Morecambe teacher quits school for adventure of lifetime in South America

But travelling off the beaten track in difficult conditions is familiar territory for the Morecambe Bay Academy teacher turned adventurer – although this is Simon’s first major journey since the Covid pandemic scuppered his plans in 2020.

He began travelling to remote parts of the world more than 20 years ago, writing and painting along the way and has many books to his name. His latest book for children – Rivers - about the world’s rivers - has just been published by Templar books.

Simon’s favourite river is the Madidi, part of the Amazon basin, on the border of Peru and Bolivia. Although he’s been there before, this summer he’ll explore different terrain along with his companion, Julian Singleton.

But it’s not for the fainthearted.

“It’s a six week trip and the biggest challenge will be carrying our canoes and enough food for the entire expedition,” Simon explained.

“It will be difficult cutting a trail with our machetes and then there’s the heat and insects to contend with, oh, and there could be problems with piranhas but they’re not as bad as the stingrays.”

“No matter how good our plans are, we’re probably going to change them along the way.”

Before Christmas, Simon also plans a trekking trip in Patagonia with his wife, Carolyn, as well as cycling in Argentina.

A Brazilian trek is intended as preparation for another expedition next summer, this time exploring a flooded forest. “I’ll probably end up sleeping in a boat.”

It’s all a far cry from Simon’s teaching career which began 36 years ago. He’s taught in Lancashire for about 25 years and was head of science at Morecambe Bay Academy (or Morecambe High as it was then known) for a decade.

The 58-year-old, who’s married with two children, lives in Lancaster and plans to supply teach between future adventures.

Many of his books have been translated into other languages including Chinese and Norwegian but, for the first time recently, one was translated into Ukrainian.

How To Trek The Himalyas can now be enjoyed by children who’ve sought refuge in the UK and it’s Simon’s first bilingual book, featuring pages in English and Ukrainian.