This morning I got a message from Uns saying she had noticed it by Tower Bridge this morning and then looked it up online that the South African ice-strengthened training ship and former polar research vessel, the S.A. Agulhas, and British adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes were set to depart from London on their six-month expedition to the Antarctic for the world's first ever attempt to cross the continent in winter, known as 'The Coldest Journey'. The S.A. Agulhas had been moored by Tower Bridge for a couple of days and this afternoon it set off towards Cape Town and then onto the Antarctic to officially start her mission. The expedition aims to raise $10m for 'Seeing is Believing', a charity who provide crucial scientific data and form the basis of an invaluable education programme.

As well as seeing a ship of that size on the River Thames, I was also excited to see it pass through the relatively narrow Tower Bridge, which usually only opens up for tall ships or yachts. So this afternoon I set off down to Tower Bridge in my own version of the coldest journey down to the river - it was absolutely freezing outside, but guess I can't complain - it's not me going to the Antarctic winter! But still it wasn't all that much fun standing around next to the river waiting for the tugboats to get her moving. But eventually they set off to the whistles, cheers and clapping of the smallish crowd that had gathered on the side, with Tower Bridge opening to it's fullest to allow the 6,000 tonne vessel to pass through. Quite a sight to see and I certainly wish him and the entire crew the very best of luck in their mission!