DAVID Hempleman-Adams, 51, is considered to be one of the best explorers in the world today. He has climbed the seven highest peaks of the seven continents and reached the north and south geographic and magnetic poles.
His interest in exploration began with the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, with which he holds a Gold medal. He was the first person to successfully complete a solo expedition to the Magnetic North Pole without the support of dogs, snowmobiles or air supplies and the first Briton to walk solo and unsupported to the South Pole. In 1998, he turned to ballooning and flew across the Andes with only 30 hours of flying experience. He has since become the first pilot to fly to the North Pole, across the Arctic Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean from Canada to the UK. He is the author of four books and has made eight documentaries about his expeditions. Next Thursday he is returning to the North Pole with his 15-year-old daughter. He was born and bred in Wiltshire and now lives in Box.
How would your best friend describe you?
What he has to say about me is probably unprintable.
Where would you recommend for a great evening out?
The Bear at Box.
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What do you do for fun?
Go to the North Pole.
What motto or phrase do you try to live your life by?
"A man's reach should be beyond his grasp or what's a heaven for?" by Browning
Who in the public eye do you most respect and why?
Sheila Watt Cloutier who is an Inuit-born grandmother who has gone from being born in an igloo and living a nomadic lifestyle to taking on the might of the United States with respect to climate change and global warming - a
fearsome grandmother protecting the lives of the Inuit
community.
What is your biggest regret?
My grandmother has never flown - my regret is not being able to convince her to fly so that she could see some of the beautiful places in the world at first hand.
What is your favourite TV programme or film?
The Thomas Crown Affair with Steve McQueen.
What makes you sad?
When you travel the world and see people struggling just to get through day-to-day life when, however you address an expedition or extreme travel, it is still for pleasure.
Describe your perfect day.
A frosty morning with clear blue skies, walking on the Marlborough Downs, which is some of the most beautiful countryside in the world.
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