Adventurer Levison Wood kicked off the tenth Huddersfield Literature Festival in style.

And there was a sell-out crowd of more than 1,000 packed into Huddersfield Town Hall to hear tales from the intrepid explorer, who has walked the Nile, trekked the Himalayas and has now made it to Kirklees.

The event was the first of more than a dozen lined up for the Festival with the next – a children’s film day – not until February 27.

The core literature events run between March 3 and 13 with the final one – a talk by Trainspotting novelist Irvine Welsh, not until April 3.

Other notable authors and celebrities featuring this year include comedian and actor Ben Miller, Alan Johnson MP, Joanne Harris, and celebrated poet Lemn Sissay.

READ MORE: Huddersfield Literature Festival hopes to welcome Irvine Welsh and Ben Miller

The Town Hall event saw Wood talking about his latest expedition, crossing the Himalayas on foot through five countries.

The former Parachute Regiment soldier, who served in Afghanistan, took up journalism after leaving the Army.

His work has featured in international publications around the world including Channel 4, the BBC, National Geographic, Discovery Channel and CNN.

In 2014 he completed a nine month expedition walking the length of the Nile, which was documented in a critically acclaimed Channel 4 series and accompanying book. In 2015 he embarked on an even more ambitious challenge to walk the length of the Himalayas from Afghanistan to Bhutan.