About Levison
Levison Wood is a best-selling author and photographer who has worked and travelled in over 100 countries & has written eleven best-selling books. He has produced many critically acclaimed documentaries which have aired around the world. Levison is a Major in the British Army having served in the Parachute Regiment for 13 years.
Levison is the Chancellor of Staffordshire University, an elected Fellow of both the Royal Geographical Society and the Explorers Club. He is an ambassador and patron for a number of charities including UNICEF. When not abroad, he lives in London.
“Britain’s best-loved adventurer... he looks like a man who will stare danger in the face and soak up a lot of pain without complaint”
“Levison Wood has breathed new life into adventure travel.”
“Wood relishes the dangers of a journey… he’s just the kind of guy you want with you on an adventure”
“In the macho, adrenaline-fuelled arena of TV adventures, Levison Wood is that rare beast: the real deal.”
Journeys
From 2013-2014, Lev walked the length of the river Nile - an expedition of 4,250 miles that took nine months and was Channel 4's most successful factual series of the year. His book ‘Walking the Nile’ became a Sunday Times bestseller.
In 2015, Lev walked the length of the Himalayas, a six-month journey of over 1700 miles from Afghanistan to Bhutan, which was televised on Channel 4 as a five part documentary series, airing throughout January 2016. His critically acclaimed book 'Walking The Himalayas' has been published in the UK, US, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and India, amongst others, and was voted Adventure Travel Book of the Year at the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards.
Lev's expedition, walking 1800 miles along the length of Central America from Mexico to Colombia, including the notorious Darien Gap, aired as a 4 x 60' documentary series on Channel 4 in spring '17. Lev's accompanying book 'Walking The Americas' was published by Hodder & Stoughton and went on to become a Sunday Times bestseller. His 25 date theatre tour 'An Evening With Levison Wood' was a national success, playing to audiences of between 600 to 1000 each night.
Lev's previous TV series 'From Russia To Iran: Crossing The Wild Frontier' aired on Channel 4 for four weeks in August 2017.
His book 'Eastern Horizons' about his travels as a 22 year-old-man hitchhiking the Silk Road was published in November 2017 and was shortlisted for Adventure Travel Book of the Year at the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards.
Levison did a 5000-mile circumnavigation of the Arabian peninsula from Iraq to Lebanon. His book, Arabia: A Journey Through The Heart of the Middle East was published in November 2018 and was shortlisted for an Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award in 2019. The independently produced documentary, ‘Arabia’, was nominated for a Broadcast Award.
In 2019 Levison walked across Botswana following migrating elephants and learning about conservation in the region. His book ‘The Last Giants’ on the plight of the African elephant was published in 2019 by Hodder and Stoughton. A documentary series following his journey aired on Channel 4 in May 2020, named ‘Walking with Elephants’.
Levison Wood and Ash Bhardwaj explore life alongside the volatile, geographically, culturally diverse border of India and Pakistan for Discovery India.
In 2023, Levison tracked down some of the most iconic but endangered animals on Earth, and gets a better understanding of how they are surviving against worsening odds for Channel 4. Levison Wood: Walking with… follows Levison to Borneo to encounter Orangutans; to Namibia to track down the last remaining Desert Lions; and to East Greenland to get as close as possible to Polar Bears.
Available DVD’s:
The Explorers Edition knife
Levison Wood is delighted to announce the launch of an outdoor knife in collaboration with Savernake Knives.
Handcrafted in their workshop in the ancient Savernake Forest, Wiltshire, this limited edition knife has been designed by Levison as an essential piece of kit for those who love the great outdoors, as with all their knives it comes with a lifetime guarantee.
The signature Savernake concave blade gives an edge that is fine enough for skinning, whilst the extremely durable steel means that the knife can be used with a fire steel to light fires and a stick to split wood. The handle of this unique knife is made from the branch of a yew tree that came down in a storm in Levison’s local village church - and the first 25 knives made will contain a piece of exploration history - a small iron pin from a train blown up by TE Lawrence - Lawrence of Arabia during the first World War.
You can read more about the Explorers Edition knife and get your own on the Savernake website: https://www.savernakeknives.co.uk/product/levison-woods-explorers-edition/
Photography
As a photographer and writer, Wood has contributed to some of the most respected publications in the world including the Times, the Telegraph, the Financial Times, BBC, National Geographic, CNN, Discovery Channel, Gentleman’s Journal, Metro and Condé Nast Traveller.
His photography has taken him from the streets of Baghdad in 2003 to the mountains, deserts and jungles of Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan, Sudan, most of Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Indian subcontinent. His passion for adventure and discovering more about indigenous ways of life has led him mountain climbing in Iraq, horse riding the river Oxus on the Afghan-Tajik border and conducting scientific research in Central Africa for the Natural History Museum. His photographic exhibition ‘Visions of Africa’ was held in the Royal Opera Arcade on Pall Mall, London, whilst his first solo show 'Ground Truth' was Leica Mayfair's most successful photography exhibition of recent years.
