JAMES May, the television presenter who owns the Royal Oak pub in Swallowcliffe, between Shaftesbury and Salisbury, will be taking audiences through time and across thousands of miles in his new stage show, with October dates at Bath, Bristol and Southampton.

The Top Gear and Grand Tour star is presenting a very different – and generally slower – view of travel in Explorers – The Age of Discovery, bringing to life the stories of the (mainly) nen who traversed the deserts, scaled the mountains and sailed into the unknown. The live show combines theatrical techniques and James’ charismatic storytelling to create a fascinating and entertaining evening.

Few endeavours have captured the imagination and spirit of humanity as profoundly as exploration. From Ice Age migrations to space travel, the stories of famous, infamous and unknown explorers will be brought to life, taking the audience on an awe-inspiring journey through time and space.

These are people who risked (and sometimes gave) everything, driven by insatiable curiosity and an unquenchable thirst for discovery, (and sometimes wealth!), pushing back the boundaries of the unexplored regions of the world – and now, the universe.

The stories range from the earliest wanderings of ancient hunter-gatherers to the intrepid, often obsessive explorers, among them the Viking Leif Erikson, John Cabot, who set out on his 1497 journey to Newfoundland from Bristol, James Cook’s Polynesian navigator Tupaia, and the Victorians, Stanley and Livingstone, through to the moon walkers, space exploration and the seemingly impossible challenges of interplanetary and intergalactic travel.

James May will present Explorers – The Age of Discovery at Bath Forum on Wednesday 1st October, Bristol Hippodrome on Friday 3rd October and the O2 Guildhall at Southampton on Thursday 23rd.