In celebration of the birthday of Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl, Writer-in-Residence Jo Woolf reflects on his life and the renowned Kon-Tiki expedition of 1947. Read more
One night in September 1873, whilst travelling on the US Transcontinental Railroad, Isabella Bird rolled up in the town of Truckee, stepping out of her train carriage and straight into the Truckee Hotel, whose saloon was full of rowdy, gun-toting lumberjacks... Read more
Exactly one week before RSGS Chief Executive Mike Robinson had the honour of attending the funeral of Her Majesty The Queen, he was in Perth Foodbank, hearing about the challenges of front line staff. In this blog, he reflects on a week of contrasts. Read more
"As a lifetime supporter of public transport, I found it incredibly disheartening, that after taking the train from Perth to Edinburgh this week, I really wish I hadn’t..." RSGS CEO Mike Robinson reflects on our Scottish railways. Read more
Engaging stories, topical articles and fascinating insights from across the RSGS network.
With the sad news of Her Majesty’s death, we pay tribute to our Patron. Read more
RSGS CEO and Stop Climate Chaos Scotland Chair Mike Robinson considers that we are at the precipice of a major social crisis in the making. Without intelligent, broad-scale and urgent response, he argues this could result in social unrest. Read more
With the theme of the latest edition of The Geographer being geography and landscapes of fictional crime, RSGS Writer-in-Residence Jo Woolf investigates links between renowned crime writer, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, his characters, and RSGS. Read more
RSGS CEO Mike Robinson reflects on life after Covid, and why we must remember to be kind to ourselves and others as life gets back on track. Read more
We are delighted to announce the programme for our 2022-23 Inspiring People talks, featuring a stellar line-up of speakers, held in person at our 13 Local Groups across Scotland. Read more
Last week we were very pleased to present RSGS Honorary Fellowship to Galina Toteva, Robert Fleeting and David Geddes, for their contributions over the last 6 years in delivering the Climate Solutions courses. Read more
We were delighted to present RSGS Honorary Fellowship to Claire Mack, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, for overseeing significant growth in the renewable energy sector, and showcasing her dedication to implementing renewable energy across Scotland. 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
The Marine Conservation Society’s annual Great British Beach Clean is back, running from 16th-25th September 2022. The charity is now calling for volunteers across the UK to join them at the coast for a week of beach cleaning and litter surveying. Read more
Branklyn Garden has been described as ‘the finest two acres of private garden in the country’. Writer-in-Residence Jo Woolf wanted to find out more about the history of this beautiful garden, which is celebrating its centenary this year. Read more
Artist Michael Durning was inspired to celebrate Scottish explorers, and at the Royal Scottish Geographical Society HQ he found that Amundsen’s race to the South Pole began in Perth! Read more
The Royal Scottish Geographical Society was delighted to recently welcome over 90 members of the Bartholomew family to its headquarters, The Fair Maid’s House, in Perth. Read more
Please help us to build a Future Generations Fund to better resource the work we can do with and for young people. Read more
Our Chief Executive, Mike Robinson, was delighted to have been presented with an Honorary Doctorate by The University of Stirling, during their Summer 2022 graduations, as one of four individuals believed to be making a positive difference in their respective fields. Read more
On 9th January 2022, Kirsty Fisher set sail from Antigua on board the sailing yacht Intrepid, a 72ft Oyster yacht bound for a circumnavigation of the world. Read about Kirsty's adventures in part 1 of her travel blog. Read more
We share an article from the recent edition of The Geographer, about the sudden decrease of Ukraine's population due to the war, the short term impacts of this, and the long-term implications. Read more
Starting September, RSGS will be hosting live Inspiring People talks for the first time since the start of the pandemic, featuring a stellar line-up of speakers befitting of the best national talks programme in Scotland! Read more
We were delighted to present the Tivy Education Medal to a group of volunteers and inspirational teachers, for their collective work creating free geography lessons for Scottish secondary students forced to work and study at home during lockdown. Read more
We were delighted to present RSGS Honorary Fellowship to author and conservationist Clifton Bain, for his crucial work towards the conservation of peatlands, and promoting public awareness of their importance. Read more
In celebration of Her Majesty The Queen's 70 years of service (and 70 years as RSGS Patron), we explore connections between British monarchs, great explorers and RSGS. Read more