Mordor

Geldingadalur

The last eruption in Iceland I was lucky enough to see - from a distance. A series of cones opened up to the north of the vast Vatnajokull glacier but along with record-breaking volumes of lava came toxic gas too. Very few people were allowed to get close. We instead drove over Vatnajokull and from a vantage point 25km away looked down on the eruption. We could see the colours of the sky against the green of northern lights, through binos I watched the lava thrown into the air as liquid solidify and fall like a wall of stones - but most memorable of all was the noise. Even from the distance of 25km there was a constant sound of breaking glass, like a heap of ceramics being constantly heaped up by a bulldozer.

This eruprion couldn’t be more different. The crack has opened up just 30km outside Reykjavik and is what the Icelanders call a ‘tourist eruption’ - easy to access, lots of lava, little toxic gas. The site is constantly monitored by the authorities but when everything is ok, visits are allowed. We walked in alongside many others to take a look. What struck me was that there was no sound. Perhaps the wind, the frequent helicopters flying overhead or the crowds hid the noise of the volcano. The second thing was the heat. It was a cold day and at first it was a relief to feel the wafts of warmth coming from the lava. But get too close and it was like hitting a wall of searing heat. It was impossible to withstand it for long. So our visit became a ‘Goldilocks’ mission - not too close, not too far, but find the spot that is just right…

Down with the eiders...

In this month’s Geographical Magazine I was thrilled to see my feature appear about our experiences during our first year at Vigur in the Westfjords (NW Iceland) learning the skills, history and realities of the traditional Icelandic practice of collecting eiderdown from wild eider ducks. It is a wonderfully symbiotic relationship between man and nature for mutual benefit that is almost unique to Iceland and has become part of the cultural fabric.

We continue to have plenty of challenging experiences on Vigur as we prepare for our second season of collecting eiderdown and I look forward to writing more about it !

Here is the link to the article:

https://geographical.co.uk/people/explorers/item/3996-how-polar-explorer-felicity-aston-moved-to-iceland-to-farm-eider-down

And if you would like to know more about Vigur and follow our progress, look for @islandvigur on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or our website: www.vigurisland.com

Finishing lessons...

Today I submitted the last chapter of a book I was commissioned to write about the life lessons we can learn from the lives and stories of history’s greatest explorers. Each of the 15 chapters looks at a different explorer and a different characteristic. Choosing just 15 from the endless list of incredible, inspiring and absorbingly complex explorers throughout history was a tough ask but I think we came up with a great selection - our inclusions range from ancient times to the modern day, from Japan to the Poles, names everyone knows and names that are not so well known (but should be!).

It has been a brilliant project to write and I have really enjoyed the excuse to get to know some of my heroes better - and to gain some new ones. I already miss it and yet spending day after day reading about dedicated and talented overachievers and workaholics has had its challenges too!

The book is already available for pre-order online but is due for publication at the end of the summer by Welbeck…

Enjoying island life...

Iceland is being very kind to us up here in the Westfjords this winter - we may not have as much snow as last year but the storms are short-lived and not-so-bad meaning that we at least have the opportunity to get out and enjoy the snow that is here. AND we’ve been able to see the sky quite a lot, which is a great fortune when the heavens turn green. It is not lost on us how fortunate we are to have such opportunity and space to move around and be outdoors.

Celebrating the first sighting of Antarctica

It has been 200 years since the first sighting of Antarctica. To mark this anniversary - and Antarctica Day - the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust have made a series of three short films as part of their #antarcticainsight programme.

Alongside films featuring ice swimmer Lewis Pugh and photographer Neill Drake, I was delighted to be asked to speak about the inspiration that can be drawn from Antarctica's past to inform our future. It was great to share some memories of my time working for the British Antarctic Survey looking at climate and ozone but also to talk about the Antarctic Treaty which was signed 61 years ago and is a great example of what the human race is capable of when we put our minds to it.

You can see all three films on the UKAHT website along with lots of great content to mark the anniversary.

Opening pre-orders of the new book - available for 30 days!

Pre-orders of the new book are now available via the link below:

https://www.publishizer.com/polar-exposure/

'Polar Exposure' is the story of The Women's Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition told by Felicity and team members in their own words to create a multi-perspective account of this poignant and remarkable journey.

