After receiving help from the public in identifying some images from from Isobel Wylie Hutchison's solo 260-mile walking tour from Reykjavik to Akureyri, we share what we have learned. Read more
In 1925 Isobel Wylie Hutchison went on a solo 260-mile walking tour from Reykjavik to Akureyri. Isobel recorded her journey in words and photographs, and many of her images are held in RSGS Collections. Can you help us identify these images? Read more
In 1856, a gentleman, apparently a tourist, arrived at the Lochaber Agricultural Society’s dinner just as the party were to sit down to dine, "My name is Rae" he announced at the end of the evening "and you may have heard it associated with the Franklin Expedition." Read more
50 Years since Neil Armstrong received the RSGS Livingstone Medal at Usher Hall in Edinburgh, RSGS Writer-in-Residence Jo Woolf reflects on his journey to becoming the first man on the moon. Read more
Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.
In the latest addition to the Memorable Maps series, the RSGS Collections Team share a map of Carlisle, which in one area is mysteriously devoid of any features compared to the rest of the map... Read more
In the second post for the Memorable Maps series, our Collections Team look at the New Economic Map of Scotland (1943), illustrating the main economic regions of Scotland in a single black and white map. Read more
For the first post in a series titled Memorable Maps, the RSGS Collections Team begin with a very appropriate chart for this festive season, featuring Christmas Island, located in the Indian Ocean. Read more
RSGS Writer-in-Residence Jo Woolf explores the remarkable life of Jane Digby, the character from Around the World in 80 Days who saves Phileas Fogg and his two companions when they attempt to cross the Empty Quarter of Arabia. Read more
“It is Burns Night! Can one be the only Scot in Greenland and forget to celebrate such a festival? One cannot!” - On Burns Night, RSGS Writer-in-Residence Jo Woolf writes about Isobel Wylie Hutchinson celebrating the famous poet in Greenland in 1929. Read more
Writer-in-residence Jo Woolf reviews the life and career of legendary explorer Ernest Shackleton, reflecting on his time as Secretary of the RSGS. Read more
When the weather outside was frightful, Captain Fred Burnaby was pole-vaulting across the Volga and battling across the frozen Kazakh steppe in a sleigh drawn by three camels, written by RSGS Writer-in-Residence Jo Woolf. Read more
RSGS Writer-in-Residence Jo Woolf investigates a hair-raising mission in Benghazi undertaken by Sir Fitzroy Maclean, the legendary Scottish soldier considered to be one of the inspirations for Ian Fleming's James Bond. Read more
Jo Woolf discovers RSGS’s special connection with the captain of HMS Enterprise, who joined the hunt for a lost Arctic expedition. Read more
"There is always a sense of anticipation!" Written by Jane Griffiths, RSGS Collections Volunteer Read more
"65 years since Everest was first climbed, we look back on the visit of Sir Edmund Hillary and Sir John Hunt…" Written by Jo Woolf, RSGS Writer-in-Residence. Read more
The RSGS holds a small selection of early 20th-century glass lantern slides of St Kilda, taken some years before and then immediately after the evacuation. Read more
In February 1897, Dr Fridtjof Nansen visited Scotland to address RSGS audiences about his recent expedition towards the North Pole, and to receive the Society’s Gold Medal. Read more
On this sea chart, the east coast of Scotland between the Cromarty Firth and St Abb’s Head is easily recognisable today in terms of its outline, but some of its place-names may at first sight seem strange. Read more
This Dutch sea chart depicts the east coast of Scotland from Aberdeen south to Berwick-upon-Tweed, and thence south along the English coast to Dunstanburgh. Read more
“When I first put forth my plan to cross Greenland most people said I was either mad or tired of my life.” (SGM, 1889) Written by Jo Woolf, RSGS Writer-in-Residence. Read more
We climbed great precipices in search of plants, the nicest of which always select the most abominable situations". Written by Jo Woolf, RSGS Writer-in-Residence Read more
Philip Phillips documented stages in the construction of this remarkable bridge from May 1885 onwards. Read more
The great advantage of a digital map is that it can be updated regularly Read more
“With the recent eruption of Kilauea in Hawaii, we take a look back at a visit to the volcano by Isabella Bird, 145 years ago…” Written by Jo Woolf, RSGS Writer in Residence. Read more