Explorer tells Belfast gathering of prince’s scorpion-proof socks

SPECIAL pair of socks from the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula is included in the Prince of Wales’s wardrobe this Christmas, geographers in Northern Ireland were told.

Handwoven from goat hair and sheep wool, and layered to protect from the hot sand, he received the gift in recognition of his support for research in one of Earth’s toughest regions, the peninsula’s ‘empty quarter’.

Charles (right) backed a British-led expedition which traced arrow heads from civilisations 1,500 years old in a 49-day quest for evidence that the barren region was once populated.

He said he would wear them at Royal Ascot, lead explorer Mark Evans told the Northern Ireland branch of the Royal Geographical Society in Belfast.

He said: “The socks were not the kind of socks you would buy from Cotswold Camping, they were woven especially from goat hair and sheep’s wool, loose weave so sand drains out.

“They are double-layered so when it is hot your feet do not burn on the sand, when it is cold they don’t get cold.

“They are very bristly and spiky, which means that when you are sitting around a fire the scorpions don’t snuggle up next to your feet.”

The Arabian Peninsula once played a vital role in humankind’s exodus from Africa and research is being carried out by a project called Green Arabia, which Mr EvA ans’ journey contributed field work to.

Mr Evans said this attracted Charles’ interest. He met the prince when he visited Oman and the present was brought in an old plastic shopping bag.

After the socks were pulled out of the bag half the desert drained on the floor.

Mr Evans recalled: “Prince Charles saw the funny side and swore blind that he would wear them at Royal Ascot next year.”

In a 1,300km journey he recreated the travels of British explorer Bertram Thomas in 1930 across the Arabian Peninsula’s vast Rub’ al Khali, the world’s largest sand desert.

Mr Evans travelled from the coast of Oman through Saudi Arabia to Doha, Qatar, on foot and on camel, with the indulgence and protection of sheikh leaders.