Wilfred Thesiger was one of Britain's great explorers and writers. His greatest journeys were through the world's largest sand desert: the Empty Quarter of the Arabian Peninsula. Inspired by their hero, adventurers Alastair Humphreys and Leon McCarron attempt a journey of their own into the Empty Quarter. Their trip is hastily-planned and low budget: unable to afford camels they instead hope to drag a homemade steel cart (filled with 300kg of supplies) through the ferocious desert heat. This film is their story.

Into The Empty Quarter

British adventurers Tom Allen and Leon McCarron set out to follow Iran’s longest river, the Karun, by human powered means. Their aim is to go beyond the politics and explore the culture and geography of this most misunderstood of nations – and have a great adventure doing so. But despite Tom’s previous experience of travel in Iran, they find that cultural differences run deeper than they’d realised. And when the once-calm waters of the Karun turn nasty, they wonder if they’ve bitten off more than they can chew…