A Scottish woman has been selected to travel to the South Pole to take up one of the most remote jobs in the world.
Mairi Hilton, a conservation biologist from Bo'ness, Falkirk, beat 6,000 applicants to live and work on Port Lockroy base on Goudier Island in Antarctica.
The base has served as a home for explorers, whalers, scientists and sailors for more than a century, reports the Scotsman.
Ms Hilton, a former student at the University of Glasgow, will be employed as a wildlife monitor on the island for five months - spending five months without running water or a flushing toilet.
She will be on of an-all woman team selected by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust who managed to land the highly-coveted roles. Clare Ballantyne, Natalie Corbett and Lucy Bruzzone make up the foursome who were successful.
Their only neighbours on the football-sized island will be a colony of Gentoo penguins, with one of her key roles to lead the count to help monitor and protect the flightless birds.
Mairi said: “This will be my first time in Antarctica and I’m very excited to set eyes on the white continent. I have no idea what to expect when we get there - how cold it will be, will we have to dig our way through the snow to the Post Office?
"I’m a conservation biologist, so personally I can’t wait to see the penguins and other wildlife like seabirds and whales.”
Also heading to Antarctica is Aberdeenshire woman Vicky Inglis, who has previously travelled to Port Lockroy with the trust and will be able to help the newbies settle in to their new daily routine. She will be postmaster during the trip.
The new recruits will begin training later this month with briefings from a 'Penguinologist' and remote first aid training as part of their preparations.
They will depart in early November and will work on the base until March 2023 - including spending Christmas together.
After her time studying in Glasgow, Ms Hilton relocated to Australia to complete a PhD in conservation biology, before moving to New Zealand.
Her new temporary home in Port Lockroy is one of six heritage sites managed by UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, which delivers public programmes aimed at preserving the UK's history on the continent.
Camilla Nichol, CEO of the trust, said: “After receiving a record response to the opportunity to join our first Port Lockroy team since the Covid-19 pandemic, we’re so pleased to have appointed such a capable team.
"Each team member has a keen sense of adventure and genuine love of Antarctica. It will be a challenging role as they will be living in a remote part of the world for five months, but they will play an essential part in bringing Port Lockroy and its museum to life.’
The base has been know as a safe anchorage following its use by whaling fleets in the early 20th Century. It was selected as the first continuously occupied British base to establish a British presence in the south year round.
Port Lockroy was established in February 1944 as part of a wartime mission code, known as Operation Tabarin.
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