Rosie Thomas: Amazing Antarctica was my tranquility base

Roie Thomas reveals her favourite holiday destinations.

“Water was at the heart of my childhood holidays as we used to go boating on the Llangollen Canal.

We’d hire a boat and as the oldest I had a younger brother and sister my very important job was to jump ashore with the mooring rope and to steer us through the locks.

I absolutely loved it but things sadly changed when I was 10. My mother died and there wasn’t a lot of holidaymaking after that.

When I got married I’m divorced and with a long-term partner we took lots of family holidays with the children on Greek beaches.

But it wasn’t until quite late on in my midlife that I realised I didn’t really like beaches all that much and what I did like was mountains.

Since I made that discovery I’ve been to mountains somewhere or other at least once or twice a year.

I like mountaineering, off-piste skiing and rock climbing in the Alps, often the Bernese Oberland below the Eiger, or the Himalayas.

There’s a mix of freedom and fear.

When you’re up there you’re thinking that if you can just get down safe this time you’ll never go up again.

And then as soon as you’re down you want to get right back up.

I love that challenge and excitement and the scenery is just unbelievable.

The other place with views of a lifetime is Antarctica.

I fell in love with the place.

I wanted to experience it as a destination but also do a book.

It’s not easy to get to. The British Antarctic Survey wouldn’t have me and the American Polar Programme was full up.

Somebody knew somebody with the Bulgarians, who have a summer base there.

I rang them up and they said: “Sure, come on Monday”. I spent an unforgettable month there.

I shared a room with two of the female biologists and there were no curtains in the hut.

Every time I opened my eyes there would be something different in the bay an iceberg or a whale or one of a million penguins flipping out of the water.

“The tranquility was amazing and your concerns are narrowed down to the absolute minimum, like whether you had socks or could get a square of chocolate.”