Nicholas Crane (born 6 May 1954) is an English

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

, writer and broadcaster. Since 2004 he has written and presented four television series for

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

: ''

Coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

'', ''Great British Journeys'', '' Map Man'' and ''

Town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

''.

Early life and education

Crane was born in

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

, East Sussex, but grew up in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. He attended

Wymondham College Wymondham College is a coeducational day and boarding school in Morley, near Wymondham, Norfolk, England with academy status. A former grammar school, it is one of 36 state boarding schools in England and the largest of its type in the country ...

from 1967 until 1972, then Cambridgeshire College of Arts & Technology (CCAT), a forerunner to

Anglia Ruskin University Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public university in East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins are in the Cambridge School of Art, founded by William John Beamont in 1858. It became a university in 1992, and was renamed after John Ruskin in ...

, where he studied Geography. In his youth he went camping and hiking with his father and explored Norfolk by bicycle, which gave him his enthusiasm for exploration.

Career

In 1986 he located the

pole of inaccessibility A pole of inaccessibility with respect to a geographical criterion of inaccessibility marks a location that is the most challenging to reach according to that criterion. Often it refers to the most distant point from the coastline, implying a ...

for the

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

landmass travelling with his cousin Richard; their journey being the subject of the book ''Journey to the Centre of the Earth''. In 1992–93 he embarked on an 18-month solo journey, walking 10,000 kilometres from

Cape Finisterre Cape Finisterre (, also ; gl, Cabo Fisterra, italic=no ; es, Cabo Finisterre, italic=no ) is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain. In Roman times it was believed to be an end of the known world. The name Finisterre, like ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. He recounted the trip in his book ''Clear Waters Rising: A Mountain Walk Across Europe'' which won the

Thomas Cook Travel Book Award The Thomas Cook Travel Book Award originated as an initiative of Thomas Cook AG in 1980, with the aim of encouraging and rewarding the art of literary travel writing. The awards stopped in 2005 (2004 being the last year an award was given). As of 2 ...

in 1997, and made a television self-documentary of the journey: ''High Trails to Istanbul'' (1994). His 2000 book ''Two Degrees West'' described his walk North to South down Great Britain in which he followed the eponymous

meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

as closely as possible. In 2003 he published a biography of

Gerard Mercator Gerardus Mercator (; 5 March 1512 – 2 December 1594) was a 16th-century geographer, cosmographer and cartographer from the County of Flanders. He is most renowned for creating the 1569 world map based on a new projection which represented sa ...

, the great

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

cartographer. Together with Richard Crane he was awarded the 1992

Mungo Park Medal The Mungo Park Medal is awarded by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society in recognition of outstanding contributions to geographical knowledge through exploration and/or research, and/or work of a practical nature of benefit to humanity in potent ...

by the

Royal Scottish Geographical Society The Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) is an educational charity based in Perth, Scotland founded in 1884. The purpose of the society is to advance the subject of geography worldwide, inspire people to learn more about the world around ...

for his journeys in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

, China,

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and Africa. In 2007 he completed a series called ''Great British Journeys''. In eight parts the series consisted of eight people who explored Great Britain and made a contribution to society born of the exploration. Each episode lasts one hour and the series was accompanied by a book. In November 2007 he debated the future of the English countryside with

Richard Girling Richard Girling is a British journalist and author, known for his writing on the environment. Life and career Richard Girling, born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire in 1945, is a journalist for ''The Sunday Times''. In 2002, he won the Specialist Writer ...

, Sue Clifford,

Richard Mabey Richard Thomas Mabey (born 20 February 1941) is a writer and broadcaster, chiefly on the relations between nature and culture. Education Mabey was educated at three independent schools, all in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. The first was at Roth ...

and

Bill Bryson William McGuire Bryson (; born 8 December 1951) is an American–British journalist and author. Bryson has written a number of nonfiction books on topics including travel, the English language, and science. Born in the United States, he has b ...

as part of CPRE's annual Volunteers Conference. He presented a series about British towns broadcast in August 2011 and May–June 2013. He has served as a visiting professor at

which presented the former student in 2012 with the award of Honorary Doctor of Science. He was elected President of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

in 2015, though the post is now occupied by

Nigel Clifford Nigel Richard Clifford (born June 1959) is the President of the Royal Geographical Society, the Deputy Chair of the UK's Geospatial Commission, and Operating Executive for Marlin Equity Partners. He formerly held several chief executive and sen ...

. In 2016 he published ''The Making Of The British Landscape: From the Ice Age to the Present'', a 12,000-year historical geography of Britain.

Personal life

Crane lives in

Primrose Hill Primrose Hill is a Grade II listed public park located north of Regent's Park in London, England, first opened to the public in 1842.Mills, A., ''Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) It was named after the natural hill in the centre of ...

in northwest

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

with his wife; they have three children.

Books

*''The CTC Route Guide to Cycling in Britain and Ireland'' (with Christa Gausden, 1980) *''Cycling Guide'' (Tantivy Press, annually 1980–86) *''Cycling in Europe'' (1984) *''Bicycles Up Kilimanjaro'' (with Richard Crane, 1985) *''Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' (with Richard Crane, 1987) *''Richard's Mountain Bike Book'' (with Charles Kelly, edited by Richard Ballantine, 1988) *''Nick Crane's Action Sports'' (1989) *''Atlas Biker: Cycling in Morocco. O.U.P.'' (1990) *''Clear Waters Rising: A Mountain Walk Across Europe'' (1996) *''Two Degrees West: An English Journey'' (2000) *''Mercator: The Man Who Mapped the Planet'' (2003) *''Great British Journeys'' (2007) *''Coast A Journey around our Shores'' (2010) *''The Making Of The British Landscape: From the Ice Age to the Present'' (2016)

Television

*''Now Get Out of That'' – as a contestant representing Oxford, 1982 *''High Trails to Istanbul'' (1994) *'' Map Man'' (8x30m, 2004 and 8x30m, 2005) *''

'' (as main presenter, 13x60m, 2005 and as regular contributor 2006 to present) *''Great British Journeys'' (8x60m, 2007) *''Beeching's Tracks'' – featured presenter of Episode 1 ''East''. Broadcast 13 November 2008 on BBC Four *''Nicholas Crane's Britannia: The Great Elizabethan Journey'' (3x60m, 2009) *''In Search of England’s Green and Pleasant Land: East'' (30m, 2009) Broadcast 5 June 2009 on BBC Four *''Munro: Mountain Man'' (60m, 2009) Broadcast 20 September on BBC Four *'' TOWN with Nicholas Crane'' (4x60m, 2011 and 4x60m, 2013)

References

External links

*
Interview with ''Wanderlust'' magazine

BBC's Coast

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crane, Nicholas 1954 births Living people Alumni of Anglia Ruskin University English travel writers Walkers of the United Kingdom People from Wymondham People educated at Wymondham College Presidents of the Royal Geographical Society