Polar adventurer sure if someFinn special

A polar adventurer who has spent the last three months in Antarctica has made his triumphant return to Shropshire.

Finn Walton, 25, from Pontesbury near Shrewsbury, left in October to take part in an international expedition to the South Pole. The mechanic, who served his apprenticeship at the Plough Garage in the village, completed an epic 700-mile road trip to the Pole.

The trip was to mark the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first explorer Norwegian Roald Amundsen.

During the seven-day drive in a specially adapted off-road vehicle, Mr Walton had to endure temperatures as low as -25C (-13F) and winds speeds of 20 knots.

The adventurer, who spent the three months living in a tent, was reunited with his family in Pontesbury and girlfriend Jacinta Ingham, 25, from Longden, on Friday night before returning to the county on Saturday.

He said: "We drove for 12 hours a day. We had a route to follow and the journey was mostly without incident but we did come across some crevasses.

"We broke down at one point and had to wait 24 hours to get going again. It is different being a mechanic down there – you have to improvise with different parts and you can only work for about five to 10 minutes at a time because of the cold."

When he arrived at the South Pole in December Mr Walton joined about 350 people, including dignitaries such as Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, to mark Amundsen's anniversary.

He said: "It was amazing I feel very privileged to have been here. There had never been so many people at the Pole before."

The intrepid mechanic is from a family of Antarctic veterans. His father, Jonathan, worked there as a glaciologist and his late grandfather, Kevin, as an engineer.

During his time at the Pole base camp he was there to greet Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton as she completed her 500-mile charity trek in aid of Sport Relief.

See also:

• Explorer Finn Walton’s Pole date with Helen Skelton

• Shropshire mechanic joins South Pole anniversary celebration

• Shropshire mechanic Finn completes South Pole road trip