Pre-orders are open for just 30 days. By pre-ordering you not only become one of the first to get a copy of the book and be inspired by this insightful polar narrative but you can also access some special bonus material from the team such as signed photographs, invitations to an exclusive book launch event, arrange for team members to join book club meetings via video link and even deliver virtual keynotes at your business or event - all free-of-charge with an order. Take a look at the bonuses on offer!

By making a pre-order you also help us to achieve our dream book deal and help us spread the positive and much needed message of this inspirational group of women - so please support us if you can by making a pre-order - only available until 14th November 2020!

Looking for a team to climb Kilimanjaro!

Come climb Kilimanjaro with me to celebrate International Women's Day in 2021!

1st - 11th March 2021

I would love to share this classic challenge with a small but great group of determined women so get in touch if you would like to be a part of it. The team is open to 8 women over the age of 18, and to both UK and International participants.

We plan to tackle the Lemosho route which is one of the longer routes - meaning better opportunity to properly acclimatize and less chance of any altitude problems - but importantly, also allows us time to experience more of the crazy variety of different environments on Kilimanjaro(5895m), from rocky plain, to rainforest to alpine to glacier.

The trip aims to send a proud and positive message to womenkind from the highest point in Africa on IWD but has also been designed in collaboration with operators 360 Expeditions to support women on the mountain; firstly by including as many female porters, guides and cooks in the local support team as possible and, secondly, by ensuring that any donations or funds raised by the team and given to 360-expedition's hugely successful Kilimanjaro Education Program will be set aside to assist local women who aspire to work on the mountain. As 360° Expeditions managing director Marni Oostra explained to me, local women who might love to join teams working on Kilimanjaro often, 'have no means so currently dare not to dream. Money can be spent in childcare allowing them to have a career as well as money spent on educating and training them up as porters, guides and cooks.'

Marni was so excited about this trip that she has kindly promised a free 100L Berghaus kit bag to each team member. Thank you!

For costs of joining the trip and detailed information on everything from itinerary to kit to environmental and social responsibility please go to:

https://www.360-expeditions.com/.../kilimanjaro-lemosho/...

Don't hesitate to get in touch with me or with 360° Expeditions if you have other questions or would like to talk through joining the team. Covid is a worry for everyone right now and although we each have to make our own decisions on when to plan travel again there are reassurances to be had and safeguards in place which can be discussed thoroughly before booking.

I look forward to hearing from you and to preparing for a new and meaningful adventure (we need it!)

Travelling the Arctic Coast Way

Travelled the Arctic Coast Way - Norðurstrandarleið that was launched last year and traces the very northernmost bits of Iceland where the skies are huge and the seas even bigger. I've always been drawn to the lonely 'sticky-out-bits' of a map so 900km of empty peninsulas and wild Atlantic shores was too tempting. (Social distancing not a problem out here either...).

The Arctic Circle marker on Grimsey

We continued the theme with an overnight trip to Grimsey, the island some 40km off the north coast of Iceland that is the only part of the country that falls within the Arctic Circle. The exact position of the Arctic Circle is marked with a big sphere that is rolled slightly each year to mark its movement across the island.

The bird cliffs on the island were empty at this time of year but still spectacular to walk around before our Covid-responsible ride home on the ferry.

We've been taking every opportunity this summer to tour some of Iceland's heritage museums and historic places around the country, soaking up inspiration on ways to share more of Vigur's fascinating past with our visitors (and simultaneously trying out as much rival hjónabandsæla as possible, of course!).

In the press...

I seem to be everywhere this month! It’s always lovely to be asked for an interview and a couple I have given recently were published in National Geographic Traveller UK and Italian magazine D of La Repubblica, hot on the heels of my interview with German paper Die Zeit last month.

My feature article about Community Trekking in Tigray also appeared in the latest issue of Geographical Magazine, which was not only great to see in print but the feedback I received for this account was really wonderful. Thanks so much to everyone that got in touch x

Spotlight on…Tigray, Ethiopia: Pathways to Progress. Geographical Magazine (click on image for link to article).

