Transglobe Expedition

Fiennes expedition, 1972

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July 20, 2026

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The Transglobe Expedition, led by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, was the first north-south circumnavigation of the world via the planet's poles. Preparation for this ambitious journey began in 1972, with the expedition departing from Greenwich, England, in September 1979. The team, including Fiennes, Charles Burton, and Oliver Shepard, traveled south along the Greenwich meridian to Antarctica, reaching the South Pole in December 1980. They then traversed the continent, arriving at Scott Base in January 1981. The expedition continued northward by sea and then by foot and snowmobile, reaching the North Pole in April 1982. The journey concluded back in Greenwich in August 1982, after covering approximately 52,000 miles over three years.1

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Sir Ranulph Fiennes
…came to be called the Transglobe Expedition began in 1972 and occupied much of Fiennes’s and Ginny’s time during the rest of the decade. The trekking team, led by Fiennes and including fellow Britons Charles Burton and Oliver Shepard, had a support crew of some three dozen people, including Ginny.…
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…came to be called the Transglobe Expedition began in 1972 and occupied much of Fiennes’s and Ginny’s time during the rest of the decade. The trekking team, led by Fiennes and including fellow Britons Charles Burton and Oliver Shepard, had a support crew of some three dozen people, including Ginny.…
Read More