Laura Bingham

Laura Bingham
Bingham in 2016
Born1993 (age 30–31)
England
OccupationExplorer
Spouse
​
(m. 2016)​
Children4

Laura Bingham (aka Laura Stafford) (born 1993), is an English explorer and adventurer best known for leading the world first descent of the Essequibo River in Guyana, South America. She appeared on the cover of British Airways High Life magazine in 2017 alongside Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Ed Stafford (her husband) and Tim Peake and was referred to as "The Adventurer".[1]

Biography

Laura Bingham was born and brought up in the English countryside and is the youngest of four sisters. While growing up, the family often visited South Africa, and Bingham attended a South African school for a short term.[2] She attended Westgate secondary school and then Peter Symonds College in Winchester, her home town. She left home at the age of 18 to travel.[2]

In 2014 Bingham traveled to Mexico where she taught English with her TEFL qualification. Whilst in Mexico she also became involved with jaguar conservation work with the government. Throughout these four months, Bingham learned Spanish to an intermediate level.

Having then earned enough money to return to Britain, in May 2014 Bingham opted out of flying home and instead chose to sail the Atlantic as part of a crew (two men and a cat called Cuba) for a 38 ft Trimaran which took 2 months.[2]

In January 2016, Bingham cycled from the west coast of South America to the east coast, 7,000 kilometres, fundraising for Operation South Africa.[3][dead link‍][4][5][6]

In April 2018, organised and led a descent of the Essequibo River in Guyana.[7] She is an ambassador for the Children's Air Ambulance charity.[8]

Personal life

Bingham lived in Leicestershire, England with her husband and fellow explorer, Ed Stafford. In April 2023 the couple moved to Costa Rica. They have four children.[9][10]

References

  1. ^ Bingham, Laura (January 3, 2017). "I was speechless at the shoot and I'm speechless now!". Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "Home - Laura Bingham". Laura Bingham. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
  3. ^ "South America Archives - Riddle Magazine". Riddle Magazine. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
  4. ^ "Laura Bingham completes her 7,000km cycle with "no money" – Adventure 52". 2016-07-05. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
  5. ^ "Cycling Across South America - Lightfoot Travel". 2016-03-31. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
  6. ^ "How to plan a long distance cycling tour and succeed". 2016-05-25. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
  7. ^ "Laura Bingham: I kayaked 600 miles through the jungle". Sunday Times. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  8. ^ "Our People". Children's Air Ambulance. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  9. ^ @Ed_Stafford (6 June 2017). "Meet the all new Stafford family. Mother & baby very happy and healthy @laurabingham93 💙" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "Adventurers Ed Stafford and wife Laura Bingham welcome twin girls into the world". leicestermercury.co.uk. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.