Happy-go-lucky Hal, a 13-year-old English boy, has always dreamt what lies beyond Craddly Hill, his sleepy hometown.

As punishment for some youthful high jinks, 16-year-old Jimmy Frazier is made to volunteer in a London hospital. The experience shocks him, and he swears he will never set foot on a ward again.

In the summer of 1795 a 24-year-old Scot with an optimistic heart and an unforgettable name docked on the Gambia River. So began one of the most extraordinary journeys of exploration in West Africa.

In the summer of 1863, Colonel Arthur Fremantle travelled through America at the height of the country's violent Civil War. Almost 140 years later Tom Fremantle strode off in his swashbuckling ancestor's footsteps to walk the 2,700 miles from Mexico to Manhattan in the wake of 9/11.

In 1996, Tom Fremantle began a 12,500-mile journey, cycling from Swanbourne, England to Swanbourne, Australia, following in the footsteps of his ancestor, Captain Charles, founder of Fremantle port.