The Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) was delighted to present Honorary Fellowship of the Society to adventurer Sue Stockdale, in recognition of her achievements in exploration and her commitment to inspire others. Sue, who has travelled across the globe for her adventures, was awarded her Fellowship at her talk in Galashiels last week for the RSGS Inspiring People talks programme.

Stockdale, who lives in Wiltshire, became the first UK woman to reach the magnetic North Pole in 1996. Since then, she has been on many expeditions to remote parts of the world including Antarctica, skiing across the Greenland Ice Cap, and to the Geographical North Pole. Sue is also known for her work as an inspirational speaker, executive coach, and host of the Access to Inspiration podcast where listeners learn from other’s stories and life experiences to harness their potential.

First awarded in 1888, RSGS Honorary Fellowship is conferred in recognition of services to RSGS and to the wider discipline of geography. Previous recipients include some of the most inspiring academics, campaigners, and explorers of the last century including Ernest Shackleton, Michael Palin and Sir David Attenborough.

RSGS Chief Executive Mike Robinson commented “we are very pleased to award RSGS Honorary Fellowship to Sue Stockdale, for her work in inspiring others through her many adventures. Sue has dedicated her career to communicating the importance of encouraging people to expand their horizons. She has an innate understanding of the value of storytelling in inspiring others to achieve their goals.

This is particularly evident through her podcast Access to Inspiration, in which we collaborated with Sue to create six episodes on how to promote climate solutions and encourage people to be more active.”