Join us for our first Night of Adventure since 2022 – an opportunity to be transported to exotic and treacherous locations around the world without ever leaving your seat at the River and Rowing Museum, Henley. We will welcome to the stage 2 fabulous speakers lined up to tell their tales from far and wide and a further amazing speaker to be announced soon! 

Expect to be inspired as you listen to extraordinary tales of triumph in the face of adversity,  the joy of adventure, getting out of your comfort zone and the power of believing in yourself. 

You ticket includes a wonderful Moroccan inspired main course and sweet treat from the wonderful Stephanie Emma Catering. 

We will end the evening by telling you a little about our next fundraising challenge to Morocco. Full disclosure, it is highly likely that you will come away from the evening so inspired that you’ll be joining us in Morocco or Kenya very soon! 

The Speakers

Marco Barcella – Host, speaker and all round nice guy! 

Marco grew up in Glasgow with a Scottish mother and Italian father. His first real experience of travel was being bundled solo onto a bus aged 10 to make the journey to the south of Italy for a summer with his grandparents. It was then that Marco realised that getting from A to B could be an adventure in itself. Fast forward 10 years and you would find Marco travelling the world by bike, guiding groups up mountains, across continents and through deserts – getting to experience the best (and the worst) the world has to offer.

After a few years away from adventure he rediscovered the joy of getting out of his comfort zone during lockdown and embarked on a crazy year of cold water, heavy lifting, tree climbing and some epic walks. Marco will host the evening and tell a few stories of his own. He tells us he won’t show any pictures of his naked bottom this time #ifyouknowyouknow! 

Rolfe Oostra – Main Speaker, sponsored athlete, record holder and generally bit of a legend!  

Where do we start with Rolfe! This guy is the true definition of an adventurer. From paddling unknown waters in the Congo to solo ascents that have never been tried before, discovering new routes in Antarctica to solo rescues on Everest there are few corners of the world that he hasn’t conquered using man power alone. With his vast expedition experience comes some stories to tell and for one night only Rolfe will be with us to bare all.

Rolfe declares he has learned a lot through climbing mountains and has been shaped by the lessons they have taught.  His adventure career has been described by many as being diverse and enduring. His own interpretation of this is “I have been around the block a few times and despite of what mother-nature has thrown at me I have managed to come out relatively un-scathed.” Having made his passion his career, one of his greatest joys is the opportunity to inspire thousands of people to get out there themselves and realize their own dreams and ambitions. 

Rolfe has kind of become The Chiltern Centre’s very own expedition leader with trips to Morocco and the Pyrenees in 2025, and we have already booked our 2026 fundraiser to Mount Kenya, Rolfe’s favourite mountain. 

You can check out Rolfe’s Expedition CV HERE

Our third speaker is the remarkable and incredible Nicky Button – Adventurer, sight loss ambassador and public speaker. 

In 2013 Nicky lost mist of her sight in the space of four months. Nicky came home from skiing and was no longer able to see her daughter across the living room. Within nine months she was registered severely visually impaired/ blind. At the time Nicky was exceedingly busy as part of a team providing rigging and safety for stunt work in the tv and film industry. She was also white water rafting most weekends and part of an Urban search and rescue team. She returned to Devon and found solace in walking the coastal path, even joining several local walking groups. Feeling both the mental and physical benefits of walking regularly Nicky set up a walking group for people with sight loss. 

Moving forwards to Covid and after finding herself shut in a one bedroomed flat newly separated she spent time planning an imaginary route the length of the country, in 2022 she found herself completing her first ultra challenge. Later that year she was invited to talk at The Night of Adventure organised by the Chiltern Chiltern. At a Q&A she was asked what next… this is the next part of her story. Nicky’s Most marvellous ridiculous adventure. 

Full disclosure, you are probably going to leave the evening having signed up to something wild, wacky and a little bit bonkers!