high mountains in the world, and when Alan Hinkes OBE stood on top of Kangchenjunga in 2005, he became the first Briton to scale all 14. To put that into perspective, in 2005 more people had stood on the moon than had done what he’d just accomplished.
Sir John Blashford-Snell
Sir John led the first vehicle crossing of the notorious Darién Gap and the first complete descent of the Blue Nile. In fact, we reckon he invented white water rafting.
Kenton Cool
Yes, that’s his real name, and he’s coming to the ABR Festival just days after standing on top of Mt Everest for a record-breaking 20th time. Kenton, a world-class mountain guide, also led 63-year-old Ranulph Fiennes up the infamous North Face of the Eiger.
Andy Kirkpatrick
One of the world’s foremost winter and big-wall climbers is also one of the outdoors’ funniest speakers and is perhaps best summed up by the title of his award-winning autobiography, Psycho Vertical.
Jordan Wylie
Former soldier, extreme adventurer, bestselling author, and one of the stars of Channel 4’s Hunted. Jordan has run marathons in the world’s most dangerous places, rowed the pirate-infested Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and climbed Kilimanjaro barefoot.
The Turner Twins
Modern day explorers, fellow bikers, and fresh back from one of the most remarkable mountaineering experiments of the decade.
Last year, Ross and Hugo Turner climbed Nepal’s Mera Peak (6,476m) with one twin wearing modern high-altitude gear, the other in exact replicas of the kit George Mallory wore on his fatal 1924 Everest expedition.
Between them, they’ve rowed the Atlantic, reached multiple Poles of Inaccessibility, and set a world altitude record in a tandem electric paramotor.
And There’s More…
A three-time Olympic gold medallist. A special mission pilot. The full lineup is available now.
If it’s inspiration you’re after, I’ll look forward to seeing you in The Dome this June.
P.S. That’s The Dome by day. By night, it turns into something wildly different. More to come on that soon.
The only way to get a real sense of the stories behind these incredible people is with an ABR Festival ticket. Weekend Tickets are disappearing fast, so if you want to catch them all, you’ll need to secure yours now.