Ben still has the urge to live dangerously
TELLY action man Ben Fogle is planning another death-defying adventure – so his kids don’t think he’s all talk.
Ben, 42, has rowed the Atlantic, raced to the South Pole while suffering serious frostbite along the way, and nearly lost half his face to a flesh-eating bug.
But having taken the safer option lately as a family man, he insists his latest adventure will also be for Ludo, seven, and Iona, five.
“I’ve always had a wanderlust and a fascination for pushing myself,” said Ben, 42, whose new book Land Rover is out on Thursday. “That’s still there. “When you have kids you have an absolute responsibility to be there during their precious early years.
“But they become more resilient and I don’t want my children to always just hear stories of what I did before they were born.
“I’d love them to live some of my adventures. It’s an important message for them about not having any regrets and about seizing the moments.”
Ben’s love of Scotland is such that he named Iona after one of his most special places.
“My grandfather, who passed away aged 99, was from Scotland and we still have a lot of family there,” added Ben, who was filming north of the border for his ITV series Countrywise last week.
“I return a good half a dozen times a year. Despite sounding very English I adore all things Scottish.”
Land Rover: The History of the Car That Conquered the Town and Country by Ben Fogle ( William Collins £20).