Had an excellent few days up in Scotland with business partner Matt.  Lots of good meetings with clients that will be using our guiding and logistical services for expeditions in Greenland for both 2007 and 2008.  All very interesting and exciting stuff!  Also good to see Craig Mathieson, one of our North Pole companions from earlier this year, who has some very interesting plans for somewhere a lot further South...

I've not had the chance to spend much time in Scotland recently, and it was really great to have a good explore again.  Perhaps the highlight of the trip was a 2 1/2 day sailing trip on board Matt's Dad's beautiful 60 year old boat.  He's obviously spent a lot of time and effort restoring this old girl, and she's looking great and sailing very nicely. 

As some of you may be aware, I'm a crew member at Penarth Lifeboat Station.  Last week I was at a training course at the Lifeboat College in Poole.  I'd heard great things about this place, but I was totally blown away by it.  The facilities are absolutely superb, and I can agree that it's widely regarded as the best powerboat school in the World - a real privilege to be there.  It's been running for 2 years now, and was £25 million in the making.  It makes it quite hard to believe that the RNLI is a charity!

The days were long and intense, and there was a huge amount of material packed into the course, including plenty of time at sea in the boats.&nb ...

Greenland Explored and sister company Greenland Expedition Specialists have enjoyed a hugely successful summer in East Greenland, with our wide-ranging activities and expeditions covering a huge area of the Ammassalik region.

I was guiding our Hidden Greenland trek through the beautiful valleys and fjords to the north of Kulusuk.  On the whole we enjoyed absolutley stunning (and hot!) weather, and the scenery was breathaking.  It's nice to know that after so many seasons up there it can still be deeply impressive.  Our trekking route first headed up a lovely peaceful valley, filled with inredibly lush tundra and colourful flowers, surrounded by giant m ...

Anyone in Cardiff next week should go along to Cafe Cibus on Tuesday for the opening evening of Nick Russill's exhibition - 'Arctic Light'  His collection of Arctic photographs are stunning, and really captures the essence of the Arctic and it's people.  Many of them were taken during a trip to Kulusuk in August last year.  After 18 years of travel in the Arctic and other remote places, Nick's collection is always expanding, and his work is some of the most original you'll see.  He says:

Sunday's fast approaching, and so it's almost time for me to set of on our Hidden Greenland trek.  I'm really looking forward to this.  19 days in and around the Kulusuk area, my favourite part of Greenland, trekking with a small group through some of the most beautiful and Arctic scenery one could wish for.  Our route has something of everything - long, deep glaciated valleys filled with lush tundra, high ridges, mountain passes, and a long stretch down Sermilik Fjord.  Sermilik Fjord is one of the largest fjords in the area and is almost always choked with icebergs produced by the glaciers at its head - these are thought to be some of the most productive in the world.  Should be a great trip.  I'll also be checking out some of the venues for next year's