Polarworld - news and events

We are delighted to announce, following the success of  Face to Face: Polar Portraits, that in November 2009 it was re-released in a second edition hardback by Conway Anova. It has also been published in Germany by Frederking & Thaler, and in Italy by De Agostini.

The Sunday Times chose it as their 'Book of the Week'  and The Observer called it 'Picture Book of the Year'. It has variously been described as 'impressive', 'stunning', 'remarkable' and 'spell-binding' by other national magazines and newspapers. Signed copies of the book are available from this site. Please visit our online shop.

At 19:00 hrs GMT 29 May 1969 Sir Wally Herbert, Dr Roy ‘Fritz’ Koerner, Allan Gill and Dr Ken Hedges and some forty dogs finally reached land after a 16-month, 3,620 mile journey over the top of the world, successfully completing an expedition that would be hailed as the ‘last great journey on Earth’ – the first crossing of the Arctic Ocean along its longest axis, and the first undisputed expedition to reach the North Pole on foot.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the successful culmination of this remarkable expedition, Discovery Point hosted an evening celebration with a talk by Kari Herbert, the daughter of the leader of the British Trans-Arctic Expedition, polar explorer Sir Wally Herbert. Kari is shown here with furs she wore as a child in Northwest Greenland.

The Art of Exploration exhibition featuring prints of Sir Wally's paintings is now on show along with fur clothing, the North Pole Sledge and navigational equipment.

The exhibition opened to the public on 30 May and was on show until 30 August. For more information about Discovery Point visit http://www.rrsdiscovery.com

'The Art of Exploration' exhibition is in association with the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge.

For more information on how to book the exhibition please contact Curator of Art, Dr Huw Lewis-Jones at SPRI - contact details may be found on the links page.

'The Art of Exploration' - the touring exhibition of Sir Wally Herbert's prints of painting was recently on show at the National Geographic flagship store on Regent Street. Books accompanying the exhibition are still available at the store.

For more information go to the National Geographic Store website: www.nglondonstore.co.uk

Face to Face: Polar Portraits by Huw Lewis-Jones and North-East Greenland 1908-60: The Trapper Era by Peter Mikkelsen can be either ordered online at the shop, or found at bookshops throughout the UK. Both books are published in association with the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge. To order visit our shop.

The Face to Face: Polar Portraits exhibition has now been shown in Ireland, Cambridge, London and New York, and continues to tour.

The exhibition opened at Discovery Point, Dundee on 7 March and was on display until the 24 May. More information about the schedule of the exhibition can be found on the Scott Polar Research Institute website - details on our links page.

The hardback edition of The Polar World is now on sale in all good bookshops, and is currently on special offer on this site. Please visit the shop to order your copy. 

Limited-Edition copies of The Polar World now available, please visit our shop for more details.

A memorial evening in honour of Sir Wally Herbert, pioneering polar explorer, and his travelling companion and leading glaciologist, Dr Roy 'Fritz' Koerner, was held at the Royal Geographical Society in London on 7th April 2009 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the British Trans-Arctic Expedition.

In 1969, Sir Wally and his team became the first to cross the surface of the Arctic Ocean via the North Pole. Their 16 month adventure resulted in one of the greatest polar journeys of all time – a truly remarkable achievement.

The anniversary celebration of the team reaching the Pole included contributions from leading figures in polar exploration, science and the arts.