GROWING up in a quiet South Bucks village may not seem the ideal preparation for a life of adventure. But for Hilary Bradt, her childhood in Chalfont St Peter gave her the independence of spirit to visit some of the most far-flung places in the world. She has seen plenty of excitement along the way whether it be hitchhiking through the Middle East or getting arrested while trying to get to Entebbe in Uganda, unaware that the Entebbe raid was taking place at the time. Hilary, who runs Bradt Travel Guides in High Street, Chalfont St Peter, says her childhood was a great help: "I was lucky to have parents who never said 'take care'. As children we would be out on our bikes or walking all day around our home in Chalfont St Peter." Hilary is now 59 and believes holidays can be exciting adventures whatever your age. Last year she hitchhiked in the remote regions of Greece, took a group of family and friends to trek in Peru and hiked in the island of Reunion in Indian Ocean. She says: "In 40 years of travelling I have had very few bad experiences with bad people. By taking risks in hitchhiking or asking strangers for help I've met so many nice people." Her first hitchhike, at age 21, through the Middle East with a girlfriend, cemented a lifelong wanderlust. "We built up so much street wisdom, and learned how to deal with sexual harassment (which we called then 'fresh men'). I haven't a lot of patience with those who complain about that it's terribly irritating but you just have to deal with it. "Since then I've travelled as adventurously as I could, often on my own." Hilary took occupational therapist jobs in USA and South Africa for years, earning money to allow her to take off and travel. Her first writing in 1973 rose from trekking and backpacking through Peru and Bolivia with her then husband. "People wrote in to us, we made $200, and we thought: this is wonderful." The next book followed their 11-month trek from Cape Town to Cairo. Since 1980 she has run Bradt Travel Guides, a Chalfont St Peter company which publishes books on the more unusual and adventurous destinations. Bradt Guides, she says, are grown-up guides for grown-up travellers, rather than being angled to gap-year students. Her new edition on Madagascar won the Best Guide Book 2000 award, and she was Small Publisher of the Year in 1997. "We put in lots of cultural and natural history information, and assume our readers want to get to the underlying adventure of the place rather than wanting to know the cheapest place to stay with other westerners. "We want to give enough advice to keep the reader safe but not so much that we take the element of adventure out of it." She doesn't agree with those who say tourism is damaging developing countries. "This year we published a guide to Rwanda. They are desperate for tourism and they have all it takes mountain gorillas, lovely countryside. But the only thing people remember is the genocide. If we can help rebuild the country's economy that's super." Bradt Guides is featured at The Daily Telegraph Adventure Travel and Sports Show 2001at Olympia this weekend. Details: (0115) 912 9115 or www.adventureshow.co.uk