Children must go on geography field trips to fire their imagination and encourage them to study the subject, Michael Palin says.
The writer, TV presenter and Monty Python star said he believes it is vital that pupils see the natural world for themselves, and suggested that it could be the case that youngsters are taken out of the classroom less often now than in the past.
Ahead of a speech on geography to the Prince's Teaching Institute (PTI) later this week, in an event marking the body's 10th anniversary, Palin stressed the importance of the subject.
"Geography itself is such a wide-ranging subject," he said on Saturday.
"It's really about the study of the surface of the earth, it's relative to every single thing we do, what we eat, what transport we take to work, where we live, what houses are made of.
"It's an issue that directly relates to what we know of the earth.
Palin, a former president of the Royal Geographical Society, said the subject must remain in the English school curriculum, and be well supported.
The former Monty Python star said that his love of the subject began at an early age, thanks to "two very good teachers" and because of the opportunities to "get out of the school building".
"I know it's a bit different now, partly because people have got laptops and don't have to go out.
"We need to make sure that good teachers can fire the imagination of the children.
He added that it is important for children to see things for themselves. "You have to show them a mountain, show them a power station, show them a nuclear site."
Palin, who is best known nowadays for his travelogues, such as Himalaya, Sahara and New Europe, said that if children are not given a geography education "they're losing the ability to make up their own minds about the rest of the world".
