Leon McCarron

Leon McCarron is a Northern Irish adventurer, filmmaker, and author renowned for his captivating storytelling through long-distance, human-powered journeys. As a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, McCarron has dedicated his career to exploring and documenting some of the world’s most remote and challenging landscapes.

His recent adventures include walking 1,000 miles from Jerusalem to Mount Sinai along newly established hiking trails. In 2012, he traversed 1,000 miles of the Empty Quarter desert with Alastair Humphreys, retracing the route of explorer Wilfred Thesiger while pulling a cart of supplies. Earlier that year, McCarron completed a 3,000-mile trek across China with Rob Lilwall, from the Gobi Desert to the South China Sea, an expedition captured in a four-part TV series by National Geographic Channel.

McCarron’s diverse journeys also include cycling 14,000 miles from New York to Hong Kong, traversing the British Isles on a folding bike to climb the Six Peaks, and a human-powered descent of Iran’s Karun River. He has also crossed Argentine Patagonia on horseback. In 2017, he received the Royal Geographical Society’s Neville Shulman Challenge Award for his month-long project with the Israelite Samaritans, documenting the way of life of one of the world’s smallest and oldest ethno-religious groups.

McCarron is the author of three books, including *The Road Headed West*, *The Land Beyond*, and the forthcoming *Wounded Tigris*, shortlisted for the 2024 Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year. His independent films and TV series, including the 2018 documentary *How to Save a Tribe*, further showcase his commitment to immersive storytelling.