AN ENVIRONMENTALIST who cycled over 8,000 miles across South America on a hand-built bike is bringing her story to Ambleside.

Kate Rawles, from Ulverston, undertook the massive expedition across 13 months in 2016 and 2017 in an attempt to raise awareness about environmental issues.

She will be speaking at Kelsick Grammar School on Stockghyll Lane on Thursday, October 10 from 6.15pm to 9.30pm, presenting greater insights into that journey and what inspired her to do it in the first place.

Read more: The life cycle: This is why I rode 8,000 miles across South America on a bamboo bike | The Mail (nwemail.co.uk)

Kate said: "My aim was to highlight the importance of biodiversity loss by visiting the most biodiverse place on earth - the Andes.

"I wanted to highlight how the loss of different species and ecosystems is a threat to our own life support system."

Kate will be talking at Kelsick Grammar on ThursdayKate will be talking at Kelsick Grammar on Thursday (Image: Kate Rawles)

Last year the environmentalist released a book all about the adventure from Colombia to Cape Horn titled 'The Life Cycle: 8000 miles in the Andes'.

"I witnessed another new oil drilling site in one of the Amazon's national parks and being able to read about those first-hand accounts seems to have really resonated with people so far," she said.

"I also saw the devastation of gold mining and met the incredible people working to regenerate habitats and communities."

In 2021 Kate was named as part of the UK's 100 women in cycling being recognised for her work to inspire other women to take up the pastime.

Kate is using her adventures to educate the public about the environmentKate is using her adventures to educate the public about the environment (Image: Kate Rawles)

Her first book, 'The Carbon Cycle', was based on a similarly daunting 4,553-mile journey across the Rocky Mountains in North America, shining a light on the continent's attitudes to climate change.

The event in Ambleside this week will come with a supper, a speech by Kate, and an opportunity to pose questions to the adventurer about her travels and the world as a whole.

You can get your tickets for the evening talk and Q&A, priced at £24, by visiting the website here.