• The sixth Land Rover bursary of £30,000 and the loan of a Land Rover Defender has been awarded to the 'Pole of Cold Expedition'

• The Land Rover Bursary was first awarded in 2007, in partnership with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG*), offering funding and the use of a Land Rover Defender vehicle. 
• The award is aimed at those who want to take a journey that offers exceptional challenges for the team, and for which a Land Rover Defender with its expert capabilities is an integral part of the expedition.
• The Land Rover Defender, featuring its legendary four‑wheel drive system and differential lock, is renowned for its all‑terrain capabilities and is highly suited to tackling some of the world's most challenging conditions and terrains

Land Rover in partnership with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG*) are proud to announce the award of the sixth consecutive bursary to this year's winner, the 'Pole of Cold Expedition'. 

The team leader Felicity Aston, who is no stranger to the cold ‑ already having a number of Antarctic Expeditions under her belt ‑ along with Gisli Jonsson, an expert mechanic in sub‑zero temperatures, and Manu Palomeque, a filmmaker and photographer, will chase the onset of winter across Europe to Siberia as far as the Pole of Cold, the coldest place in the northern hemisphere. 

The team will track the extreme weather through scientific and creative means documenting the physical, human and cultural geography as they go. 

Mark Cameron, Land Rover Global Brand Experience Director said; "Felicity and her experienced team have really captured the essence of the Bursary through the concept of their Expedition.  We are delighted to support their journey to properly understand how different communities across Europe and Siberia deal with the onset of winter.

"With its expert capabilities the Land Rover Defender will not only enable the team to reach the remotest communities, it will also be adapted into a mobile studio enabling the continuous story to be accessed by a worldwide audience"

Paul Rose, the Society's Vice President of Expeditions & Fieldwork, added "The Land Rover Bursary offers recipients an amazing opportunity to promote a wider understanding and enjoyment of people, places and environments. This team's journey will help show that exploration is as much about a state of mind as it is a particular place."

The team will receive funding of up to £30,000 and the loan of a brand new Land Rover Defender which will truly enable them to go above and beyond to achieve this extremely challenging expedition. They will encounter hostile weather conditions and temperatures consistently as low as ‑20 and at times as low as ‑50 which will push them and the vehicle beyond the normal limits and boundaries that most of us are used to.

The 12 week journey will begin from the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), London, England in November with the team working its way across northern Europe through Russia to Siberia then dropping south back through Kazakhstan for the return trip to Europe and ultimately England arriving in February 2014. 

If you interested in applying for the 2014 Land Rover Bursary further details are available on www.rgs.org/LandroverBursary

*IBG is the Institute of British Geographers

ENDS

For further information log onto www.media.landrover.com or contact:

Lydia Haley

Senior Press Officer, Land Rover PR

Tel: +44 2476564147   
Mobile: +44 7730 923507

lhaley1@jaguarlandrover.com              

Editors' Note:

‑  Since 1948 Land Rover has been manufacturing authentic 4x4s that represent true breadth of capability across the model range. Defender, Freelander, Discovery, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover and Range Rover Evoque each define the world's 4x4 sectors. Land Rover products are currently sold in approximately 180 global markets.

Past Land Rover Bursary winners include:

‑  2012:  Pushing the Limits

A team supporting a disabled adventurer's plans to encourage our understanding of the geography on our doorstep and to show that exploration is within everyone's reach, whatever their ability.

‑  2011: Glacier in a Greenhouse
The team of Durham University students used their vehicle to study remote glaciers in Central West Iceland

‑  2010: Fault Line Living
An arduous 12‑week, 15,000 mile journey exploring the realities of life for people living along fault lines. From Iceland to Italy, Greece, Turkey and Iran. The team worked with school students, seismologists and talked to the local people of each country to uncover how different communities adapt to the challenges of fault line living.

‑  2009: Atlantic Rising
Atlantic Rising's journey traced what could be the new coastline of the ocean following sea level rise exploring the places, people and histories that would be lost to the rising tide if climate change continues. The team developed a programme of talks to both adults and school students. For more information please visit; http://atlanticrising.org/

‑  2008: Latitude
Latitude, who travelled in a Land Rover Defender along the line of 50° North across Europe through Asia and Canada.