Category: Uncategorised

6 things you probably didn’t know about the extreme north of Greenland

In December of 2013, Alex Hibbert led an international quartet of polar travellers to the extreme north of Arctic Greenland. After a huge storm destroyed their intended route to the North Pole in the darkness of winter, instead of retreating, they decided to explore the beautiful but unforgiving region of Avanerriaq, the home of the Polar Eskimos. What followed was six months of harsh education, gripping adventure and… twenty unruly sled dogs. We asked the author of Polar Eskimo to tell us about Northern Greenland: Continue reading 6 things you probably didn’t know about the extreme north of Greenland

Seashaken Houses – a journey around Britain’s most remote lighthouses

Ushered upwards by labourers clinging to scaffolds or dangling in harnesses, they are feats of engineering, imagination and bravery, built at great financial and human cost. Waves frequently confiscated tools, dismantled masonry and swept workmen away. Although shaped to resist the sea, these unique buildings share something of its mystery and power, and bear witness to the history of our maritime past.

Offshore lighthouses are not like ordinary lighthouses. Over a period spanning four centuries, with Britain’s booming sea trade dogged by shipwrecks and drownings, we undertook to build in the sea itself. Beyond the apparent finality of Britain and Ireland’s coastlines these 170-foot high towers still stand today, raised perilously on underwater reefs and rising mirage-like out of the water. Although no longer inhabited, their chambers still bear signs of the people who once lived in them. But apart from discreet mapping, or the occasional glimpse from a distant ferry, the existence of these isolated sentinels remains unknown to most.

Ahead of his event at Stanfords on Tuesday 16th October, the author of Seashaken Houses: A Lighthouse History from Eddystone to Fastnet, Tom Nancollas takes us to some of the most emblematic surviving offshore lighthouses.  Continue reading Seashaken Houses – a journey around Britain’s most remote lighthouses

THIS MAP ROCKS!

The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Stone Roses, The Clash, Oasis, Tom Jones Chaz and Dave……the list goes on… and on. Great Britain has raised a few musical greats over the years and it’s also given them lots of great places to play including amazing music festivals and live music venues. This Strumpshaw, Tincleton & Giggleswick’s Great British Music Map covers a lot of music history from the well known to the slightly obscure. Continue reading THIS MAP ROCKS!

Apply for the Journey of a Lifetime Award

For anyone who loves travelling and sharing their experiences with others, the Journey of a Lifetime Award offers a unique opportunity.

Established in 2001, the Journey of a Lifetime Award is run by the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in partnership with BBC Radio 4, and offers an annual grant of £5,000 to make a unique and inspiring journey anywhere in the world and record your adventures for a BBC Radio 4 documentary. The winning traveller will receive training in field recording from the BBC and will work with a documentary producer at the BBC in London to shape the finished programme. Your journey could take you literally anywhere in world; it might be a journey that is deeply meaningful to you, or it might take the listener somewhere unusual and unexpected. Whatever your destination might be, you’ve got to have flair for storytelling and capturing the feel of a place through sound. Continue reading Apply for the Journey of a Lifetime Award

The Seabird’s Cry by Adam Nicolson wins Wainwright Prize

Adam Nicolson has won the Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize with his book The Seabird’s Cry.

The announcement and presentation of the award of £5000 was made yesterday afternoon by Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Michael Gove MP and BBC Countryfile presenter Ellie Harrison at the National Trust Theatre at BBC Countryfile Live in Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, at the end of a public event celebrating nature writing and the Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize shortlist.  Continue reading The Seabird’s Cry by Adam Nicolson wins Wainwright Prize

Top five places to go birdwatching in London

With its mix of people and culture, our capital is an amazing place, but normally the wildlife gets missed completely. Generally we think we need to be in a rural setting for that. But it’s possible to see snakes, butterflies, deer and an array of different birds in London. Where do you start? David Darrell-Lambert, author of Birdwatching London tell us about five places to visit, all easy to get to on public transport. Continue reading Top five places to go birdwatching in London

Brittany by boat by Stanfords Maritime

Just a short distance away and with thousands of miles of scenic coastline, Brittany may be your next big summer adventure. When Claude Monet visited the region in 1886 he wrote “I am in a wonderfully wild region, with terrifying rocks and a sea of unbelievable colours”. Here is a selection of our products to help you to navigate the trickier parts of the coast and find many beautiful places to visit along the way. Continue reading Brittany by boat by Stanfords Maritime

Beastly Journeys: Unusual Tales of Travel With Animals. Habibi by Sheelagh Reynolds

Beastly Journeys: Unusual Tales of Travel With Animals is a new anthology from Bradt focusing on true stories about travelling with animals. Writers include David Attenborough, Dervla Murphy, Gerald Durrell and Dom Tullet (the winner of last year’s Edward Stanford Travel Writers Awards New Travel Writer) to name a few. To celebrate its launch, we have a couple of the stories from the book for you to read online. Here is Habibi by Sheelagh Reynolds. Grab a cup of tea and have a read.
Continue reading Beastly Journeys: Unusual Tales of Travel With Animals. Habibi by Sheelagh Reynolds

Land Rover Bursary

If you were given £30,000 and the use of a Land Rover to make a geographical journey, where would you go and what would you do?

The Land Rover Bursary, run by the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) on behalf of Land Rover, is aimed at people who want to undertake a challenging geographical journey. Whether you are conducting a research project or connecting with local schools and communities, the Land Rover vehicle must be integral to your expedition.

Past recipients have mapped the first long-distance hiking trail across the Lesser Caucasus mountain range, driven the length of Peru and Chile to study 15 active volcanoes, and chased the onset of winter across Eurasia to the coldest inhabited place on Earth.

Inspiring and engaging with others is a key part of the Land Rover Bursary. Whether this is mapping trails for hikers, developing school resources or documenting your journey through videography, reaching out to a wide variety of audiences is an important part of sharing your experiences with the world.

The deadline for the next Land Rover Bursary is 10 June 2018 – apply now for the opportunity to make your geographical adventure a reality.

For more information on the bursary and how to apply, visit the RGS-IBG website.