Why We Travel: Felicity Aston on the power of the Polar Regions to teach vital conservation lessons. National Geographic Traveller UK (click on image for link to article)

'Picking' Eiderdown

Eiderdown is a very rare and valuable commodity. For centuries it has been used to keep those who could afford it warm at night, and today it is used in specialist clothing worn by explorers, mountaineers and even astronauts to protect them from the most extreme of environments.

Eiderdown is incredibly light as well as warm. It is shed by female eiders (kolla in Icelandic) when they lay their eggs each year so that the warmth of their bodies can reach the eggs (and eventually young) that they sit on. Once all eggs in a nest are hatched, ducklings and mother leave the nest leaving a mound of wonderful down behind them.

An eider nest (bottom right) hidden by the shoreline at the base of a cliff that must be found and the eiderdown collected.

In Iceland farmers have long made use of this by-product and developed a special relationship with the eider. By providing a safe place for the eider to nest, farmers have helped to establish large eider colonies, making it easier to collect down on a larger scale. The practice of eider farming is unique for its sustainable and bird-friendly approach, working for the mutual benefit of both man and duck.

Since the beginning of June I have been working on Vigur to help ‘pick’ eiderdown from the nests that are scattered all over the island - some 3500 of them. It takes many hands and several visits to each nest to collect all the down and we are not finished yet. The wild eider are free to nest anywhere they please on Vigur and so the nests with their lining of down can be found literally anywhere, often in the most hard to reach places. It is a wonderful excuse to spend long days outside and to get to know this wonderful island very well indeed - and very satisfying to see the heaps of down in the barn slowly get larger!

Rescheduling RGS tour dates

******UPDATE 25 SEP 2020: Postponed Tour Dates Cancelled******

Wonderfully, my four speaking dates in Darlington, Worcester, Exeter and Bristol that had to be cancelled in April have now been rescheduled for November and December. So glad that I will still have the opportunity to share the story of the Women’s Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition 2018 with you after all, even if it is a little later in the year than planned.

The new dates are:

Saturday 28th November - Darlington Hullabaloo Theatre

Sunday 29th November - Bristol Tobacco Factory

Tuesday 1st December - Worcester Huntingdon Hall

Thursday 3rd December - Exeter Phoenix Theatre

Full details of each date plus box office information for venues can be found on the Forthcoming Events page. If you hold a ticket for one of the postponed April talks the relevant box office will be able to transfer your ticket for the new date or provide an alternative solution.

Huge thanks to Beth John at the Royal Geographical Society for working so hard to ensure the talks were postponed rather than cancelled. Thanks too to the four theatres involved. It is always such a pleasure to visit and speak at the many regional theatres and Arts Centres around the UK - they are such a treasure but this terrible pandemic is likely to ensure we lose many of them. I really hope those that survive the current economic troubles will find themselves well supported by lots more people enjoying the fantastic shows, films, events and talks they offer - including mine! Let’s all ensure we still have local theatres thriving in the future…

Vigur Island!

I first came to Vigur Island in 2015. It was a stop on a circumnavigation of Iceland by an expedition ship. We spent a sunny afternoon braving territorial Terns, exploring the farm and watching Eider ducklings splashing clumbsily on the beach. I spoke to one of the family living on Vigur and told him how much I envied him spending a childhood on an island like Vigur. How wonderful that five years on I find myself making Vigur a home for my own family and my own child.

We formally became official custodians of the island in January. There is a lot for us to learn here - most importantly looking after the Eider colony of some 5000 ducks that are due to arrive any day - but also preparing for visitors that come on ships every summer, baking the home-made cakes that have become a reknowned highlight of the Vigur experience and settling in to our new permanent home in the farmhouse on the island. We are also very conscious of the cultural heritage and social history of Iceland that is preserved on Vigur - and of our responsibility to make sure it stays accessible to everyone. A lot to do!

We look forward to many happy years here as a family but also to welcoming new and familiar faces alike to Vigur! We hope to see you soon x

www.vigurisland.com

Looking for expedition members

I am planning a new expedition to ski the last degree to the North Pole in April 2022. The purpose of the expedition will be collecting data for scientific projects but, no less importantly, to experience and enjoy the amazing environment of High Latitude Arctic Ocean Sea Ice while we still can.

