British explorer completes Scott's 1,800 mile journey across the South Pole
A British explorer has completed Captain Scott's ill-fated Antarctic expedition to the South Pole and back.
Ben Saunders, 36, and former Wasps rugby player Tarka L'Herpinieres trekked 1,795 miles from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole, following in the footsteps of the famous explorer.
Captain Scott led the first British expedition to the South Pole on January 17, 1912 but died along with his team on the return journey.
Mr Saunders and 32-year-old Mr L'Herpiniere, from France, set off from Scott's Terra Nova Hut on October 25, hauling sleds weighing up to 440lb and enduring temperatures as low as -46C (-51F) with wind chill.
The triumphant pair reached their finish point at about 1.15am today - 105 days after their journey began.
Organisers say their feet is a new world record for the "longest polar journey on foot in history."
Mr Saunders, from Plymouth, said the expedition was the pinnacle his lifelong dream, and he was still struggling to comprehend his achievement. Writing on the expedition blog, he said:
Captain Scott and his men covered almost 1,600 miles on their South Pole trek in a feat which had never been surpassed in more than 100 years, until today.
Last month Prince Harry, who completed a trek to the southern tip of the globe in December, praised Saunders and L'Herpiniere for taking on the challenge of following in Captain Scott's footsteps.
The pair received their royal message on January 17, the day Captain Scott and his party reached the South Pole in 1912.
Ben Saunders is one of only three people in history to ski solo to the North Pole and was the youngest to do so by more than ten years.
Captain Scott's grandson Falcon Scott and Robert Swan, the man first to walk the North and South Pole, were both patrons of the latest expedition