Neil Cottam
Neil Cottam lives in Denby, Derbyshire, UK. Father of one son; Daniel.
He works as a Mechanical Engineer to fund his travels.
He has an unquenchable thirst for off-beat adventures and destinations.
Neil is currently a Brand Ambassador for Alpkit (The Alpkiteers), Sonder Bikes, and Aqua-Xtreme (Kayaks/Packrafts/SUP’s).
Mountain Biking, Climbing (semi-retired due to injury), Trail & Fell Running, Mountain Boarding, Snowboarding, Slacklining, Karting, Hiking, Carp Fishing, Kayaking, Whitewater Rafting & Scuba Diving are a few of his favourite activities. He is currently the custodian of 6.4 acres of Ancient English Woodland.
A Jack-of-all-Trades, Rock-n-Roller adventure seeker; and an old school rebel. He would describe himself as an Extroverted-Introvert (Or is that Introverted-Extrovert?).
Curiosity has taken him all over Britain and Mainland Europe; Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain, Gibraltar, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Estonia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Norway, Latvia, and Malta. Worldwide he has travelled to Turkey, Kenya, Morocco, India, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, U.A.E, Sri Lanka, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, and Nepal.
In recent years he has spent a lot of time in Nepal. He has trekked The Old Expedition Route to Mount Everest Base Camp twice, Competed and/or officiated in The Yak Attack six times – The highest altitude mountain bike stage race in the world.
In 2013 he assisted his old friend Wilco Voulon in leading a party of trekkers for The Tenzing-Hillary Mount Everest Marathon, completing it himself in a very respectable effort. And again in 2015 on an attempt at Mera Peak.
He has also visited the eastern (Rara Lake) and western (Kanchenjunga) extremes of the country via mountainbike to discover new trails and destinations.
In November 2014 he headed to Sri Lanka with his son Daniel for a month of bicycle touring, during which time he took part in “Rumble in the Jungle”, a mountain bike race in the new Yak Attack Series (and again in 2017).
In 2018 alongside his friend Phil Evans they rode the length and breadth of Sri Lanka on local singlespeed bicycles to raise funds and awareness for Helping Paws Worldwide.
Most recently he hiked the entire coastline of Malta in six days.
In 2003/04 he spent two glorious Summers managing a small, but very beautiful, complex of carp fishing lakes in the Champagne Region of France (where he first met his friend Wilco Voulon).
He admires the great adventurers of our time including Scott & Shackleton, Hillary & Tenzing, Ranulph Fiennes, Ed Viesturs, Reinhold Messner. And other adventurers like, Mark Beaumont – The man who cycled the world or Loretta Henderson from Canada who solo bicycle toured around the world for charity (she’s very funny, you should read her blog). And let’s not forget his all time favourite – Evel Knievel. And Biggles. And Asterix the Gaul. And The Wombles…
He is an avid reader of Biographies of interesting characters, usually Mountaineering, Cycling, Running, Fishing, or Travel based.
Don’t take anything he says too seriously, he’s probably winding you up for his own amusement.
Neil thinks we should plant more trees.
Neil is currently a trustee on the board of two charities – Helping Paws Worldwide based in the UK and supporting the plight of street animals in Nepal and Sri Lanka, and Empower based in The Netherlands, a foundation that helps to develop confidence and life skills in autistic children through sport & recreation.