Ideally I am looking for a 6-woman team including myself. I can provide any core skills training necessary, team equipment and even some of the personal clothing and equipment. Aside from good personal fitness there are no criteria for team members – women of any nationality, age (over 18) or experience level are more than welcome as long as you are prepared to pitch in and play a full part in all aspects of the journey. This is a team expedition, not a guided trip and, as ever, I am very keen to support anyone from under-represented groups/backgrounds/circumstances.

This time around each team member will be responsible for sourcing their own funding to cover the cost of their participation in the expedition – which is why I am starting this process so far in advance. Polar travel is expensive and the costs are considerable so potential team members need to have a plan for raising this – either by self-funding, finding sponsorship, personal fundraising or by other means. I can help with advice, contacts and ideas.

If you are interested in knowing more, please send me your email address either on Facebook, as a DM on Twitter or here on my website. I will reply with further details of the journey, including the likely costs, and we can take it from there.

I’m excited to hear from you!

UPDATE: I’m delighted to say that I now have a confirmed team for the planned expedition in 2022. I look forward to keeping you all posted on our progress!

Basking in a Siberian Spring

For more than 13 years now I’ve been intermittently dipping into the story of Kate Marsden, the 19th Century nurse who travelled across the Russian Far East searching for a herb that could reportedly cure leprosy. My motivation has been largely to satisfy my own curiosity about this odd tale but now, embarking on my fourth trip to Yakutia, I recognise that there is something about this part of the world that is addictive too. Perhaps its the sense that there is true unknown out here in the distant taiga, real wildness infused with the Shamanic, animistic beliefs of both Yakut and indigenous reindeer herder cultures, a vastness that swallows whole mountain ranges without name and natural oddities yet to be investigated - and then there are the people who are some of the most generous I’ve ever had the good fortune to travel with.

This trip was at the invitation of Arctic Films, a collective of creative intellectuals from Yakutsk who want to bring the story of Kate Marsden and her impact on this specific corner of the world to a wider audience. I was very touched that they were interested in my perspective on a story that is so cherished by the people of Yakutia and have been deeply touched by their welcome and care during this latest visit. It has been genuinely moving to have witnessed the devotion of the communities Vilyuisk and Sosnovka, in particular, to the memory of Kate Marsden and to see the Russian and British flag flying alongside each other behind the new memorial to Kate Marsden in Vilyuisk - I suspect this is a sight regrettably not to be seen very often anywhere else right now.

I wish Arctic Films every success in their mission to vindicate and validate the legacy of Kate Marsden and I dearly hope that this is not my last visit to this very special part of the world.

Looking forward to a UK tour in spring 2020!

I’ll be speaking about the Women’s Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition in seven different towns and cities throughout March and April next year in association with the Royal Geographical Society. I love going on tour to tell expedition stories so I am really looking forward to bringing this particular tale to new audiences across the country.

Full details of each event, including dates and links to online box offices to buy tickets can be found on the Forthcoming Events page: http://www.felicityaston.co.uk/forthcoming-events

Tuesday 10th March, Turner Sims, Southampton
Wednesday 11th March, Stamford Arts Centre
Thursday 12th March, Guildhall Arts Centre, Grantham
Friday 13th March, St George's Guildhall, King's Lynn
Sunday 19th April, Darlington Hippodrome, Monday 20th April, Worcester, Tuesday 21st April, Tobacco Factory, Bristol
Wednesday 22nd April, Exeter Phoenix

Receiving a National Geographic Traveller UK Award!

A lovely way to end the year; as National Geographic Traveller UK's Special Contribution Award winner. Really touched as the award recognises the work that goes into sharing experiences, not just for the journeys themselves; something that is very important to me.
Particularly flabbergasted to be taking this trophy home as previous winners include Bill Bryson, Rick Stein, Michael Palin and Paul Theroux! What an incredible list of people to have a connection with!
The event was full of wonderful positivity and enthusiasm so big hugs to all my fellow award winnners and travel-folk who were in the room as well as to those awesome people that nominated me - thank you x

At the Women's Forum Global Meeting in Paris

So thrilled to be part of the conversation at the Women's Forum Global Meeting 2019 here in Paris. A gathering of business and government leaders that have the ability to truly drive real and lasting change. Today I took part in a plenary discussing what the role of women is, has been and should be as the global community grapples with the issues and problems created by our rapidly changing climate - alongside ocean advocate Alexandra Cousteau and Bertrand Walkenaer, CEO of the French Development Agency. It feels like a real priviledge and opportunity to address such an informed and influential audience focused on accelerating the rate of progress toward broad and meaningful gender equality. It’s time!

