Author: Stanfords

Exclusive globe-makers Bellerby & Co have chosen Stanfords to be the first shop to stock their handmade globes.

Bellerby & Co established two years ago, and their first edition globes The Britannia and The Perano are now available. Each globe is hand-coloured, the timber used for the table tops is oak up to 200 years old, while the brass is cast in Bellerby’s foundry.

The company’s owner, Peter Bellerby says, “We established with the aim of making beautiful globes affordable… Entirely handmade, they represent quality and beauty that is unrivalled.”

The Britannia map reflects contemporary country borders and boundaries and is lettered in a custom 18th-century font designed by James Mosley, a distinguished typographer who ran St Bride’s printing library in London for most of the last half of the 19th century. Continue reading Stanfords first to stock exclusive handmade globes!

Author and eco-traveller Dixe Wills cycled to Stanfords in London on Friday lunchtime and set up camp in our store.

He was signing copies of his new book – Tiny Campsites – where he reviews 75 of the best tiny campsites (all an acre or under in size) in Britain, and each of which is guaranteed to give a unique holiday experience.

Guardian travel writer and fervent camper Dixe Wills has travelled through England, Scotland and Wales in search of stunning little places to pitch: on farms, cliff-tops and islands; in woodlands, quarries, orchards and back gardens; and beside pubs, lochs, rivers and museums. Continue reading Author sets up camp at Stanfords

China and Nepal have resolved a long-running dispute over the height of Mount Everest.

They have now agreed that the world’s highest mountain – which straddles the border between the two countries – should be officially recognised as being 8,848m tall.

The Chinese previously argued it should be measured by its rock height, while Nepal said it should be measured by its snow height – four metres higher. During talks in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, China accepted that claim. Nepal also recognises China’s claim that the rock height of Everest is 8,844m.

The mountain’s exact height has been disputed ever since the first measurement was made in 1856. The widely accepted height of 8,848m was first recorded by an Indian survey in 1955, which measured the mountain’s snow cap, rather than the rock beneath it.

But geologists say that both the estimates could be wrong as they say the mountain is becoming higher as India is gradually pushed beneath China and Nepal due to shifting continental plates.

In 1999 an American team recorded a height of 8,850m with GPS technology – a figure that is now used by the US National Geographic Society – although it has not been officially accepted by Nepal.

Browse our collection of maps, guides and travel literature:

> Nepal travel guides

> Nepal road maps and atlases

> Travel literature inspired by Nepal

A long-dormant volcano has erupted in Iceland. The volcano, near Eyjafjallajoekull glacier in the south of the country has been dormant for 200 years, and its eruption has ripped a 1km-long fissure in a field of ice.

With lava soaring hundred metres high, Icelandic airspace has been closed, flights diverted and roads closed. A state of emergency is in force in southern Iceland and about 500 people were moved from the area. Continue reading Volcanic eruption in Iceland

Stanfords have donated a prize for a fundraising dinner in aid of a baby home in Mwanza, Tanzania. Forever Angels is an organisation providing orphaned and abandoned babies with care in their formative years. The staff work to keep Tanzanian families together and where a child has no family they ensure he/she is adopted into a stable, loving home.

Volunteer and fundraiser Alexandra Campbell says, “There are thousands of orphans in Tanzania, mainly due to the Aids pandemic, but there are few homes or orphanages that provide the same levels of love, care and attention as Forever Angels. Not only does the home take care of up to 50 infants at a time, the home provides work for many Tanzanians in the surrounding area.

On 13 November, the charity is holding a dinner for 250 people, with an auction and raffle, at the Globe Theatre in London. Rugby player Will Greenwood and actor Scott Maslen are supporting the event and more celebrities are lined up. They aim to raise up to £50,000 for the orphanage which is enough to cover running costs for six months. Stanfords provided The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World for a raffle prize.

The home also provides local teenage orphans with career opportunities, giving them a roof over their head and a safe environment whilst training them in childcare, first aid, cooking and teaching them English. At the end of their internship, these orphans have the opportunity to gain a job at the baby home. Alexandra adds, “In this way, the home is playing a vital role in the community of Mwanza.”

For more information on their work, visit the Forever Angels website: www.foreverangels.org.

Author: Rachel Ricks