Race Across the World starts at the edges of the Arctic Circle

We’re not sure that this particular method is a viable solution for many, however…

That’s right, it’s the return of the popular show in which teams of ‘normal’ (ie, non-celeb – an increasingly rare cohort on reality TV) people forego smartphones, internet access and credit or debit cards as they try to make a mammoth journey using their ingenuity alone.

Well, ingenuity and the cash equivalent of the journey’s air fare – not that they can use it for that; their trip must be taken at ground level.

Previously we’ve seen how competitors have had to use every last reserve of their skill, stamina and resolve as they raced through some of the world’s most remote regions – and how, more often than not, it was the Blanche Dubois maxim of relying upon on the kindness of strangers that made all the difference as they battled elements and terrain in order to reach the finish line.

Both of those factors – the weather and the landscape – will certainly play a big part this time around, as our five pairs race one another over 16,000km across the second largest country in the world, and one with an incredibly varied climate, as well as challenging flora and fauna: Canada.

They begin in Vancouver, located on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, and point themselves east.

There are seven checkpoints along the way that they must hit, but between those destinations their route – and the means by which they take it – is entirely up to them.

Their tiny budgets will be tested, too, with questions of whether that all-important air fare will be used for food and rest, transport costs, comfort or essentials.

Expect to see a lot of haggling as they beg, borrow or steal – well, hopefully not the latter – what they need to make their way east.

The first episode finds them navigating their way north to Tlell, on the island of Haida Gwaii – which for 200 years was known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, but is now back in the hands of the indigenous Haida people.

Their journey will take them through the edges of the Arctic Circle to the shores of the Great Lakes; through terrible although amazing terrain that is home to bears and where temperatures regularly plummet. However, it is also some of the most beautiful and spectacular – if unforgiving of mistakes – on the planet.

It is certainly a trip of a lifetime, for sure, but will it be memorial for all the right reasons? Bonds will be formed with strangers across cultural divides, while existing relationships will be tested as never before.

Those who succeed will ultimately end up at St John’s, Newfoundland, the easternmost town in North America – and will have endless stories to tell for generations.