Adventure is as much in the mind as in the journey and so fictional adventurers continue to appear and flourish in popularity. Today, we celebrate the seven greatest and their achievements in making our world a more daring and exciting place!
This is a definitive, unbudging list in no particular order, but we would love discuss their merits or see who you think should make up places 8-14 (so long as you don't mention Dora the Explorer). Get stuck into the comments box at the end and lets find out who really is #1!
Wally
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You find him! |
It doesn’t matter how we travel, adventurers, like any other
traveller, stick out like a sore thumb. But not Wally. Despite his bright
dress, he always manages to blend into the local landscape, seemingly accepted
as a local and difficult to spot even for those searching for him. And not even
the most famous modern adventurer, with their blogs, live streaming and
magazine features manage to garner such a large number of people following his
every step around the globe. Achieving this level of integration and fame
without even bothering to remove his beanie is amazing. And we suspect he
walks to every destination he visits.
Bilbo Baggins
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Prefers smoking pipes over dragons |
There is no way we could leave this chap out. Sure, he went
on a big adventure, helped slay a ferocious, fire breathing dragon and hauled a
good portion of it’s treasure back to his den in the Shire. But he makes it on
to this list for overcoming his species’ natural inclination to avoid any such
activities. Everyone would enjoy endless bliss of sitting in the sunshine with a
pipe, but as Helen Keller said, “life is adventure, or nothing”. Like all of
us, Bilbo heard the call of adventure, but unlike most, decided to follow his heart and journey into the unknown.
Paddington Bear
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Paddington packed only necessities |
From Deepest Darkest Peru, Paddington stowed away on a boat
to England where he was adopted by the Brown family and is living out his life
as a middle class suburbanite. Yes, he does get into all sorts of mischief, but
always accidentally. And he always tries to put things right while being ever
so polite and downing copious amounts of marmalade. So why is he on this list?
Stowing away is a form of travel not even the most adventurous bother with
these days, but the real reason is he is an anti-adventurer. Where we leave our
lives of marmalade and toast to seek adventure in the darkest corners of the
planet, Paddington was born into a life of adventure and did what every true
adventurer loves most at the bottom of their heart – sat nice and snug at
home!
Tintin
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Tintin finds trouble everywhere |
Tintin is the classic explorer. Ever curious, he is always investigating
everything around him. And probably because of this, adventure presents itself to Tintin everywhere he looks, leading him in to exciting and daring
stories. Boyed by his ability to make friends easily, enemies almost as easily,
a curiosity to drive him ever on and a bounty of good luck, he shows all the
characteristics needed to succeed in the adventuring business.
And all this was inspired by Palle Huld, a Belgian who, at
the age of fifteen, won a competition in honour of Jules Verne to
circumnavigate the world, which he did in forty four days way back in 1928.
What an adventurous young fellow!
Phileas Fogg
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One must maintain an air of class |
Jules Verne was responsible for a great deal of fictional
adventure. Even today, with a rabble of adventurers both real and fictional one
still stands out over one hundred years after his dashing deed: Phileas Fogg,
who circumnavigated the world in eighty days. Characterised as “repose in
action”, this unlikely hero was spurred into action by the waging of a bet. Why
we love him so is for the dignity he lent to his actions, always the gentleman,
reminding us that where ever why are, we have an obligation to go with style
and honour. With an air of retro Victorian-punk cool knowing we have a legacy
of men such as Mr Fogg behind us.
Alice in Wonderland
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Inside Alice's mind |
Another who showed that dignity gets you a long way in any
situation. Alice was a little girl who managed to face down an array of
characters often out to cause her mischief. But best of all, she never went
anywhere, proving that adventure is a state of mind and that just being in an
exotic locale doesn’t mean you are having an adventure. If you have an
imagination anywhere close to Alice’s, you are going to have a great time!
Globe Trotting Gnomes
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'Gnome down |
A whole tribe of adventurers that even have their own
organisation, the militant Garden Gnome Liberation Front. Born into a world of
slavery for the entertainment of the most unadventurous in our society, garden
gnomes occasionally manage to break free from this life of oppression and
travel the world visiting the best and most famous sites. But are they
fictional? Of course they are. Gnomes can’t buy plane tickets. Their wide open
eyes can’t even see the sights they travel to. It’s all just a myth.
Y U NO list Indiana Jones?
Indi is REAL! ;)