Ash Bhardwaj is an accomplished author, broadcaster and keynote speaker, whose varied career has involved everything from working as a cowboy in Australia to playing rugby in New Zealand, to being a ski instructor in Switzerland and teaching Physics and Chemistry to sixth form students. In more recent years, his ventures have been focussed on reporting from some of the world's most challenging locations and shining a light on the human condition through the people he meets and places he visits.
Over the past twenty years, Ash's assignments have included traversing Everest with wounded British soldiers, trekking through the Albanian Alps retracing WWII SOE missions and meeting the Area Boys of Lagos in Nigeria. He has also embarked on deeply personal pilgrimages, including carrying his father’s ashes to the source of the River Ganges. Ash’s 3,500 mile journey along the new Iron Curtain was the subject of a six-part Telegraph podcast Edgelands and most recently, he travelled 2500 kms along the border between India and Pakistan for the four-part TV series Expedition Borderlands with Levison Wood and Ash Bhardwaj. The series went on to win best documentary series at the India TV Awards.
Ash’s journalism can regularly be seen gracing the pages of The Telegraph, The Times, Huffington Post, Evening Standard and Sunday Times Travel, amongst others, and he has also made numerous appearances on the BBC’s From Our Own Correspondent and fronted Radio 4 documentaries such as How Ukraine Made Us Care and NATO's Newest Member. He is also co-host of the popular travel podcast The First Mile alongside Pip Stewart.
Over recent years, Ash has collaborated extensively with a number of high profile brands on both online and social media campaigns. His work with the Japan National Tourist Organization highlighted Hokkaido and Iwate’s cultural richness, whilst he has also acted as a spokesperson for the likes of Barbour and Bailey of Bristol. As a sought-after speaker, Ash has captivated audiences with his travel stories at a number of prestigious events, including alongside Adyen, San Miguel, Kendal Mountain Festival, the RGS and Burberry.
Ash’s ability to connect deeply with people, cultures and traditions lies at the heart of his debut book Why We Travel: A Journey into Human Motivation. Here he explores why humans experience wanderlust, what inspires us, what drives us on and what we gain from venturing out into the world. Why We Travel was published by Bedford Square in April 2024.
