Skip over main navigation
  • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
The Royal Scottish Geographical Society
  • Search
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
Join Us Donate
Menu
  • About Us
    • Our Philosophy
    • What We Do
    • Who We Are
    • Our Influence
    • Our Impact
    • Governance Documents
  • What We Do
    • Climate Action
    • The Geographer
    • Public Events
    • Innovative Projects
    • Informing Policy
    • Schools Education
    • University Research
    • Heritage Collections
  • What's On
    • All Events
    • Local Groups
    • Visitor Centre
  • Get Involved
    • Climate Solutions
    • School Resources
    • Nominate for Awards
    • Volunteer With Us
    • Hire a Room
  • Support Us
    • Join Us
    • Appeals
    • Legacies
    • Shop
  • Media
    • Blog
    • Videos
    • News
    • View Point
  • Our Heritage
    • Medallists
    • RSGS People
    • Collections
    • Our History
  • Admin
    • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
  • Icelandic scenes (part 2):  a puzzle nearly solved!

    Icelandic scenes (part 2): a puzzle nearly solved!

    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

  • Icelandic scenes - a puzzle

    Icelandic scenes - a puzzle

    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

  • John Rae: gatecrashing the annual dinner of the Lochaber Agricultural Society

    John Rae: gatecrashing the annual dinner of the Lochaber Agricultural Society

    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

  • Neil Armstrong - Livingstone Medallist

    Neil Armstrong - Livingstone Medallist

    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

  • Icelandic scenes (part 2): a puzzle nearly solved!
  • Icelandic scenes - a puzzle
  • John Rae: gatecrashing the annual dinner of the Lochaber Agricultural Society
  • Neil Armstrong - Livingstone Medallist
  • Next
  • Prev
  1. Blog

RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Memorable Maps - Carlisle

Memorable Maps - Carlisle

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

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 22nd February, 2023

Updated: 24th February, 2023

Icelandic scenes (part 2):  a puzzle nearly solved!

Icelandic scenes (part 2): a puzzle nearly solved!

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

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 3rd February, 2023

Author: Jo Woolf

Icelandic scenes - a puzzle

Icelandic scenes - a puzzle

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

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 19th January, 2023

Updated: 20th January, 2023

Author: Jo Woolf

Memorable Maps - New Economic Map of Scotland

Memorable Maps - New Economic Map of Scotland

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

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 17th January, 2023

Updated: 20th January, 2023

Memorable Maps - Christmas Island

Memorable Maps - Christmas Island

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

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 13th December, 2022

Updated: 20th December, 2022

Author: Margaret Wilkes

John Rae: gatecrashing the annual dinner of the Lochaber Agricultural Society

John Rae: gatecrashing the annual dinner of the Lochaber Agricultural Society

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

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 5th August, 2022

Author: Jo Woolf

Neil Armstrong - Livingstone Medallist

Neil Armstrong - Livingstone Medallist

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

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 11th March, 2022

Updated: 5th April, 2022

Author: Jo Woolf

Jane Digby el-Mezrab:  from ballroom conquests to bedouin camps

Jane Digby el-Mezrab:  from ballroom conquests to bedouin camps

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

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 3rd March, 2022

Updated: 5th April, 2022

Author: Jo Woolf

Isobel Wylie Hutchison:  Toasting Rabbie Burns in Greenland

Isobel Wylie Hutchison: Toasting Rabbie Burns in Greenland

“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

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 25th January, 2022

Updated: 5th April, 2022

Author: Jo Woolf

Comments: 1

Ernest Shackleton and the RSGS

Ernest Shackleton and the RSGS

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

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 14th January, 2022

Updated: 5th April, 2022

Author: Jo Woolf

A Sleigh Ride in the Snow

A Sleigh Ride in the Snow

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

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 9th December, 2021

Updated: 5th April, 2022

Author: Jo Woolf

Comments: 2

Sir Fitzroy Maclean:  Escape to Adventure

Sir Fitzroy Maclean: Escape to Adventure

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

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 3rd December, 2021

Updated: 5th April, 2022

Author: Jo Woolf

Sir Richard Collinson and the Search for Franklin

Sir Richard Collinson and the Search for Franklin

Jo Woolf discovers RSGS’s special connection with the captain of HMS Enterprise, who joined the hunt for a lost Arctic expedition. Read more

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 25th May, 2021

Updated: 23rd June, 2021

Author: Jo Woolf

Comments: 1

A Box of Delights!

A Box of Delights!