It's been so personally gratifying to at last be part of a meaningful, grown-up conversation about accelerating gender equality.

Particularly striking has been the emphasis on solutions rather than problems and on practical actions rather than talk. The atmosphere has been overwhelmingly positive and motivating as a result. Also noticeable has been the drive to involve men in the gender discussion and the insightful support of male speakers in positions of influence (great to see 30% male attendance in the audience) and to move away from gender being seen as a womans issue. A society more inclusive for women is one that provides a beneficial outcome for everyone. A key takeaway has been the repeated emphasis that it is simply illogical for 50% of the population to be under-represented - both from a moral AND economic perspective.

My session on the main stage talking about women and climate action…

Failing to find basking sharks in the Hebrides...

The waters around the Isles of Coll and Tiree of the Scottish inner Hebrides are a hotspot for the UKs largest fish - the basking shark. Not much is known about basking sharks generally and so no one is really sure why basking sharks gather in this particular spot in such great numbers but they return year on year throughout July and August. The ‘Shark Squad’ based on Coll have been taking limited numbers of guests out to see the sharks, creating greater awareness with the aim of establishing a marine protected area. The numbers of sharks spotted on a regular basis are pretty astounding….stories of 30 or 50 sightings in a day are common and we even heard of a drone survey around Coll that counted over 900! That is not a typo, they said nine hundred!

Which makes it even more gutting to admit that in a week of solid searching we saw just one. During the final hour of our final day, as the boat was relunctantly heading for home, came the cry, ‘Shark!’

The No-Sharks Squad….

It was a fleeting view but no less thrilling for that. The fin rising proud from the surface, preceeded by the lump of the fish’s nose and followed by the slender spike of its curved tail. It fed just under the surface for a minute or two, circling, before dissappearing - reemerging a few minutes later and then gone for good.

There was no chance to get in the water despite the best efforst of the shark squad - and no time to search further - our time was up. Still, the sight of the ~7m shark is ingrained and definitely worth the wait.

Braving Siberia in the summer...

I have been very fortunate over the years to have visited many different regions of the vast swathe of wilderness we loosely term ‘Siberia’.

I am a definite fan.

But I have only ever experienced this part of the world in the winter, when it is a playground of extraordinary frozen wonders and in the spring, when, by anyone elses standards, it is still pretty much winter (I traversed Lake Baikal in March, which is spring in Siberia, but the lake was still frozen with a solid layer of ice and felt very much like ‘winter’!)

So it felt like discovering this part of the world anew when I returned to Yakutia for the third time in my life, but in high summer. Standing in the central square of Yakutsk, the regional capital, under the outstretched arm of the ubiquitous statue of Lenin I was surrounded not by passersby in fur coats stretching from neck to ankle and sheltering their faces from the frost but by families in shorts and summer dresses eating ice cream and having picnics. It was a lot to take in!

Happy to report that Siberia in the summer is a lush paradise of fertile steppe dotted with wild flowers, rolling green hills and forest alive with the chirp of birdsong and the chatter of chipmunks….

Global Exploration Summit 2019, Lisboa, Portugal

Three cheers for The Explorers Club who organised a completely epic three-day event in Lisbon last week celebrating Global Exploration, past, present and future. Speakers included the first and second people to reach the deepest point on Earth, the woman preparing to send a probe to explore a completely metal world (Psyche) and the man who holds the current record for the most space walks…and me (a highlight for many I am sure!). We also heard from Bertrand Piccard and Fabien Costeau, both with fascinating family legacy…and then Julian Lennon arrives…

It was the event that just kept giving; after two very full days hearing everything from what it feels like to be lowered into a fiery pit of zillion-degree hell, to how it feels to discover a cave full of bones that disproved every theory in your branch of science … we learnt how to mummify a rabbit.

But perhaps what was especially great about GLEX was the opportunity for brilliant people from totally different disciplines to get to know each other (over endless glasses of free-flowing wine). We will probably never know precisely how many or how vital the projects that will come into being thanks to last week, but I’m sure they will be AMAZING!