THREE intrepid adventurers from mid Wales have joined forces to tour the area and relay the tales of their amazing expeditions.

The trio of women – Hannah Engelkamp, Emily Chappell and Ursula Martin – will speak at events in Machynlleth, Aberystwyth and Cardigan, giving budding and seasoned adventurers a rare chance to meet three inspiring heroes in one night.

These plucky Welsh women have between them covered many thousands of miles around Wales and the rest of the world, on foot and by bicycle; alone and accompanied by a recalcitrant donkey.

All three have published books about their adventures and this tour celebrates the launch of Ursula Martin’s One Woman Walks Wales, which documents the 17 months the Machynlleth woman spent walking 3,700 miles along the rivers, mountain paths and ancient byways of Wales, following her recovery from ovarian cancer.

The book, published by Honno, has been described by Clare Balding as “an epic tale of an extraordinary adventure and a delicately woven study of the kindness of random strangers”, and commended by Kate Humble as “an inspiring tale of fortitude, determination and generosity that leaves the reader breathless with admiration”.

Martin will be joined by Aberystwyth native Hannah Engelkamp, whose own walk around Wales was accompanied by a donkey called Chico, despite Hannah having never owned a creature larger or more lively than a stick insect.

She describes her book, Seaside Donkey, as “a funny, refreshingly unsentimental and often alarming story about mismatched companions, and the power of being bold and living simply,” and she is well known on the adventure circuit for her wit and hilarity as a speaker.

The third speaker is Emily Chappell, whose bicycle journeys have taken her from her home near Llanidloes across several continents, including the mountains and deserts of Asia and the icy winters of Alaska, Yukon and Iceland.

She won the 2016 Transcontinental Race (a 4,000km non-stop self-supported bike race across Europe), and spent many years exploring the nooks and crannies of London as a cycle courier, which is the subject of her book, What Goes Around.

Together, the trio offer an engaging and poignant view on what it is to be a woman travelling through the landscape, and their talks are guaranteed to provoke both laughter and tears.

Hannah, Emily and Ursula will visit Machynlleth first. Find them at the Tabernacle on Friday, 6 April at 7pm. Then they travel to Aberystywth’s Morlan Centre for a talk at 7pm on Saturday, 7 April. Finally you can catch them at the Small World Theatre in Cardigan on Sunday 8, April at 7pm. All three will be signing their books after the event.

See this week’s south papers for the full feature, available in shops and as a digital edition now