How else could you possibly describe the Armchair Adventure Festival 2026 other than an enormous success?
The weather was absolutely perfect. Of course, if you were actually from England, you may have considered it dangerously hot and started to melt. But for us, it was glorious.
The Armchair Adventure Festival is set in the southwest of England, right on the coast at Mount Edgcumbe. The site sits high on a hill overlooking the River Tamar and Plymouth. Under brilliant blue skies, Plymouth spreads out below, separated from the hillside by the beautiful Plymouth Sound, filled with boats of every description.
It is a spectacular setting for an adventure festival.
The event is hosted by the boys, Matt Bishop and Reece Gilkes, better known as the Sidecar Guys. These two are no strangers to adventure, having set the world record for a circumnavigation of the globe in a sidecar.
The festival itself runs for four days, but for a small fee, you can arrive two days early. Naturally, we did.
AAF is an adventure festival celebrating just about every kind of travel and exploration you can imagine. There are fascinating talks, interesting people, music happening in different areas, a beer tent, and enough food vendors to keep you well fueled.
But honestly, none of that is the main reason we come.
It’s the people.
It seems that every one of our friends from around the UK somehow manages to find their way to Mount Edgcumbe. We arrived Tuesday and stayed through Sunday night. Unfortunately, we had to leave Sunday evening, which meant we missed what sounded like an absolutely over-the-top after-party.
Oh well. There’s always next year.
On our second day, we decided to treat ourselves to something a little different.
Our great mates Tom and Amy joined us for a sailboat adventure aboard a boat called Bounty.
And this wasn’t just any old sailboat.
The original Bounty is famous for the mutiny that took place on April 28, 1789, when disaffected members of the crew, led by Fletcher Christian, seized control of HMS Bounty from Captain William Bligh.
After the mutiny, Bligh and 18 loyal crewmen were cast adrift in the ship’s 23-foot open launch.
What happened next is one of the great survival stories of maritime history.
Bligh somehow managed to navigate that overloaded little boat for 47 days, covering roughly 3,600 nautical miles to reach safety.
Then, in 2016, British television network Channel 4 decided to recreate the incredible journey for a television series called Mutiny. A nine-man crew, led by professional skipper Conrad Humphreys and former SAS instructor Anthony Middleton, was set adrift in the Pacific with basic supplies and instrumentation.
They completed the roughly 4,000-mile journey.
And here’s where our story gets even better.
Our friend Conrad Humphreys purchased the same type of boat and now takes people out on tours.
We climbed aboard, rowed out into the bay, and eventually caught enough wind to hoist the sails and glide across the water.
Conrad entertained us with stories from both the original voyage and the incredible television expedition.
Sitting there, sailing around the bay in that tiny boat while listening to someone who had actually recreated Bligh’s journey was pretty damn special.
Without a doubt, one of the highlights of the entire week.
The following day, a few of us headed to a nearby coastal village for some swimming and, naturally, a pint.
We ended up at the Devonport Inn, which has high-top seating right on the seawall overlooking a small beach.
It was one of those quintessentially English summer days. People were scattered along the beach, enjoying the sunshine and the water, while we sat overlooking the bay with a cold beer in hand.
Only two of our group, Amy and Maria, were brave—or perhaps crazy—enough to actually take the plunge.
The setting couldn’t have been better. A beautiful bay, an old clocktower just down the street, sunshine, friends and a pub overlooking the water.
Sometimes you don’t need an elaborate adventure.
Sometimes you just need a good view, good friends and a pint.
And Then There Was the Gin…
Of course, no gathering of this particular group of people would be complete without the legendary Gin Party.
Everyone brings a different gin.
Everyone brings snacks.
Everyone brings friends.
And somehow, it turns into one of the best gatherings of the entire event.
I’ve experienced this sort of thing before. Years ago at Overland Expo in Arizona, Tiffany Coates hosted a Pimms party, which amazingly is still going. Then came the legendary cheese party, which will forever be part of the Overland Event.
And then there is the closing party, which has occasionally been topped off by Matt Booth doing his absolutely unforgettable rendition of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.
You have to be patient for that one.
Then there’s the Gin Party.
Plus, beer # 3,000. I use an app called UnTapped. I keep track of almost every NEW beer I drink. I was nearing beer #3,000 leading up to the event. And of course I wanted to celebrate the occasion with friends, What a better time to celebrate.
Beer #3,000.
I’m beginning to see a common denominator here.
They’re all Brits.
For some unknown reason, this group of British adventurers has become some of my closest friends on the planet.
And unfortunately, I live across a rather large pond.
That’s the downside.
The upside is that when we do finally get together, it is like no time has passed at all.
We laugh.
We tell stories.
We drink gin.
We eat.
We make plans for the next adventure.
And then, far too soon, it’s time to say goodbye again.
Friends Are the Adventure
I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to a lot of places and experience some pretty incredible things over the years.
But the older I get, the more I realize that the places aren’t always what I remember most.
It’s the people.
The friends we have made through motorcycles, travel and adventure have become one of the greatest parts of this life.
The Armchair Adventure Festival is a perfect example.
Yes, the location is spectacular.
Yes, the weather was fantastic.
Yes, there are great speakers, music, food, beer and plenty of things to see and do.
But for us, the real attraction is walking into the festival grounds and seeing familiar faces everywhere.
It’s like a giant reunion of people who just happen to live all over the world.
This post is definitely photo-heavy, and I could go on and on about the festival, the adventures and the people we shared it with.
But you get the gist.
AAF 2026 was one hell of a week.
Good friends.
Great adventures.
A little sailing.
A lot of laughter.
And, of course, more than a little gin.
Cheers to the Sidecar Guys, everyone who made the festival happen, and all the crazy friends who keep making this life so damn interesting.
Until the next adventure…
Cheers,
2WANDRRs
2WANDRRs 
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