Coventry explorer braved arctic weather, polar bears... and TV celebrities
Nov 29 2007
Mark Wood was a guide on a Top Gear show attempt to reach the North Pole.
In an exclusive interview, he
talks to RICHARD ASHMORE
about polar bear encounters,
sharing a tent with Jeremy
Clarkson, and a search for his own team of explorers...
By Richard Ashmore
MARK Wood, who grew up in Green Lane, Styvechale, developed a passion for adventure at an early age.
It is something that eventually led him to be chosen as a guide working with the presenters of the BBC’s Top Gear programme in an expedition to the North Pole earlier this year.
Now he has launched a national search for six people to join him on his own arctic adventure, and today (Thursday) he will be in Coventry to launch the search.
“When I was about five my parents had a rule that we weren’t allowed to go any further than our street when we were playing,” he said.
“I remember one day I managed to sneak out of the road because I wanted to get some sweets from the shop which was about four streets away.
“In a way it was my first solo expedition and I managed to get to the shop unaided and get the sweets without anyone noticing. It’s funny but I still get that same feeling today in the arctic, it’s the thrill of going into the unknown.”
This first taste of adventure spurred the former Finham Park pupil on to more exciting times as he served in the armed forces and then for the military’s search and rescue team.
But it wasn’t long before the 40-year-old explains that he needed a fresh challenge to satisfy his desire for the extreme.
“The thing about search and rescue is that there is a lot of time waiting around and it was during this time that I first looked into doing something different,” he added.
“I had read Sir Ranulph Fiennes book about ‘mind over matter’ and his exploring in the arctic and I went from an armchair enthusiast to doing the real thing in 2003.