"There is always a sense of anticipation!" Written by Jane Griffiths, RSGS Collections Volunteer Read more

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 28th February, 2019

Updated: 30th July, 2019

Author: RSGS Volunteer

The First Ascent of Everest

The First Ascent of Everest

"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

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 30th August, 2018

Updated: 30th July, 2019

Author: Jo Woolf

A View of St Kilda

A View of St Kilda

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

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 25th July, 2018

Updated: 30th July, 2019

Author: Susan Watt

Comments: 1

Dr Nansen's Visit to Scotland, February 1897

Dr Nansen's Visit to Scotland, February 1897

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

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 25th July, 2018

Updated: 30th July, 2019

Author: Susan Watt

East Coast of Scotland (1647)

East Coast of Scotland (1647)

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

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 23rd July, 2018

Updated: 30th July, 2019

Author: RSGS Volunteer

East Coast of Scotland (1589)

East Coast of Scotland (1589)

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

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 23rd July, 2018

Updated: 30th July, 2019

Author: RSGS Volunteer

Fridtjof Nansen: The First Crossing of Greenland

Fridtjof Nansen: The First Crossing of Greenland

“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

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 17th July, 2018

Updated: 30th July, 2019

Author: Jo Woolf

Comments: 1

Frank Kingdon-Ward in the Garden of Asia

Frank Kingdon-Ward in the Garden of Asia

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

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 28th June, 2018

Updated: 15th January, 2021

Author: Jo Woolf

Forth Bridge in its various stages of construction (1890)

Forth Bridge in its various stages of construction (1890)

Philip Phillips documented stages in the construction of this remarkable bridge from May 1885 onwards. Read more

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 25th June, 2018

Updated: 4th March, 2020

Author: Susan Watt

Digital Mapping: Right here, Right now

Digital Mapping: Right here, Right now

The great advantage of a digital map is that it can be updated regularly Read more

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 1st June, 2018

Updated: 30th July, 2019

Author: RSGS Community

Isabella Bird: Playing with Hawaiian Fire

Isabella Bird: Playing with Hawaiian Fire

“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

Posted to: RSGS Blog

Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.

Published: 11th May, 2018

Updated: 29th August, 2019

Author: Jo Woolf

Load more Back to top

Showing 10 of 38

Latest

  • February 2023

    February 2023

    RSGS E:Newsletter: Lyse Doucet FRSGS; An Interview with Robin Hanbury-Tenison; Education Conference; The Geographer; Blog Update.

  • Shackleton and the men on Elephant Island:  a brotherhood of the sea

    Shackleton and the men on Elephant Island: a brotherhood of the sea

    In 1916 Ernest Shackleton's beloved ship Endurance was crushed by ice and sank to the depths of the Weddell Sea, but what followed was an astonishing story of courage and survival.

  • Aftershock – how humanitarian aid is helping millions affected by the Turkey Syria Earthquakes

    Aftershock – how humanitarian aid is helping millions affected by the Turkey Syria Earthquakes

    The huge earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria a month ago weren’t necessarily a huge surprise in an area with an historic vulnerability to seismic shocks, but the scale of the devastation was an enormous shock - turning millions of lives upside down in an instant.

  • The RSGS Education Conference

    The RSGS Education Conference

    On Saturday 25th February RSGS convened a full day, fast-paced conference at Dollar Academy to bring together key individuals and organisations, to discuss how to maximise and promote the relevance and uptake of geography.

Most read

  • Join Us

    Join Us

    Join us as a Member to support our charitable work, enjoy 100 inspiring events, receive our geographic magazine, and be part of the RSGS family.

  • Who We Are

    Who We Are

    With the support of more than 2,500 Members, c120 volunteers, and six staff, we are a small, flexible organisation, striving to increase geographical understanding.

  • Our Philosophy

    Our Philosophy

    The Royal Scottish Geographical Society is a dynamic educational charity with far-reaching influence and a mission to inspire and inform.

  • RSGS People

    RSGS People

    We are associated with some amazing people - explorers, adventurers, travellers, photographers, writers, humanitarians, scientists, journalists...

  • University Research

    University Research

    We promote geographical research in Scottish universities, offer ‘knowledge exchange’ opportunities, and publish a peer-reviewed academic journal.

  • Nominate for Awards

    Nominate for Awards

    Submit your nominations for new RSGS Medallists and Fellows, recognising outstanding contributions in a wide range of geographical fields.

  • Volunteer With Us

    Volunteer With Us

    It's easy to volunteer with us, and we have lots of exciting projects to work on, including hosting speakers at our talks, giving RSGS talks to external clubs and guiding visitors at our HQ in Perth.

  • Schools Education

    Schools Education

    We are a champion for geographical education in Scottish schools, involved in policy discussions, promoting geography in schools, and projects.

  • Informing Policy

    Informing Policy

    We engage in policy discussions with national government departments, international bodies, local authorities, community organisations, schools, universities, companies, NGOs and others.

  • Our Impact

    Our Impact

    We provide informed, intelligent, insightful commentary on world issues from a geographical perspective.

Tag cloud

Chief Executive Climate Change Climate Change & Environment Opinion RSGS History & People Travel & Adventure Writer-in-Residence

Sign up for our newsletter

* indicates required

Find us

Registered Office
Lord John Murray House
15-19 North Port
Perth PH1 5LU
Scotland, UK

+44 (0)1738 455 050
[email protected]

Links

  • Sitemap
  • Accessibility
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

Follow us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Youtube

Registered as Charity number SC015599
Copyright © 2019 Royal Scottish Geographical Society

Manage Cookie Preferences