Staying in presents its own challenges says polar adventurer

She became the youngest woman to ski solo to the South Pole, enduring whiteouts for eight days in a row, headwinds of more than 50 knots and freezing temperatures as low as -45C.

But Edinburgh-based adventurer Mollie Hughes, the youngest woman to also scale both sides of Mount Everest, says living under lockdown has presented its own challenges.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland

yesterday, Ms Hughes said: “I’ve definitely had this feeling of claustrophobia. I live in a small one-bedroom flat in the middle of the city, so I’m kind of used to being in big, open landscapes. But because I’ve spent so much of this year in Antarctica, where it’s endless horizons as far as you can see, I’m now starting to feel a little bit cooped up.

“I’ve been trying to get out as much as possible, going to the local park or walking up and down the Water of Leith.

“My time in the Antarctic is similar to the situation we’ve got now in that there’s quite a lot of uncertainty.

“In the Antarctic it was the same, because at the beginning of my trip I had horrendous weather for the first two weeks and that put me so far behind schedule.

“So when we came out of that weather system I didn’t really know if I had another 30 days of skiing ahead of me or another 40 days ahead of me.”

Ms Hughes, whose epic 700-mile expedition saw her spend nearly 60 days alone on the Antarctic ice, said: “It kind of feels like that right now, because we don’t know when we are going to come out.”

“We don’t know how long we are going to be locked down for and return to our normal lives.”