The book Laurie Lee wrote – As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning – is my favourite travel book of all time.

My head is thumping. My eyes are stinging. I’m weak with thirst.

In 2012 Alastair rowed across the Atlantic Ocean.

The river Kaveri is one of the 5 great holy rivers of India, revered by pilgrims for centuries. From its source amongst the coffee and cardamon plantations in the cool hills of the Western Ghats, the river flows 500 miles across southern India towards the hot plains of Tamil Nadu and the Bay of Bengal.