AT THE age of 75, Sir Ranulph Fiennes is a shining example that age is just a number.

The British explorer has always shown that if you put your mind to something, you can achieve it.

From climbing mountains to being the first person to visit both North and South Poles on solo expeditions, Sir Ranulph has seemingly done it all.

In his latest challenge, Sir Ranulph will come to Basingstoke to regale an audience with tales of his epic journey through life.

So, what can the people of Basingstoke expect when Sir Ranulph comes to town?

“I’ll be talking about my life, my childhood and schooling, and training with the SAS and being chucked out of the SAS,” said the world explorer.

“I’ll also touch upon some of my favourite expeditions, one of which was finding an Arab city with my first wife Ginny that we spent 26 years looking for, and how, in the first year after we got married, we did our first journey together - a 2,000 mile long boat trip down one of the toughest rivers in the world, in a rubber dinghy.”

For a man who holds several world records when it comes to his exploring exploits, there is still one record that he wished he had held.

That is a challenge to cross all ice caps and climb all seven of the highest mountains.

He added: “If when I’d done Everest I had done the minor ones, that would have been no problem. It was 2009 and I was in my 60s and quite fit, but when you’re a bit older, things start to go wrong.

“Your circulation heads towards your core so if you have ever gotten frost bite before, you are even more likely to get it again.

“The mountains that you can actually climb when you are in your 70s have to be much lower than the ones you could have climbed before.

“There are only three of them out of seven I haven’t done, so it’s very annoying.

"I’m sure someone else will complete it soon.”

Sir Ranulph’s competitive spirit is one of the drives that has kept him exploring, even if he admits it is not a good trait to have.

What makes the situation more ironic is the 75-year-old suffers from extreme vertigo, yet still is able to complete these challenges.

“When I was in Dubai recently, they wanted me to go on the World’s Highest Zip Wire and break the record of going 160 mph,” he added:

“I said yes because I didn’t want to be unpopular with the client.

“I sort of opened my eyes as we left the platform, but I then kept them shut for the rest of the ride.”

Sir Ranulph will be at The Anvil tonight (Thursday). For more information, go to anvilarts.org.uk.